The Birth of Jesus Christ
Matthew 1:18-24 (NIV – Easy English)
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he planned to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
Vocabulary to Learn
- Conceive: To become pregnant or to create an idea.
- Disgrace: A loss of reputation or respect due to dishonorable actions.
- Fulfill: To bring to completion or achieve something as promised or intended.
- Prophet: A person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of God’s will.
- Immanuel: A Hebrew name meaning “God with us.”
Grammar Points
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Passive Voice
- “She was found to be pregnant.”
- Use this structure to emphasize the action or state rather than who performed it.
- Example: The work was completed on time.
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Reported Speech in Dreams
- “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said…”
- Used to retell spoken words in a narrative.
- Example: She told me to wait here.
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Relative Clauses
- “What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
- Combines two ideas into a single sentence with additional information.
- Example: This is the book that I was talking about.