Matthew 1:18-25

Easy-to-Read Version

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah^(A)

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they married, he learned that she was expecting a baby. (She was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.) ¹⁹ Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man. He did not want to cause her public disgrace, so he planned to divorce her secretly.

²⁰ But after Joseph thought about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus.^[a] Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will name him Immanuel.”^[b] (Immanuel means “God with us.”)

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel told him to do. He married Mary. ²⁵ But Joseph did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And he named him Jesus.