Matthew 1:18–25

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah^j took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit.^{* 19}Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly.^{* 20}But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”^{* 22}All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

²³“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.”^{* 24}When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife ²⁵but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son,^k and he named him Jesus.^*