THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

1 THE RECORD of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son (descendant) of David, the son (descendant) of Abraham: [Ps 132:11; Is 11:1]

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers [who became the twelve tribes of Israel].

3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.

4 Ram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.

5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.

6 Jesse was the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. [Ruth 4:18–22; 1 Chr 2:13–15]

7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.

8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.

9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.

11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] and his brothers, at the time of the deportation (exile) to Babylon. [2 Kin 24:14; 1 Chr 3:15, 16]

12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.

13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.

14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud.

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

16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah (Christ).

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen; from David to the Babylonian deportation (exile), fourteen generations; and from the Babylonian deportation to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Conception and Birth of Jesus

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by [the power of] the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 "She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation), for He will save His people from their sins."

22 All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet [Isaiah]:

23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel"—which, when translated, means, "God with us." [Is 7:14]

24 Then Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and he took Mary [to his home] as his wife,

25 but he kept her a virgin until she had given birth to a Son [her firstborn child]; and he named Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation).

The Visit of the Magi

2 NOW WHEN Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king (Herod the Great), magi (wise men) from the east came to Jerusalem, asking,

2 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him." [Num 24:17; Jer 23:5; Zech 9:9]

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 So he called together all the chief priests and scribes of the people and [anxiously] asked them where the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) was to be born.

5 They replied to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet [Micah]:

6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not in any way least among the leaders of Judah; For from you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'" [Mic 5:2]

7 Then Herod secretly sent for the magi and learned from them the [exact] time the star [had first] appeared.

8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."

9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them [continually leading the way] until it came and stood over the place where the young Child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

11 And after entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, after opening their treasure chests, they presented to Him gifts [fit for a king, gifts] of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And having been warned [by God] in a dream not to go back to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

13 Now when they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him."

14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.

15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet [Hosea]: "Out of Egypt I called My Son." [Hos 11:1]

Herod Slaughters the Babies

16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been tricked by the magi, was extremely angry, and he sent [soldiers] and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that area who were two years old and under, according to the date which he had learned from the magi.

17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; She refused to be comforted, Because they were no more." [Jer 31:15]

19 But when Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,

20 "Get up! Take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead."

21 Then Joseph got up, and took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod [the Great], he was afraid to go there. Then being warned by God in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee,

23 and went and settled in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene."

The Preaching of John the Baptist

3 IN THOSE days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea [along the western side of the Dead Sea] and saying,

2 "Repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God's purpose for your life], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

3 This is the one who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

"The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the road for the lord, Make His highways straight (level, direct)!'" [Is 40:3]

4 Now this same John had clothing made of camel's hair and a [wide] leather band around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. [Lev 11:22; 2 Kin 1:8; Zech 13:4]

5 At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;

6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the [divine] wrath and judgment to come?

8 "So produce fruit that is consistent with repentance [demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart, and a conscious decision to turn away from sin];

9 and do not presume to say to yourselves [as a defense], 'We have Abraham for our father [so our inheritance assures us of salvation]'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham. [Luke 3:8]

10 "And already the axe [of God's judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 "As for me, I baptize you with water because of [your] repentance [that is, because you are willing to change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret your sin and live a changed life], but He (the Messiah) who is coming after me is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to remove [even as His slave]; He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit and [you who remain unrepentant] with fire (judgment). [Luke 3:16]

12 "His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom), but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with unquenchable fire."

The Baptism of Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan [River], to be baptized by him. [Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21, 22; John 1:32]

14 But John tried to prevent Him [vigorously protesting], saying, "It is I who need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?"

15 But Jesus replied to him, "Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John permitted [it and baptized] Him.

16 After Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he (John) saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus), [John 1:32]

17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased and delighted!" [Ps 2:7; Is 42:1]

The Temptation of Jesus

4 THEN JESUS was led by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [Luke 4:1-13]

2 After He had gone without food for forty days and forty nights, He became hungry. [Ex 34:28; 1 Kin 19:8]

3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

4 But Jesus replied, "It is written and forever remains written, 'man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.'" [Deut 8:3]

5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city [Jerusalem] and placed Him on the pinnacle (highest point) of the temple. [Neh 11:1; Dan 9:24]

6 And he said [mockingly] to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

'He will command His angels concerning You [to serve, care for, protect and watch over You]';

and

'They will lift you up on their hands, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.'" [Ps 91:11, 12]

7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written and forever remains written, 'You shall not test the Lord your God.'" [Deut 6:16]

8 Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory [splendor, magnificence, and excellence] of them;

9 and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me."

10 Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan! For it is written and forever remains written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" [Deut 6:13]

11 Then the devil left Him; and angels came and ministered to Him [bringing Him food and serving Him].

Jesus Begins His Ministry

12 Now when Jesus heard that John [the Baptist] had been arrested and put in prison, He left for Galilee.

13 And leaving Nazareth, He went and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the country of Zebulun and Naphtali. [Mark 2:1]

14 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee [in the district] of the Gentiles— 16 "The people who were sitting (living) in [spiritual] darkness have seen a great Light, And for those who were sitting (living) in the land and shadow of [spiritual and moral] death, Upon them a Light has dawned." [Is 9:1, 2]

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God's purpose for your life], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

The First Disciples

18 As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He noticed two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

19 And He said to them, "Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men."

20 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

21 And going on [further] from there He noticed two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them [to follow Him as His disciples].

22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].

Ministry in Galilee

23 And He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news (gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people [demonstrating and revealing that He was indeed the promised Messiah].

24 So the news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were sick, those suffering with various diseases and pains, those under the power of demons, and epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

25 Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and the other side of the Jordan.

The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

5 WHEN JESUS saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him.

2 Then He began to teach them, saying,

3 "Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are the poor in spirit [those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever]. [Luke 6:20–23]

4 "Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God's grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted]. [Is 61:2]

5 "Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth. [Ps 37:11]

6 "Blessed [joyful, nourished by God's goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied. [Is 55:1, 2]