The written record of the lineage of Jesus, the Messiah, son of David, son of Abraham:

Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac fathered Jacob. Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers. Judah fathered Perez and Zerah through Tamar. Perez fathered Hezron. Hezron fathered Ram. Ram fathered Amminadab. Amminadab fathered Nashon. Nashon fathered Salma. Salma fathered Boaz through Rahab. Boaz fathered Obed through Ruth. Obed fathered Jesse. And Jesse fathered King David.

David fathered Solomon through Uriah’s wife. Solomon fathered Rehoboam. Rehoboam fathered Abijah. Abijah fathered Asa. Asa fathered Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat fathered Jehoram. Jehoram fathered Uzziah Uzziah fathered Jotham. Jotham fathered Ahaz. Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. Hezekiah fathered Manasseh. Manasseh fathered Amon. Amon fathered Josiah. And Josiah fathered Jehoiachin and his relatives before the deportation to Babylon.

After the deportation to Babylon, Jehoiachin fathered Shealtiel. Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel fathered Abiud. Abiud fathered Eliakim. Eliakim fathered Azor. Azor fathered Zadok. Zadok fathered Achim. Achim fathered Eliud. Eliud fathered Eleazar. Eleazar fathered Matthan. Matthan fathered Jacob. And Jacob fathered Joseph, the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, called the Messiah.

So from Abraham to David, there were fourteen generations. From David to the deportation to Babylon, there were fourteen generations. And from the deportation to the Messiah, there were fourteen generations.

This is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, took place: His mother, Mary, was betrothed to Joseph. But before they lived together, it was discovered she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Now Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man, yet he had no desire to publicly disgrace her. So he planned to divorce her privately.

As he thought about this, one of the Lord’s angels appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take home Mary, your wife. The child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son. You are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” All this has happened to fulfill what the Lord said through the prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. They’ll name him Immanuel.” That means “God is with us.”

Then Joseph woke up and did what the Lord’s angel commanded him. He took home Mary, his wife. But he didn’t make love to her until she had given birth to a son. Then he named him Jesus.