Eliud; 15 and Eliud begot Eleazar; and Eleazar begot Matthan; and Matthan begot Jacob; 16 and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 All 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.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was after this manner. His mother Mary having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to expose her to shame, purposed to put her away privately. 20 But when 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. 21 And she will bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he it is that shall save his people from their sins.

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

23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child,
And shall bring forth a son,

And they shall call his name Immanuel;

which is, being interpreted, God with us.

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

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

* And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah,

Art by no means least among the governors of
Judah;

For out of thee shall come forth a Governor,
Who shall shepherd my people Israel.

Then Herod, having privately called the "wise men, learned from them exactly the time of the star that appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and inquire exactly concerning the child; and when ye have found him, bring me word, that I also may come and do him homage. And they, having heard the king, went on their way; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the child was. 10 And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. "And 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 offered to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being divinely instructed in a dream, not to return to Herod, they withdrew into their own country by another way.

13 And when they had withdrawn, behold, an angel • Or, Magi.

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 tell thee; for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him. 14 And he arose and took the child and his mother by night and withdrew into Egypt, 15 and 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.

۱

a

16 Then Herod, seeing that he was mocked by the * wise men, was full of wrath; and he sent, 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. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

18 A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;

And she would not be comforted, because they
are not.

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, 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. 21 And he arose and took the child and his mother and came into the land of Israel. 22 But hearing that Archelaus was reigning over Judæa instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither; and being divinely instructed in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee, 23 and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: He will be called a Nazarene.

• Or, Magi.

!

III. In those days comes John the Baptist, preach-
ing in the wilderness of Judæa, saying, Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is
he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet,
saying,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord,

Make straight his paths.

'And he, John, had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all the region round about the Jordan; and they were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce therefore fruit worthy of repentance; and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 And already the axe lies at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire. "I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance; but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to bear; he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire; 12 whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshingfloor, and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with fire unquenchable. 13 Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him. But John sought to

• Many ancient documents read in the river Jordan.
b Or, the wrath that is about to be.

eu

prevent him, saying, I have need to be baptized by thee, and dost thou come to me? 15 And Jesus answering said to him, Suffer it now; for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffers him. 16 And having been baptized, Jesus came up straightway from the water; and lo, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending, as a dove, and coming upon him. 17 And lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

IV. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the

wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil. 2 And having fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards hungry. And coming to him, the tempter said, If thou art God's Son, command that these stones become loaves of bread. But he answering said, It is written, Not on bread alone shall man live, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Then the Devil takes him into the holy city, and sets him on the pinnacle of the temple, and says to him, If thou art God's Son, cast thyself down; for it is written,

He will command his angels concerning thee; And on their hands they will bear thee up, Lest perhaps thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

7

9

* Again the Devil takes him into an exceedingly high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and says to him, All these things I will give thee, if thou fall down and worship me. 10 Then Jesus says to him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt