THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.

I.  Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. ²Abraham begot Isaac; and Isaac begot Jacob; and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers; ³and Judah begot Pharez and Zarah, of Tamar; and Pharez begot Hezron; and Hezron begot Ram; ⁴and Ram begot Amminadab; and Amminadab begot Nahshon; and Nahshon begot Salmon; ⁵and Salmon begot Boaz, of Rahab; and Boaz begot Obed, of Ruth; and Obed begot Jesse; ⁶and Jesse begot David the king; and David begot Solomon, of the wife of Uriah; ⁷and Solomon begot Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begot Abijah; and Abijah begot Asa; ⁸and Asa begot Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begot Joram; and Joram begot Uzziah; ⁹and Uzziah begot Jotham; and Jotham begot Ahaz; and Ahaz begot Hezekiah; ¹⁰and Hezekiah begot Manasseh; and Manasseh begot Amon; and Amon begot Josiah; ¹¹and Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the removal to Babylon. ¹²And after the removal to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Salathiel; and Salathiel begot Zerubbabel; ¹³and Zerubbabel begot Abiud; and Abiud begot Eliakim; and Eliakim begot Azor; ¹⁴and Azor begot Zadock; and Zadock begot Achim; and Achim begot Eliud; ¹⁵and Eliud begot Eleazar; and Eleazar begot Matthan; and Matthan begot Jacob; ¹⁶and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

¹⁷All the generations, therefore, from Abraham unto David are fourteen generations; and from David unto the removal to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the removal to Babylon unto the Christ, fourteen generations.

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ was after this manner. His mother Mary having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹And Joseph her husband, being just, and not willing to expose her openly¹⁹, desired to put her away privately. ²⁰But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary thy wife; for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.

²²And all this has come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:

²³Behold, the virgin shall be with child,

And shall bring forth a son,

And they shall call his name Immanuel;

which is interpreted²³, God with us.

²⁴And Joseph, awaking from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord bade him, and took to him his wife; ²⁵and he knew her not till she brought forth a son²⁵; and he called his name Jesus.

II.  And Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judæa, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ²saying: Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and came to do him homage. ³And the king, Herod, hearing it, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And having assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. ⁵And they said to him: In Bethlehem of Judæa; for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁶And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah,

Art by no means least among the princes of Judah;

For out of thee shall come forth a Governor,

Who shall rule my people Israel.

⁷Then Herod, having secretly called the wise men, inquired of them exactly the time of the appearing of the star. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said: Go and inquire strictly concerning the child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I also may come and do him homage. ⁹And they, having heard the king, departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the child was. ¹⁰And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. ¹¹And coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and did homage to him; and opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹²And being warned by God in a dream, not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country by another way.

¹³And when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I bring thee word; for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him. ¹⁴And he arose and took the child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, ¹⁵and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt I called my son.

¹⁶Then Herod, seeing that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly enraged; and he sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned from the wise men. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸A voice was heard in Ramah,

Weeping, and great mourning¹⁸;

Rachel weeping for her children,

And would not be comforted, because they are not.

¹⁹But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they are dead who sought the child's life. ²¹And he arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²²But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judæa instead of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned by God in a dream, he retired into the region of Galilee. ²³And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: He shall be called a Nazarene.

III.  In those days comes John the Immerser, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, ²and saying: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ³For this is he that was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, saying:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Prepare the way of the Lord,

Make straight his paths.