King James Version

Matthew 1:18

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Study

Greek

Tap a word to see its meaning.

The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) does not include “origin” (γένεσις) before thus here. The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) adds “birth” (γέννησις) before thus here. The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) adds “for” (γὰρ) before the here.

Τοῦtoutheὁ (ho)article, genitive, singular, masculine — “the”, the of-formG3588the, the definite article.δὲdeNowδέconjunction — “Now”G1161a weak adversative particle, generally placed second in its clause; but, on the other hand, and.NowἸησοῦiēsouof JesusἸησοῦς (iēsous)noun, genitive, singular, masculine — “of Jesus”, the of-formG2424Jesus; the Greek form of Joshua; Jesus, son of Eliezer; Jesus, surnamed Justus.of JesusχριστοῦchristouChristΧριστός (christos)noun, genitive, singular, masculine — “Christ”, the of-formG5547anointed; the Messiah, the Christ.Christἡhētheὁ (ho)article, nominative, singular, feminine — “the”, the subject formG3588the, the definite article.γένεσιςgenesisoriginγένεσιςnoun, nominative, singular, feminine — “origin”, the subject formG1078birth, lineage, descent.οὕτωςhoutōson this wiseοὕτω(ς)adverb — “on this wise”G3779thus, so, in this manner.on this wiseἦνēnto beεἰμί (eimi)verb, imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular — “to be”, an ongoing action in the pastG1510I am, exist.μνηστευθείσηςmnēsteutheisēswas espousedμνηστεύομαι (mnēsteuomai)verb, aorist passive participle, genitive, singular, feminine — “was espoused”, a single actionG3423I ask in marriage; pass: I am betrothed.was espousedτῆςtēstheὁ (ho)article, genitive, singular, feminine — “the”, the of-formG3588the, the definite article.μητρὸςmētrosmotherμήτηρ (mētēr)noun, genitive, singular, feminine — “mother”, the of-formG3384a mother.αὐτοῦautoutheyαὐτός (autos)personal pronoun, genitive, singular, masculine — “they”, the of-formG846he, she, it, they, them, same.This verse uses “they”.theyΜαρίαςmariasMaryΜαρία (maria)noun, genitive, singular, feminine — “Mary”, the of-formG3137Mary, Miriam, (a) the mother of Jesus, (b) of Magdala, (c) sister of Martha and Lazarus, (d) wife of Cleopas, (e) mother of John Mark, (f) a Christian woman in Rome.This verse uses “Mary”.τῷtōtheὁ (ho)article, dative, singular, masculine — “the”, the to- or for-formG3588the, the definite article.ἸωσήφiōsēphJosephἸωσήφnoun, dative, singular, masculine — “Joseph”, the to- or for-formG2501Joseph, a proper name.πρὶνprinbeforeπρίνadverb — “before”G4250formerly, before.This verse uses “before”.ἢēorἤconjunction — “or”G2228or, than.συνελθεῖνsuneltheinto came togetherσυνέρχομαι (sunerchomai)Greek uses a different stem for this verb’s past forms.verb, aorist active infinitive — “to came together”, a single actionG4905I come or go with, accompany; I come together, assemble.came togetherαὐτοὺςautousheαὐτός (autos)personal pronoun, accusative, plural, masculine — “he”, the object formG846he, she, it, they, them, same.εὑρέθηheurethēshe was foundεὑρίσκω (heuriskō)verb, aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular — “she was found”, a single actionG2147I find, learn, discover, especially after searching.she was foundἐνenwith childἐνpreposition — “with child”G1722in, on, among.with childγαστρὶgastribellyγαστήρ (gastēr)noun, dative, singular, feminine — “belly”, the to- or for-formG1064the womb, stomach; of a woman: to be with child (lit: to have [a child] in the belly).ἔχουσαechousato haveἔχω (echō)verb, present active participle, nominative, singular, feminine — “to have”, an ongoing or repeated actionG2192I have, hold, possess.This verse uses “have”.ἐκekofἐκpreposition — “of”G1537from out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards.ofπνεύματοςpneumatosGhostπνεῦμα (pneuma)noun, genitive, singular, neuter — “Ghost”, the of-formG4151wind, breath, spirit.Ghostἁγίουhagiouholyἅγιος (hagios)adjective, genitive, singular, neuter — “holy”, the of-formG40set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred.This verse uses “holy”.

Textus Receptus Words Not in the SBL Text

γέννησιςgennēsisbirthγέννησιςnoun, nominative, singular, feminine — “birth”, the subject formG1083γὰρgarWhen asγάρconjunction — “When as”G1063for.

Literal (Young’s Literal Translation)

And of Jesus Christ, the birth was thus: For his mother Mary having been betrothed to Joseph, before their coming together she was found to have conceived from the Holy Spirit,

Translation Note

The SBL noun is ἡ γένεσις, “origin,” Strong’s G1078. The Textus Receptus reads γέννησις, “birth,” in that place, and it adds γάρ. The King James reads “birth.”

The New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) reads “birth” and “pregnant by holy spirit.” The verse is the conception. It does not say the Son came into existence for the first time in that conception.

King James Version. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible), this verse. “But this is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. During the time his mother Mary was promised in marriage to Joseph, she was found to be pregnant by holy spirit before they were united.” Watchtower Online Library

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

Young’s Literal Translation

And of Jesus Christ, the birth was thus: For his mother Mary having been betrothed to Joseph, before their coming together she was found to have conceived from the Holy Spirit,

World English Bible

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

Darby Translation

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: His mother, Mary, that is, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of [the] Holy Spirit.

Douay-Rheims

Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost.

American Standard Version (1901)

Young’s Literal Translation

World English Bible

Darby Translation

Douay-Rheims

Analytics Cookies