For a (A)Child will be born to us, a (B)Son will be given to us;
And the (C)government will [a]rest (D)on His shoulders;
And His name will be called (E)Wonderful Counselor, (F)Mighty God,
Eternal (G)Father, Prince of (H)Peace.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:6 Lit be

For to us a child is born,(A)
    to us a son is given,(B)
    and the government(C) will be on his shoulders.(D)
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor,(E) Mighty God,(F)
    Everlasting(G) Father,(H) Prince of Peace.(I)

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There will be (A)no end to the increase of His government or of peace
On the (B)throne of David and over [a]his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with (C)justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
(D)The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:7 I.e., David’s

Of the greatness of his government(A) and peace(B)
    there will be no end.(C)
He will reign(D) on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice(E) and righteousness(F)
    from that time on and forever.(G)
The zeal(H) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

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[a]But as for (A)you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From (B)you One will come forth for Me to be (C)ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are (D)from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 5:2 Ch 5:1 in Heb

“But you, Bethlehem(A) Ephrathah,(B)
    though you are small among the clans[a] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler(C) over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,(D)
    from ancient times.”(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Micah 5:2 Or rulers

Conception and Birth of Jesus

18 Now the birth of Jesus the [a]Messiah was as follows: when His (A)mother Mary had been [b]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was (B)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 [c](C)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, “(D)Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for [d]the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a Son; and (E)you shall name Him Jesus, for [e]He (F)will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this [f]took place so that what was (G)spoken by the Lord through [g]the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 (H)Behold, the virgin will [h](I)conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him [i]Immanuel,” which translated means, “(J)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 [j]but kept her a virgin until she (K)gave birth to a Son; and (L)he named Him Jesus.

The Visit of the Magi

Now after Jesus was (M)born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of (N)Herod the king, behold, [k]magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born (O)King of the Jews? For we saw (P)His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the [l]Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “(Q)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written [m]by [n]the prophet:

(R)And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will (S)shepherd My people Israel.’”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 See note v 16
  2. Matthew 1:18 Unlike engagement, a betrothed couple was considered married, but did not yet live together
  3. Matthew 1:19 Or divorce her
  4. Matthew 1:20 Lit that which
  5. Matthew 1:21 Lit He Himself
  6. Matthew 1:22 Lit has happened
  7. Matthew 1:22 I.e., Isaiah
  8. Matthew 1:23 Or be pregnant
  9. Matthew 1:23 Gr Emmanuel
  10. Matthew 1:25 Lit and did not know her intimately
  11. Matthew 2:1 A caste of educated men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science
  12. Matthew 2:4 From Gr Christos, which means Messiah (Heb for Anointed One)
  13. Matthew 2:5 Or through
  14. Matthew 2:5 I.e., Micah

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.(A) 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce(B) her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel(C) of the Lord appeared to him in a dream(D) and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c](E) because he will save his people from their sins.”(F)

22 All this took place to fulfill(G) what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d](H) (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel(I) of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.(J)

The Magi Visit the Messiah

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,(K) during the time of King Herod,(L) Magi[e] from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?(M) We saw his star(N) when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem(O) in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’[f](P)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 Or The origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this
  2. Matthew 1:19 Or was a righteous man and
  3. Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves.
  4. Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14
  5. Matthew 2:1 Traditionally wise men
  6. Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2,4

51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone (A)follows My word, he will never (B)see death.” 52 (C)The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You (D)have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone (E)follows My word, he will never (F)taste of death.’ 53 You (G)are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, (H)If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; (I)it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and (J)you have not come to know Him, (K)but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be (L)a liar like you; (M)but I do know Him, and I (N)follow His word. 56 (O)Your father Abraham was (P)overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” 57 (Q)So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham [a]was born, [b](R)I am.” 59 Therefore they (S)picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus (T)hid Himself and left the temple grounds.

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Footnotes

  1. John 8:58 Lit came into being
  2. John 8:58 Or I AM; Jesus may be referring to Ex 3:14, I AM WHO I AM

51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”(A)

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed!(B) Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham?(C) He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself,(D) my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.(E) 55 Though you do not know him,(F) I know him.(G) If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.(H) 56 Your father Abraham(I) rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it(J) and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born,(K) I am!”(L) 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him,(M) but Jesus hid himself,(N) slipping away from the temple grounds.

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