1This is the list of ancestors of Jesus Christ, descendant of David and Abraham.

2[Abraham] was the father of Isaac, [Isaac] the father of Jacob, [Jacob] the father of Judah and his brothers. 3[Judah] and [Tamar]were the father and mother of Perez and Zerah. [Perez] was the father of Hezron, [Hezron] the father of Ram, 4[Ram] the father of Amminadab, [Amminadab] the father of Nahshon, [Nahshon] the father of Salmon. 5[Salmon] and [Rahab]were the father and mother of Boaz. [Boaz] and[ Ruth]were the father and mother of Obed. [Obed] was the father of Jesse, 6[Jesse] the father of King David. [David] and [Uriah's wife][Bathsheba] were the father and mother of Solomon. 7[Solomon] was the father of Rehoboam, [Rehoboam] the father of Abijah, [Abijah] the father of Asa, 8[Asa] the father of Jehoshaphat, [Jehoshaphat] the father of Joram, [Joram] the father of Uzziah, 9[Uzziah] the father of Jotham, [Jotham] the father of Ahaz, [Ahaz] the father of Hezekiah, 10[Hezekiah] the father of Manasseh, [Manasseh] the father of Amon, [Amon] the father of Josiah. 11[Josiah] was the father of [Jechoniah] and his brothers. They lived at the time when the people were exiled to Babylon.

12After the exile to Babylon, [Jechoniah] became the father of Shealtiel. [Shealtiel] was the father of Zerubbabel, 13[Zerubbabel] the father of Abiud, [Abiud] the father of Eliakim, [Eliakim] the father of Azor, 14[Azor] the father of Zadok, [Zadok] the father of Achim, [Achim] the father of Eliud, 15[Eliud] the father of Eleazar, [Eleazar] the father of Matthan, [Matthan] the father of Jacob. 16[Jacob] was the father of [Joseph], who was the husband of Mary. Mary was the mother of [Jesus], who is called Christ.

17So there were 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David until the exile to Babylon, 14 generations from the exile until the Messiah.

18The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. His mother Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage. But before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly. 20Joseph had this in mind when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, "Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins." 22All this happened so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true: 23"The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel," which means "God is with us." 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. He took Mary to be his wife. 25He did not have marital relations with her before she gave birth to a son. Joseph named the child Jesus.