< Matthew 1 >
1 [This is] the record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, the descendant of [King] David and of Abraham, [from whom all we Jews have descended].
The Lineage Roll of Jesus Christ, —Son of David, Son of Abraham.
2 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.
Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob, begat Judah and his brethren;
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, [and their mother] was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram.
And Judah begat Perez and Zarah of Tamah, and Perez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram;
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
And Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nashon, and Nashon begat Salmon;
5 Salmon and his wife Rahab, [a non-Jewish woman], were the parents of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed. [Obed’s mother was] Ruth, [another non-Jewish woman]. Obed was the father of Jesse.
And Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab, and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse;
6 Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon. [Solomon’s mother was previously married to] Uriah.
And Jesse begat David the King. And David begat Solomon of her [that had been the wife] of Uriah;
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asaph.
And Solomon begat Rehoboam, and Rehoboam begat Abijah, and Abijah begat Asa;
8 Asaph was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was an ancestor of Uzziah.
And Asa begat Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Uzziah;
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
And Uzziah begat Jotham, and Jotham begat Ahaz, and Ahaz begat Hezekiah:
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah.
And Hezekiah begat Manasseh, and Manasseh begat Amon, and Amon begat Josiah;
11 Josiah was the grandfather of Jeconiah and Jeconiah’s brothers. [They lived] at the time when the [Babylonian army] took the Israelites as captives to the [country of] Babylon.
And Josiah begat Jechoniah, and his brethren, —upon the removal to Babylon.
12 After the Babylonians took the Israelites to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the grandfather of Zerubbabel.
And, after the removal to Babylon, Jechoniah begat Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel;
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
And Zerubbabel begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 Eliakim was the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim.
And Azor begat Sadoc, and Sadoc begat Achim, and Achim begat Eliud;
15 Akim was the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob.
And Eliud begat Eleazar, and Eleazar begat Matthan, and Matthan begat Jacob; —
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was Mary’s husband, and Mary was Jesus’ mother. Jesus is the one who is called {whom we call} the Messiah.
And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, —who is called Christ.
17 [As you can calculate, I have grouped Jesus’] ancestors [as follows: ] There was [a succession of] 14 of them from [the time when] Abraham [lived] to [the time when King] David [lived]. There was [a succession of] 14 of them from [the time when] David [lived] to [the time when] the [Israelites were taken] {[the Babylonian army took the Israelites]} away to Babylon. There was [a succession of] 14 of them from [the time when the Israelites were taken] {[the Babylonian army took the Israelites]} away to Babylon until [the time when] the Messiah [was born].
So then, all the generations from Abraham unto David, are, fourteen, generations, and, from David unto the removal to Babylon, fourteen, generations; and, from the removal to Babylon unto the Christ, fourteen, generations.
18 This is [the account of what happened just before] Jesus Christ was born. Mary, his mother, {had publicly promised Joseph that she would marry him} had been publicly promised to marry Joseph. Before they began to sleep together, [Mary] realized that she was pregnant. [It was the power of] the Holy Spirit that had caused her to become pregnant.
Now the birth, of [Jesus] Christ, was, thus: His mother Mary having been betrothed to Joseph, —before they came together, she was found with child by [the] Holy Spirit.
19 Joseph, her [future] husband, was a man who obeyed God’s commands. [One of those commands was that men must divorce women who had acted immorally. So when Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he assumed that she was pregnant as a result of her acting immorally]. So he decided to break the engagement. But because he did not want to shame her publicly, he decided to do it privately.
Moreover, Joseph her husband, being, righteous, and yet unwilling to expose her, —intended, privately, to divorce her.
20 While he was seriously considering this, much to his surprise, in a dream he saw an angel whom the Lord [had sent]. The angel said, “Joseph, descendant of [King] David, do not be afraid that [you(sg) would be doing wrong if you(sg) would marry] Mary. Instead, [begin to treat her] as your wife, because the Holy Spirit, [not a man], has caused her to be pregnant.
But, when, these things, he had pondered, lo! a messenger of the Lord, by dream, appeared to him, saying, —Joseph, son of David! do not fear to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for, that which, in her, hath been begotten, is of [the], Holy, Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son. Since it is he who will cause that his people will be saved from [the guilt of] their having sinned, name [the baby] Jesus, [which means ‘the Lord saves people’].”
Moreover she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, —for, he, will save his people from their sins.
22 All this happened as a result of what the Lord told the prophet [Isaiah to write long ago about what was going to happen]. This is what Isaiah wrote:
But, all this, hath come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord, through the prophet, saying:
23 “Listen, a virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will call him Emmanuel.” Emmanuel means ‘God is with us’.
Lo! a Virgin, shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, —and they shall call his name Emmanuel; which is, being translated, God with us.
24 When Joseph got up from sleep, he did what the angel whom the Lord [had sent] commanded him to do. He took [Mary] home to be his wife.
And Joseph, awaking, from his sleep, did as the messenger of the Lord directed him, —and took unto him his wife;
25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until she had given birth to a son. And [Joseph] named him Jesus.
and knew her not, until she had brought forth a son, —and he called his name Jesus.