Matthew 1

1 ¹This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: ^a a v1 Matthew opens the New Testament with a family record to show that Jesus is the long-promised heir of Abraham and David — the son in whom every covenant promise of our Father comes true. ²Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. ³Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. ⁴Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. ⁵Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. ⁸Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. ⁹Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. ¹⁰Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.

¹²After the exile to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. ¹³Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. ¹⁴Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. ¹⁵Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary — it was Mary from whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David: fourteen generations; from David to the exile to Babylon: fourteen generations; from the exile to Babylon to Christ: fourteen generations.

The Father Sends His Son

¹⁸Jesus Christ's birth happened this way: his mother Mary was pledged to Joseph, but before they united, she was found pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ^b b v18 Betrothal in that day was a legally binding bond, as serious as marriage — which is why ending it required a formal divorce, even before the couple lived together. ¹⁹Because Joseph, her husband, was righteous and didn't want to disgrace her publicly, he decided to divorce her quietly. ^c c v19 In Jewish custom, betrothal was legally binding — breaking it required a formal divorce proceeding. ²⁰While Joseph considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife — the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son; name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

²²All this took place to fulfill what our Father had spoken through the prophet: ²³"Look, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means, "our Father with us").

²⁴Joseph woke and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, taking Mary as his wife. ²⁵He did not have relations with her until she gave birth to a son, and named him Jesus.