Matthew 1

This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah. He is a descendant of {King} David, who was a descendant of Abraham{, the ancestor of all Jewish people}.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and Judah’s {older and younger} brothers.

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. Their mother was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezrom. Hezrom was the father of Aram. \*

Aram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.

Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz’s mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. Obed’s mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse.

Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon. Solomon’s mother was {Bathsheba, who had been} Uriah’s wife. \*

Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asaph.

Asaph was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram. Joram was an ancestor of Ozias. \*

Ozias was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amos. Amos was the father of Josiah.

Josiah was the grandfather of Jechoniah and Jechoniah’s brothers. {They lived} at the time when {the Babylonian army took the Israelites as} captives to the country of Babylon. \*

After {the Babylonian army took the Israelites as} captives to the country of Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Salathiel. Salathiel was the father of Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor.

Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Achim. Achim was the father of Eliud. \*

Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was Mary’s husband. Mary was the mother of Jesus. Jesus is the one whom we call the Messiah.

So then, there are 14 ancestors when we count from Abraham to David. There are 14 ancestors when we count from David until when {the Babylonian army took the Israelites as} captives to the country of Babylon. There are 14 ancestors when we count from that time to the Messiah. \*

{I will tell you} what happened when the mother of Jesus the Messiah gave birth to him. His mother Mary was about to marry {a man named} Joseph, and they had not yet had sex. Despite that, Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant with a baby (whom the Holy Spirit had given to her).

Joseph, who was about to marry her, {thought that Mary had sex with another man.} Joseph usually did what was right, and he also did not want to shame Mary. So, he decided to say in private that he would not marry her. \*

While Joseph was deciding what to do, he saw an angel from the Lord while he was sleeping! The angel said to him, “Joseph, King David’s descendant, do not be reluctant to marry Mary. {I say that} because it was the Holy Spirit who caused her to become pregnant.

She will have a male child. You should name him ‘Jesus,’ {which means ‘the Lord rescues’}. {You should name him that} because he will rescue his people from the sins that they have committed.” \*

When all those things happened, what the Lord said by speaking through the prophet {Isaiah} came true. {Isaiah} said,

“A young woman who has never had sex will become pregnant! She will give birth to a male child. People will name him ‘Immanuel.’” The name Immanuel means, “God is with us.” \*

After Joseph woke up, he married Mary, which is what the angel from the Lord had told him to do.

However, he did not have sex with her before she gave birth to a male child. Joseph named the child Jesus. \*