Matthew 1:18-25 - The Birth Of Jesus Christ

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately.

²⁰ When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived 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 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:

²³ "Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel," which means "God with us."

²⁴ When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord told him. He took his wife, ²⁵ but did not have marital relations with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.

¹ Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes. ² This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ Everyone went to his own town to be registered.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David. ⁵ He went to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, and who was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.