Abraham had a son named Isaac; Isaac had a son named Jacob and Jacob's sons were Judah and his [eleven] brothers.

Judah had sons named Perez and Zarah, [whose mother was] Tamar. Perez had a son named Hezron; Hezron had a son named Aram;

Josiah had descendants named Jechoniah and his brothers, [near] the time when [the people of Judah] were taken away to Babylon.

After the people [of Judah] were taken away to Babylon, Jeconiah had a son named Shealtiel; Shealtiel had a son named Zerubbabel;

So, all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen; from [the time of] King David to the people [of Judah] being taken away to Babylon were [approximately] fourteen generations and from [Judah] being taken away to Babylon to [the time of] Christ were [approximately] fourteen generations.

Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem [a small town] in Judea during the time when Herod [the Great] was king [of Judea]. About that time some astrologer/sages from the east [i.e., Persia] came to Jerusalem, saying,

They replied to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what was written by the prophet [Micah 5:2],

And you, Bethlehem in the country of Judah, are not among the least [towns in furnishing] rulers for Judah, for you will produce a leader who will become shepherd of my [i.e., God's] people Israel.'"

But when he heard that Archelaus was then the king of Judea, in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back. Then, being warned by God in a [supernatural] dream, he went on up to the region called Galilee,

In those days, John the Immerser went into the desert of Judea preaching [to Jews], saying,

[People from] Jerusalem and all over Judea and the region around the Jordan River all went out [to the desert] to [hear] him,

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He left [the province of Judea] and went to Galilee.

Large crowds followed Him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond [i.e., the east side of] the Jordan River.

Suddenly they shouted out, "What do you want with us, you Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before it is time to?" [i.e., before our punishment is due. See II Pet. 2:4; Jude 6].

And so when Jesus had finished speaking He left Galilee and came to the region of Judea, on the east side of the Jordan River.

then those [of you] in Judea are to run away into the [nearby] mountains.

And people from throughout all the regions of Judea and all of Jerusalem went out to John [in the desert]. And he immersed them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

And it happened at that time that Jesus went from Nazareth, in Galilee [i.e., south to Judea], where He was immersed by John in the Jordan River.

[Then] Jesus withdrew [from there] with His disciples and went to the lake [i.e., Lake of Galilee], being followed by a large crowd from Galilee. Also, a large crowd from Judea,

And Jesus left there and went to the region of Judea and east of the Jordan River. Again crowds gathered around Him and He continued teaching them, as was His custom.

"But when you see that disgusting thing that causes total destruction [i.e., the Roman army. See Luke 21:20] standing where it ought not to be [i.e., surrounding the besieged city of Jerusalem], (let the reader understand [what is meant by this]), then those of you in Judea are to run away into the [nearby] mountains.

In the days of King Herod, of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias of the "Abijah" division. He had a wife named Elizabeth who was a descendant of Aaron.

Then all those who lived in the area became afraid; and people were talking about all these things throughout the entire hill country of Judea.

Now it was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was ruler of Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler of the regions of Ituraea and Trachonitus [Note: These two men were sons of Herod the Great (See Matt. 2:1) and ruled over provinces east of the Jordan River] and Lysanias was ruler of Abilene [Note: This was a province just north of the two previously mentioned ones].

[During this time], while Annas and Caiaphas [Note: This man was Annas' son-in-law. See John 18:13] were head priests, God's message came to John [the Immerser], son of Zacharias, [when he was] in the desert [of Judea].

who was the son of Maath, who was the son of Mattathias, who was the son of Semein, who was the son of Josech, who was the son of Joda,

who was the son of Amminadab {{Some ancient manuscripts insert "who was the son of Admim"}}, who was the son of Arni, who was the son of Hezron, who was the son of Perez, who was the son of Judah,

So, He [went and] preached in the [Jewish] synagogues of Judea [also].

And it happened on one of those days [in Capernaum. See Mark 2:1], as He was teaching, that some Pharisees [i.e., a strict sect of the Jewish religion] and teachers of the law of Moses, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, were sitting around [i.e., listening to Him]. And the power of the Lord was with Him, enabling Him to heal people.

And the report of this [incident] about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the entire surrounding district.

And it happened as Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem that He passed along the border between Samaria and Galilee. [Note: These were the next two provinces north of Judea].

So, He said, "A certain distinguished gentleman went to a distant country to receive a royal appointment [i.e., as king over a territory] and then return. [Note: This is the only parable of Jesus' that correlates with a known incident; that of Herod's son Archelaus going to Rome to receive from Caesar Augustus an appointment to rule over Judea, Samaria and Idumaea in

Then those [of you] in Judea are to run away into the [nearby] mountains. And those who are inside of the city are to leave it [immediately]. And those who are in the countryside should not enter the city.

It will be too bad for pregnant women and those who are nursing [babies] in those days! For there will be great distress in this land [i.e., Judea, and especially Jerusalem], and raging anger [will be shown] against these people [i.e., by the Roman armies].

But the group became more insistent, saying, "He is stirring up the people and teaching [these things] throughout all Judea. He began [doing this] in Galilee and [has continued it] even to this place [i.e., Jerusalem]."

After this Jesus and His disciples went to the country-[side] of Judea and there they remained and immersed people.

John [the Immerser] was also immersing people in Aenon, near Salem [Note: These locations are thought to have been in northeastern Judea, near the Jordan River], because there was a lot of water there; so people were coming to be immersed.

He left Judea and returned to Galilee. (Although it was actually His disciples who did the immersing and not Jesus Himself).

[Now to get to Galilee] it required that Jesus travel through Samaria [Note: Samaria was the next country north of Judea].

For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet does not receive honor in his own country. [Note: Jesus' reference here to his "own country" means Judea, while in Matt., Mark and Luke it refers to Nazareth].

When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to Him and begged Him to come down [to Capernaum] and heal his son who was about to die.

[Now] this was the second [miraculous] sign that Jesus performed after going from Judea to Galilee.

Then after these things happened, Jesus traveled in Galilee [only], for He did not want to move around in Judea because the Jews [there] were trying to kill Him.

Then Jesus' [half-] brothers said to Him, "You should leave here and go to Judea so your disciples [there] can see the [supernatural] deeds you are performing.

Then, after this, He said to His disciples, "Let us go [back] to Judea again."

So, Jesus stopped traveling publicly among the Jews [in Judea], but left there and went to a district near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, where He remained with His disciples. [Note: Ephraim was a small town about

But, you apostles will receive power when the Holy Spirit descends on you and [then] you will become My witnesses [i.e., to tell what you know] in Jerusalem, in [the countries of] Judea and Samaria, and [even] to the distant regions of the earth."

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappodocia, Pontus, Asia,

But Peter [responded by] standing up with the eleven [other] apostles and, lifting up his voice, began to speak. He said, "People of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, listen to what I am saying so you will understand this situation.

And Saul was in full agreement with Stephen being put to death. And a great persecution broke out against the Jerusalem church, and all the disciples, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the districts of Judea and Samaria.

So, the church throughout all of Judea, Galilee and Samaria was multiplied in number, enjoyed peace, was built up [spiritually] and lived in awe of the Lord and was comforted by the Holy Spirit.

You yourselves know [all this, and] how this message was proclaimed throughout Judea, having begun from Galilee after the preaching of the immersion [taught and practiced] by John.

Now the apostles and the [other] brothers in Judea heard that the Gentiles had responded to the message of God.

So, when the apostles and the brothers from Judea heard these things, they stopped arguing [See verse 2] and gave honor to God, saying, "[This means] that God has permitted the Gentiles also [as well as the Jews] to repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives] so they, too, could have [the promise of never ending] life."

[In response to this prediction], the disciples decided to send as much relief as they could to help the brothers living in Judea.

When Herod's search for him turned up nothing, he questioned the guards, then ordered them to be led away and executed. He then left Judea and went to Caesarea, where he stayed for awhile.

Barnabas and Saul returned [to Antioch] from Jerusalem after they had fulfilled their mission [i.e., of taking the contribution for the famine-stricken people of Judea. See 11:27-30]. They took John Mark [back to Antioch with them].

Certain men [i.e., believers, see verse 5] came down from Judea [to Antioch of Syria] and began teaching the brothers this: You cannot be saved unless you are circumcised according to the custom [required] by Moses.

As we waited there for a number of days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

but, [instead] declared to the people of Damascus first, [then] to the people of Jerusalem, and [finally to those] throughout all of the district of Judea, as well as to the Gentiles [everywhere] that they should repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives] and turn to God, doing deeds which demonstrate their repentance.

Then they said to him, "We did not receive any letters from Judea about you, nor did any of the brothers come here to report anything bad about you.

to be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea [i.e., unbelieving Jews]. And [pray] that my service for Jerusalem [i.e., the offering for poor people. See verses 25-26] will be acceptable to God's people there.

[I had planned] to visit you on my way to Macedonia and then again on my way back from there, and to have you help me on my journey to Judea. [See I Cor. 16:6].

[At this time] I was still unknown personally to churches in [the province of] Judea, which are in [fellowship with] Christ.

For you brothers became imitators of the churches of God in Judea, which are in [fellowship with] Christ, for you people also suffered the same things from your own countrymen that they did from the Jews,

For the Lord Himself [i.e., Jesus] will come down from heaven with a commanding shout [Note: This probably refers to Jesus' voice. See John 5:25, 28], [and] with the archangel's voice [i.e., Michael. See Jude 9] and with the sound of God's trumpet; [at this] the dead in [fellowship with] Christ will rise [from the dead] first.

For it is quite evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe about which Moses said nothing concerning priests.

For God found fault with the Israelites [or, possibly with the first Agreement], saying [Jer. 31:31ff], "Look, the Lord says, the time will come when I will make a New Agreement with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

[This is being written by] Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and a brother of James [Note: This "Jude" was probably not the apostle. See verses 17-18], to those who have been called [by God], who are also loved in [fellowship with] God the Father, and who are kept [safe] in [fellowship with] Jesus Christ.

Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, "Do not cry; look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of King David, has gained the victory, so He can break the seven seals on the book and open it."

There were twelve thousand sealed from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from Reuben, twelve thousand from Gad,

Then there was a war in heaven. Michael [See Dan. 10:13; 12:1; Jude 9] and his angels waged war against the dragon [See verse 9]; and the dragon and his angels fought back.