Matthew 1; Luke 2:1-38

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

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

3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. (Their mother was Tamar.) Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram.

4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.

5 Salmon was the father of Boaz. (Boaz's mother was Rahab.) Boaz was the father of Obed. (Obed's mother was Ruth.) Obed was the father of Jesse.

6 Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon. (Solomon's mother had been Uriah's wife.)

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

8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was the ancestor of Uzziah.

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

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

11 Josiah was the grandfather of Jehoiachin and his brothers. (This was at the time that the people were taken to Babylon.)

12 After they were taken to Babylon: Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the grandfather of Zerubbabel.

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

14 Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud.

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

16 Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus. Jesus is called the Christ.

17 So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David. And there were fourteen generations from David until the people were taken to Babylon. And there were fourteen generations from the time when the people were taken to Babylon until Christ was born.

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was engagedn to marry Joseph, but before they married, she learned she was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.

19 Because Mary's husband, Joseph, was a good man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly.

20 While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit.

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

22 All this happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23 "The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel," which means "God is with us."

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord's angel had told him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife,

25 but he did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to the son. And Joseph named him Jesus.

1 At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order that all people in the countries under Roman rule must list their names in a register.

2 This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3 And all went to their own towns to be registered.

4 So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David.

5 Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was engagedn and who was now pregnant.

6 While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby,

7 and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a box where animals are fed.

8 That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep.

9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and they became very frightened.

10 The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news that will be a great joy to all the people.

11 Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord.

12 This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box."

13 Then a very large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel, praising God and saying:

14 "Give glory to God in heaven, and on earth let there be peace among the people who please God."

15 When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about."

16 So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a feeding box.

17 When they had seen him, they told what the angels had said about this child.

18 Everyone was amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

19 But Mary treasured these things and continued to think about them.

20 Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them.

21 When the baby was eight days old, he was circumcised and was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before the baby began to grow inside Mary.

22 When the time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses taught about being made pure, they took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

23 (It is written in the law of the Lord: "Every firstborn male shall be given to the Lord.")

24 Mary and Joseph also went to offer a sacrifice, as the law of the Lord says: "You must sacrifice two doves or two young pigeons."

25 In Jerusalem lived a man named Simeon who was a good man and godly. He was waiting for the time when God would take away Israel's sorrow, and the Holy Spirit was in him.

26 Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he saw the Christ promised by the Lord.

27 The Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. When Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple to do what the law said they must do,

28 Simeon took the baby in his arms and thanked God:

29 "Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant, die in peace as you said.

30 With my own eyes I have seen your salvation,

31 which you prepared before all people.

32 It is a light for the non-Jewish people to see and an honor for your people, the Israelites."

33 Jesus' father and mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about him.

34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, "God has chosen this child to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept

35 so that the thoughts of many will be made known. And the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too."

36 There was a prophetess, Anna, from the family of Phanuel in the tribe of Asher. Anna was very old. She had once been married for seven years.

37 Then her husband died, and she was a widow for eighty-four years. Anna never left the Temple but worshiped God, going without food and praying day and night.

38 Standing there at that time, she thanked God and spoke about Jesus to all who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.