Matthew 1-5

New American Standard Bible

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1 The ^[a]record of the genealogy of ^[b]Jesus the ^[c]Messiah, ^(A)the son of David, ^(B)the son of Abraham:

² Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered ^[d]Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, ^(C)Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered ^[e]Ram. ⁴ Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. ⁵ Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse. ⁶ Jesse fathered David the king.

David ^(D)fathered Solomon by ^[f]her who had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon ^(E)fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered ^[g]Asa. ⁸ Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered ^[h]Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah fathered ^[i]Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered ^[j]Amon, and Amon ^(F)fathered Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah fathered ^[k]Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the ^(G)deportation to Babylon.

¹² After the ^(H)deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered ^[l]Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel fathered ^[m]Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor. ¹⁴ Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob. ¹⁶ Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, ^(I)who is called the ^[n]Messiah.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the ^(J)deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the ^(K)deportation to Babylon to the ^[o]Messiah, fourteen generations.

Conception and Birth of Jesus

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus the ^[p]Messiah was as follows: when His ^(L)mother Mary had been ^[q]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was ^(M)found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to ^[r](N)send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “^(O)Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for ^[s]the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a Son; and ^(P)you shall name Him Jesus, for ^[t]He ^(Q)will save His people from their sins.” ²² Now all this ^[u]took place so that what was ^(R)spoken by the Lord through ^[v]the prophet would be fulfilled: ²³ “^(S)Behold, the virgin will ^[w](T)conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him ^[x]Immanuel,” which translated means, “^(U)God with us.” ²⁴ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ^25 [y]but kept her a virgin until she ^(V)gave birth to a Son; and ^(W)he named Him Jesus.

The Visit of the Magi

2 Now after Jesus was ^(X)born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of ^(Y)Herod the king, behold, ^[z]magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ² “Where is He who has been born ^(Z)King of the Jews? For we saw ^(AA)His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the ^[aa]Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They said to him, “^(AB)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written ^[ab]by ^[ac]the prophet:

⁷ Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact ^[ad]time ^(AE)the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” ⁹ After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with ^(AF)His mother Mary; and they fell down and ^[ae](AG)worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And after being ^(AH)warned by God ^(AI)in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

The Escape to Egypt

¹³ Now when they had gone, behold, an ^(AJ)angel of the Lord *^(AK)appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

¹⁴ So ^[af]Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. ¹⁵ He ^[ag]stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through ^[ah]the prophet would be fulfilled: “^(AL)Out of Egypt I called ^(AM)My Son.”

Herod Slaughters Babies

¹⁶ Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by ^(AN)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and ^(AO)killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity ^[ai]who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. ¹⁷ Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

¹⁹ But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *^(AQ)appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, ²⁰ “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” ²¹ So ^[aj]Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being ^(AR)warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, ²³ and came and settled in a city called ^(AS)Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a ^(AT)Nazarene.”

The Preaching of John the Baptist

3 Now ^(AU)in those days ^(AV)John the Baptist *^[ak]came, ^[al]preaching in the ^(AW)wilderness of Judea, saying, ² “^(AX)Repent, for ^(AY)the kingdom of heaven ^[am]is at hand.” ³ For this is the ^(AZ)one referred to ^[an]by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

⁴ Now John himself had ^[aq](BC)a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^(BD)locusts and wild honey. ⁵ At that time Jerusalem ^(BE)was going out to him, and all Judea and all ^(BF)the region around the Jordan; ⁶ and they were being ^(BG)baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the ^(BH)Pharisees and ^(BI)Sadducees coming for ^[ar]baptism, he said to them, “You ^[as](BJ)offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^(BK)the wrath to come? ^8 (BL)Therefore produce fruit ^(BM)consistent with repentance; ⁹ and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘^(BN)We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ And the ^(BO)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^(BP)every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “As for me, ^(BQ)I baptize you ^[at]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^(BR)He will baptize you ^[au]with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His ^(BS)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^(BT)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^(BU)chaff with ^(BV)unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^13 (BW)Then Jesus *arrived ^(BX)from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ^(BY)to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *allowed Him. ¹⁶ After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and ^[av](BZ)he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and ^[aw]settling on Him, ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “^(CA)This is ^[ax]My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(CB)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^(CC)to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had ^(CD)fasted for forty days and forty nights, He ^[ay]then became hungry. ³ And ^(CE)the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the ^(CF)Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘^(CG)Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil *took Him along into ^(CH)the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and he *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written:

and

⁷ Jesus said to him, “^[az]On the other hand, it is written: ‘^(CJ)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

^8 (CK)Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹ and he said to Him, “^(CL)All these things I will give You, if You fall down and ^[ba]worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘^(CM)You shall worship the Lord your God, and ^[bb]serve Him only.’” ¹¹ Then the devil *left Him; and behold, ^(CN)angels came and began to serve Him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹² Now when Jesus heard that ^(CO)John had been taken into custody, ^(CP)He withdrew into Galilee; ¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and ^(CQ)settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

^17 (CT)From that time Jesus began to ^[be]preach and say, “^(CU)Repent, for the kingdom of heaven ^[bf]is at hand.”

The First Disciples

^18 (CV)Now as Jesus was walking by ^(CW)the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, ^(CX)Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He *said to them, “^[bg]Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, ^[bh](CY)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother ^[bi]John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Ministry in Galilee

²³ Jesus was going ^(CZ)about in all of Galilee, ^(DA)teaching in their synagogues and ^(DB)proclaiming the ^[bj]gospel of the kingdom, and ^(DC)healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

²⁴ And the news about Him spread ^(DD)throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, ^(DE)demon-possessed, people with ^(DF)epilepsy, and people who were ^(DG)paralyzed; and He healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds ^(DH)followed Him from Galilee and ^(DI)the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from ^(DJ)beyond the Jordan.

The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

5 ^(DK)Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on ^(DL)the ^[bk]mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ² And ^(DM)He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³ “^[bl](DN)Blessed are the poor in spirit, for ^(DO)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are ^(DP)those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are ^(DQ)the ^[bm]gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are ^(DR)those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are ^(DS)the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are ^(DT)the pure in heart, for ^(DU)they will see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for ^(DV)they will be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who have been ^(DW)persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for ^(DX)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people ^(DY)insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for ^(DZ)in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Disciples and the World

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but ^(EA)if the salt has become tasteless, how ^[bn]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

¹⁴ “You are ^(EB)the light of the world. A city set on a ^[bo]hill cannot be hidden; ^15 (EC)nor do people light a lamp and put it under a ^[bp]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may ^(ED)see your good works, and ^(EE)glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷ “Do not presume that I came to abolish the ^(EF)Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, ^(EG)until heaven and earth pass away, not ^[bq]the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches ^[br]others to do the same, shall be called least ^(EH)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever ^[bs]keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ “For I say to you that unless your ^(EI)righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Personal Relationships

²¹ “^(EJ)You have heard that ^[bt]the ancients were told, ‘^(EK)You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to ^(EL)the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to ^(EM)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘^[bu]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to ^[bv](EN)the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the ^[bw](EO)fiery hell. ²³ Therefore, if you are ^(EP)presenting your ^[bx]offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your ^[by]offering there before the altar and go; first be ^(EQ)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ^[bz]offering. ^25 (ER)[ca]Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, ^(ES)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last ^[cb]quadrans.

²⁷ “^(ET)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(EU)You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman ^(EV)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ Now ^(EW)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[cc]than for your whole body to be thrown into ^[cd](EX)hell. ³⁰ And ^(EY)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you ^[ce]to lose one of the parts of your body, ^[cf]than for your whole body to go into ^[cg](EZ)hell.

³¹ “Now it was said, ‘^(FA)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; ^32 (FB)but I say to you that everyone who ^[ch]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a ^[ci]divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, ^(FC)you have heard that ^[cj]the ancients were told, ‘^[ck](FD)You shall not ^[cl]make false vows, but shall fulfill your ^[cm]vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(FE)take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is ^(FF)the throne of God, ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is the ^(FG)footstool of His feet, nor ^[cn]by Jerusalem, for it is ^(FH)the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷ But make sure your statement is, ‘^[co]Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ^[cp]of ^(FI)evil origin.

³⁸ “^(FJ)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(FK)Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but ^(FL)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your ^[cq]tunic, let him have your ^[cr]cloak also. ⁴¹ Whoever ^[cs]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ^42 (FM)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “^(FN)You have heard that it was said, ‘^(FO)You shall love your neighbor ^(FP)and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, ^(FQ)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may prove yourselves to be ^(FR)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For ^(FS)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore ^(FT)you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.