Matthew 1
The full text of Matthew 1 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
6 and Jesse the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife.
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.
11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen, from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen, and from the exile to the Messiah fourteen.
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: 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.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered 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 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, because he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill 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" (which means "God with us").
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25 But he did not consummate the marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Translation notes (14)
- Matthew 1:1a The Greek word genesis (γένεσις) can refer to origin, genealogy, or birth. The use here comprehends all three, introducing the genealogy, birth, and origin of Jesus Christ.
- Matthew 1:7a The earliest manuscripts read 'Asaph,' referring to the psalmist, rather than 'Asa,' referring to the king. While most translations change this to King Asa of 1 Kings to harmonize the text, the Trinity Bible Version follows the reading found in the critical Greek text but renders the name as the historically intended king.
- Matthew 1:10a The earliest manuscripts read 'Amos' rather than 'Amon'; most translations change this to King Amon of 2 Kings 21. The Trinity Bible Version renders the historically intended king.
- Matthew 1:11a Jeconiah is a variant of Jehoiachin, a king of Judah, as found in Esther 2:6 and Jeremiah 24:1. The name means 'Yahweh establishes'.
- Matthew 1:16a The Greek word Christos translates the Hebrew word Mashiach, which means 'anointed one.' The Trinity Bible Version renders 'Messiah' here where the title's Jewish-royal meaning is in view; 'Christ' is used where it functions as a name.
- Matthew 1:17a Matthew's presentation of three sets of fourteen generations emphasizes the historical movement toward the Messiah. The Greek word genea (γενεα), 'generation', can refer to a period of time or to people born in that time.
- Matthew 1:18a The Greek mnesteutheises, 'pledged to be married', refers to betrothal, a legally binding status in first-century Judaism before cohabitation. The Greek verb synelthein, 'came together', is a literal rendering of a common idiom for marital cohabitation.
- Matthew 1:19a In binding Jewish betrothal, ending the relationship required a formal divorce (the Greek word apolysai, meaning 'to divorce'), even before the couple lived together.
- Matthew 1:21a The name 'Jesus' (Greek Iesous, Hebrew Yeshua) means 'the LORD saves,' which is the reason given here.
- Matthew 1:22a The Greek hina plērōthē, 'to fulfill', indicates the purpose or result of these events. The distinct prepositions hypo, 'by', and dia, 'through', differentiate the ultimate agency of the Lord from the mediate agency of the prophet.
- Matthew 1:23a Matthew quotes the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, of Isaiah 7:14, which renders the Hebrew word almah ('young woman of marriageable age') with the Greek word parthenos ('virgin'). In Matthew's Greek, the word unambiguously means 'virgin'; the underlying Hebrew of Isaiah 7:14 is itself disputed and is discussed at that verse. This footnote highlights the difference between the Hebrew and Greek texts, not a variant in Matthew's text.
- Matthew 1:23b 'they will call' follows the Greek word kalesousin (meaning 'they will call,' a third-person plural verb). The Hebrew of Isaiah 7:14 reads 'she will call' or 'you will call' in various ancient texts.
- Matthew 1:25a Literally, 'he did not know her' (the Greek phrase ouk eginosken auten), which is a Hebrew way of saying 'had sexual relations.' This statement only describes what happened until the birth and makes no claim about afterward.
- Matthew 1:25b Some later manuscripts read 'her firstborn son' (making the text agree with Luke 2:7), but the earliest manuscripts read simply 'a son.' The Trinity Bible Version follows the earliest text.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Greek and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Matthew, is free to read here on the web.
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