Side by side
Matthew 1
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Between scenesVerses 1 to 17
This part isn't retold as its own scene.
1This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: 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, Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the father of David the king. Next: David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife, 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, 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, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13Zerubbabel 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, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
Scene 1: The NewsVerse 18
Nazareth was a small town of stone houses on a hill. Mary and Joseph lived there. They were pledged to be married.
Being pledged was more than dating. It was a legal promise. People already called the couple husband and wife. But they did not live together yet.
Then people learned that Mary was going to have a baby. Mary and Joseph had not slept together as husband and wife.
Matthew tells the reader the truth right away. The baby was "through the Holy Spirit" (1:18).
Joseph did not know that yet.
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Scene 2: A Quiet PlanVerse 19
Joseph had to decide what to do. The Bible calls him "a righteous man" (1:19). Righteous means he lived right with God and kept God's law.
To end a pledge, a man had to divorce the woman. It could be done in public, for everyone to see. That would bring Mary great shame.
Joseph did not want to shame Mary. So he made a plan to divorce her quietly.
The Bible doesn't say how Joseph felt. But the angel's first words to him were "do not be afraid."
19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
Scene 3: The DreamVerses 20 to 21
Joseph thought about all of this. Then he fell asleep.
An angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel called him by name. "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife" (1:20). To embrace Mary as his wife meant to take her into his home.
The angel told Joseph the truth. "The One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (1:20). Mary had been faithful to Joseph. God was doing something new.
Mary would have a son. Then the angel gave Joseph a job. "You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins" (1:21).
The name Jesus means "the LORD saves." LORD in capital letters stands for God's personal name. Jewish readers traditionally don't say it aloud, out of respect.
There was another Joseph in the Bible, long ago. He was a son of Jacob, and he was a dreamer too (Genesis 37:5). This Joseph's father was also named Jacob (1:16).
20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
Scene 4: God with UsVerses 22 to 23
Matthew stops the story to explain. All this happened to fulfill what God had said through a prophet.
The prophet was Isaiah. He spoke to King Ahaz about 700 years earlier. Ahaz was afraid of two kings who were attacking. Isaiah gave him a sign from God (Isaiah 7:10-16).
Matthew quotes Isaiah's words. "Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel" (1:23).
Immanuel means "God with us" (1:23). Matthew sees these old words come fully true in Jesus.
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
Scene 5: Joseph Wakes UpVerses 24 to 25
Joseph woke up.
He did what the angel had told him. He took Mary home as his wife.
Joseph and Mary did not sleep together as husband and wife before the baby was born.
Mary gave birth to a son.
Joseph gave him the name Jesus.
One likely reason this matters: by naming him, Joseph claimed Jesus as his own son. Joseph was not the baby's father by birth. But Joseph chose to be Jesus's dad. Many years later, people in Jesus's hometown called Jesus "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55).
Joseph had planned to end the engagement quietly. Instead, he stayed. God had come to be with us, and Joseph came to be with Mary and her son.
24When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.
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