16. Jacob was the father of Joseph, who was the husband of Mary.Mary was the mother of Jesus, who is called Christ.
17. So there were14 generations from Abraham to David,14 generations from David until the exile to Babylon,14 generations from the exile until the Messiah.
18. The 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.
19. Her 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.
20. Joseph 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.
21. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins.”
22. All 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.”
24. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. He took Mary to be his wife.