Matthew

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

1This is the record of the family line of Jesus Christ. He came from the family of David, and from the family of Abraham.

2Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;

2Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judas and his brothers.

NoteThe KJV spells these Old Testament names the Greek way. Judas here is Judah, not Judas Iscariot. Phares is Perez, Thamar is Tamar, Esrom is Hezron, Booz is Boaz, Rachab is Rahab, Urias is Uriah, Ozias is Uzziah, Ezekias is Hezekiah, Josias is Josiah, Jechonias is Jeconiah, Salathiel is Shealtiel, and Zorobabel is Zerubbabel.

3And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;

3Judas was the father of Phares and Zara, and their mother was Thamar. Phares was the father of Esrom. Esrom was the father of Aram.

4And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;

4Aram was the father of Aminadab. Aminadab was the father of Naasson. Naasson was the father of Salmon.

5And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

5Salmon was the father of Booz, whose mother was Rachab. Booz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse.

6And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

6Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Urias.

7And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;

7Solomon was the father of Roboam. Roboam was the father of Abia. Abia was the father of Asa.

8And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;

8Asa was the father of Josaphat. Josaphat was the father of Joram. Joram was the father of Ozias.

9And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;

9Ozias was the father of Joatham. Joatham was the father of Achaz. Achaz was the father of Ezekias.

10And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;

10Ezekias was the father of Manasses. Manasses was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josias.

11And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

11Josias was the father of Jechonias and his brothers. This was around the time the people were carried away to Babylon.

12And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

12After the people were taken to Babylon, Jechonias was the father of Salathiel. Salathiel was the father of Zorobabel.

13And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;

13Zorobabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor.

14And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

14Azor was the father of Sadoc. Sadoc was the father of Achim. Achim was the father of Eliud.

15And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

15Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob.

16And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

16Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called Christ.

Note"Christ" is not a last name. It is a title that means "anointed one," the king God had promised to send.

17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

17So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David. There were fourteen more from David until the people were taken away to Babylon. And there were fourteen more from that time until Christ.

18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was promised in marriage to Joseph. Before they lived together as husband and wife, she was found to be expecting a child by the Holy Spirit.

Note"Espoused" means promised in marriage. In that time and place the promise was legally binding, so verse 19 can already call Joseph her husband, even though they were not yet living together.

19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

19Joseph, the man she was promised to, was a good and fair man. He did not want to shame her in front of everyone, so he planned to end the marriage quietly.

20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

20But while he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The child inside her is from the Holy Spirit.

21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

21She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will save his people from their sins."

22Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

22All of this happened so that what the Lord had said through the prophet would come true. The prophet had said:

23Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

23"Look, a virgin will be expecting a child and will give birth to a son. People will call his name Emmanuel." That name means "God with us."

24Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

24When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do. He took Mary home as his wife.

25And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

25But he did not sleep with her until she had given birth to her first son. And he named him Jesus.

Note"Knew her not" is an old way of saying they did not sleep together.