Prophecies about the birth of Jesus: every Old Testament text and where the Gospels cite it

The New Testament links the birth and childhood of Jesus to five Old Testament quotations, all in Matthew 1–2: Isaiah 7:14 (a virgin's son called Immanuel), Micah 5:2 (a ruler from Bethlehem), Hosea 11:1 (out of Egypt), Jeremiah 31:15 (Rachel weeping), and a saying of "the prophets" about a Nazarene. Luke and Mark add Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 for John the Baptist.

Other famous Christmas prophecies, like Isaiah 9:6 ("unto us a child is born"), are echoed elsewhere in the New Testament but not quoted in the birth stories. A few, like Isaiah 60 with its gold and camels, are traditional links the Gospels never make.

Below, all twelve sit in one table, sorted by how the New Testament uses them, then each is read in its Old Testament setting, with Christian and Jewish readings where they differ.

The table: Old Testament prophecies of Jesus' birth

The last column shows how strong each link is in the text itself:

• Quoted: a Gospel quotes the verse and applies it.
• Echoed / applied: the New Testament uses its language or applies it to Jesus, but doesn't quote it in the birth story.
• Traditional: Christians have long connected it to the nativity, but no New Testament writer does.

Matthew writes in Greek and sometimes follows the Greek Old Testament or paraphrases, so his wording won't always match the KJV prophet. Hebrew Bibles also number a few verses differently: Micah 5:2 is 5:1 there, and Isaiah 9:6 is 9:5.

The best way to test these links is to read each pair side by side, the Old Testament verse first, then the Gospel. The app's Bible reader lets you keep both, highlight the shared words and add a note to each verse, even offline.

What "that it might be fulfilled" means in Matthew

In the KJV, Matthew introduces Old Testament quotations with "that it might be fulfilled" or "then was fulfilled" eleven times: 1:22, 2:15, 2:17, 2:23, 4:14, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 21:4, 27:9 and 27:35. The last isn't in the oldest Greek manuscripts, so most modern translations have ten. Four sit in the birth and childhood chapters.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

The Greek verb behind "fulfilled" means "to fill up". Sometimes Matthew means a prediction coming true (a ruler born in Bethlehem), sometimes a pattern from Israel's history filled out in Jesus (God calling his son out of Egypt). Reading both the same way is where most confusion starts.

Three details are worth noticing:

• He changes the formula for tragedy. For Herod's massacre (2:17) and Judas's silver (27:9), Matthew writes "then was fulfilled", not "that it might be fulfilled". Many readers see this as deliberate: God isn't presented as the purpose behind the evil.
• He can summarize "the prophets" (2:23), meaning a theme across books rather than one sentence.
• Jesus sets the frame. "I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil" (Matthew 5:17), and after the resurrection he explained "in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).

Jewish readers generally don't accept that these passages point to Jesus and read each one in its own historical setting. Christians answer in different ways, from direct prediction to typology (a person or event in Israel's story foreshadowing a greater one).

Isaiah 7:14: the virgin and Immanuel

Around 735 BC, Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel march on Jerusalem, and King Ahaz's heart shakes "as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind" (Isaiah 7:1-2). Isaiah tells him to ask God for a sign. Ahaz refuses, and Isaiah answers anyway.

And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

The sign is addressed to "the house of David", and verse 16 gives it a timeline in Ahaz's own day: before the child can choose good from evil, both threatening kings will be gone. Assyria took Damascus within a few years, and Samaria fell in 722 BC.

The word debate. Isaiah's word is almah, a young woman of marriageable age. Hebrew has a more specific word for a virgin, bethulah, used of Rebekah in Genesis 24:16. But almah is used of Rebekah too, in Genesis 24:43, where the KJV translates it "virgin", and in Exodus 2:8 and Proverbs 30:19, where the KJV has "maid". The Jewish translators of the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), working before Jesus' time, rendered Isaiah 7:14 with parthenos, the usual word for "virgin", and Matthew follows them.

English Bibles still split. On Bible Gateway's Isaiah 7:14 comparison, the KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, NLT and CSB have "virgin", while the RSV, NRSV, NET and CEB have "young woman" (as of October 2026).

The main readings:

• Jewish interpretation reads it as a sign fulfilled in Ahaz's time, often identifying the child as Hezekiah or a son of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:3-4 tells of a son born to the prophet with a similar timeline).
• Many Christians read it as a direct prophecy of the virgin birth, pointing to the name Immanuel ("God with us") and the larger promise of a Davidic child in Isaiah 9 and 11.
• Many other Christians see a double fulfillment: a sign that came true in Ahaz's day and was filled up completely in Jesus, the one child who is literally "God with us".

Whatever you conclude about Isaiah's word, Matthew's own claim is clear. Mary "was found with child of the Holy Ghost" "before they came together" (Matthew 1:18), and Luke independently records Mary asking, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" (Luke 1:34). For Isaiah's whole message, read the book of Isaiah summary or the Isaiah character page.

Micah 5:2: the ruler from Bethlehem

Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, promises a ruler from a small town.

But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Bethlehem was David's hometown (1 Samuel 16:1), so this is a promise of a new David. "Ephratah" distinguishes it from a Bethlehem in Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). The words "from of old, from everlasting" can mean the ancient roots of David's line or, as many Christians read them, the ruler's eternal origin.

This is the only birth prophecy quoted by people inside the story. When Herod asks where the Christ should be born, his chief priests and scribes answer "In Bethlehem of Judea" and quote Micah (Matthew 2:4-6). The expectation was common: "Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem?" (John 7:42).

Matthew's quotation isn't word for word. Micah calls Bethlehem "little among the thousands of Judah"; Matthew says it is "not the least", because of the ruler born there. He also blends in 2 Samuel 5:2, "Thou shalt feed my people Israel": the Greek verb behind "rule" in Matthew 2:6 means to shepherd.

Here Jewish and Christian readers largely agree the verse speaks of the Messiah. They differ on who he is, and Jewish readers note that the next verses describe deliverance from Assyria (Micah 5:5-6), which they see as unfulfilled. See the book of Micah summary or try the Micah quiz.

Hosea 11:1 and Jeremiah 31:15: Egypt and Rachel's tears

These two confuse readers most, because in context neither predicts a future child.

Hosea 11:1. "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." Hosea is looking back at the exodus, when God called the nation his son (Exodus 4:22). Matthew quotes it when the family flees to Egypt and stays "until the death of Herod" (Matthew 2:15). He isn't claiming Hosea had a messiah in mind. He reads Jesus as the true Israel, the Son who relives the nation's story (into Egypt, out of Egypt, then forty days in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-2) and stays faithful where Israel didn't (Hosea 11:2). That's typology, and it's a key to Matthew's whole Gospel. The book of Hosea summary gives the original setting.

Jeremiah 31:15. Rachel, mother of Joseph and Benjamin, weeps in Ramah for her children "because they were not". Ramah was where Judah's exiles were gathered for Babylon (Jeremiah 40:1), and Rachel was buried "in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem" (Genesis 35:19). Matthew hears that grief again after Herod's massacre in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18).

The next verse turns to hope: "Refrain thy voice from weeping... they shall come again from the land of the enemy" (Jeremiah 31:16), and the same chapter promises a "new covenant" (Jeremiah 31:31). Matthew's first readers would hear the comfort after the tears. Meet Rachel and the Herods in their own stories.

"He shall be called a Nazarene" (Matthew 2:23). No Old Testament verse says those words, and Matthew's plural "prophets" suggests he knows it. Three explanations are common: a wordplay on netzer, the Hebrew "Branch" of Isaiah 11:1; the theme of a despised Messiah (Isaiah 53:3), since Nazareth was obscure ("Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" John 1:46); or an echo of the Nazarite of Judges 13:5.

The King prophecies: Isaiah 9:6-7, Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1

These are Christmas service favorites, but the birth stories don't quote them. Instead, the Gospels fill the angel's words with their language.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Compare Gabriel's words to Mary: "the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:32-33). The verses just before, Isaiah 9:1-2 ("The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light"), are quoted in Matthew 4:15-16 for Jesus' ministry in Galilee. Jewish interpretation often applies Isaiah 9:6-7 to King Hezekiah, and some Jewish translations render the long name as a sentence about God ("The Mighty God is planning grace") rather than titles of the child. Our guide to the names of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6 takes each title in turn.

Genesis 49:10. Blessing his sons "in the last days" (Genesis 49:1), Jacob says "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah... until Shiloh come". "Shiloh" is debated, but ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrases (the Targums) already read it as the Messiah. The New Testament doesn't quote it, but insists "our Lord sprang out of Juda" (Hebrews 7:14) and calls him "the Lion of the tribe of Juda" (Revelation 5:5), echoing Genesis 49:9. Read the scene in Jacob blesses his sons.

Isaiah 11:1. "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." Jesse was David's father, so the picture is a family tree cut to a stump that sprouts again. Paul quotes Isaiah 11:10 in Romans 15:12, and Matthew 1:6 names Jesse right before "David the king".

Want to check how much of Isaiah you already know? Here are three questions from the app's question bank, each answered with its verse.

Quick quiz: Isaiah

In the year of which king’s death did Isaiah see the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up?

AhazUzziahHezekiahJotham

What did the seraphim cry to one another in Isaiah’s vision?

“Glory to God in the highest!”“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God”“Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts!”“The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble!”

What name will the virgin give to the son announced to Ahaz as a sign?

ImmanuelShear-jashubEliakimUzziah

Continue the quiz

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start free, no card needed.

The star and the gifts: Numbers 24:17 and Isaiah 60

Numbers 24:17 comes from an unlikely prophet: Balaam, hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel (Numbers 22:5-6), who blesses them instead. Read the background in Balaam and his donkey.

I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

Jewish interpreters read this as a promise of a coming ruler; in the 130s AD the rebel leader Simon bar Kosiba was nicknamed Bar Kokhba, "son of the star", with this verse in mind. Christians have long linked it to the wise men's star (Matthew 2:2), and Revelation 22:16 calls Jesus "the bright and morning star". But Matthew never quotes Numbers 24:17, so treat it as likely background, not a stated fulfillment.

Isaiah 60:3, 6 says "kings to the brightness of thy rising... The multitude of camels shall cover thee... they shall bring gold and incense." Psalm 72:10-11 adds kings who "offer gifts". In context, both picture the nations bringing their wealth to Jerusalem and its king.

Christians connected these verses early with the "gold, and frankincense, and myrrh" of Matthew 2:11, a large part of why carols made the wise men kings with camels. Matthew calls them "wise men from the east" (Matthew 2:1), mentions no camels and quotes neither passage. Our guide to where the Christmas story is in the Bible has a full table of text versus tradition, and the visit of the wise men walks through Matthew 2.

Prophecies about John the Baptist: Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1

Luke's Christmas story begins with John's birth, and both texts about John appear across the Gospels.

Isaiah 40:3, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord", announces God's return to lead his people home from exile. Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3 and Luke 3:4-6 apply it to John's preaching, and in John 1:23 John applies it to himself.

Malachi 3:1, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me", is joined with Isaiah 40:3 in Mark 1:2-3. The KJV introduces the pair with "As it is written in the prophets"; many older manuscripts read "in Isaiah the prophet", which is why modern translations usually say that. Jesus applies Malachi 3:1 to John in Matthew 11:10.

At John's birth, Luke ties the promises together. The angel says John will go "in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children" (Luke 1:17), echoing Malachi 4:5-6, and Zacharias sings that his son "shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" (Luke 1:76). That "spirit and power" also explains why John could say "I am not" Elijah (John 1:21) while Jesus said "this is Elias" (Matthew 11:14). Read the angel announces John's birth to Zechariah and the life of John the Baptist.

How to study the Christmas prophecies yourself

Here's a seven-evening plan, about fifteen minutes a night, for Advent or the week before Christmas 2026.

Each night, ask:

1. What did this mean to its first hearers? Name the king, threat or event.
2. Which exact words does the Gospel take? Underline them in both.
3. What kind of fulfillment is it? A prediction, a pattern repeated, or an echo of language?

Write one sentence for each. For a longer seasonal rhythm, our Advent Bible reading plan starts Sunday, November 29, 2026, and our Christmas Bible reading plan has you read each of these prophecies in its full chapter; if prophecy feels hard to read in context, start with how to understand the Bible. Then test yourself with Christmas Bible trivia or Bible trivia questions about Jesus.

If you'd rather have the app quiz you on Matthew, Luke and Isaiah at your level, with every answer explained by its verse, that's what the quiz path does.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main prophecies about the birth of Jesus?

The New Testament quotes five Old Testament texts in the birth and childhood stories: Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:23), Micah 5:2 (Matthew 2:6), Hosea 11:1 (Matthew 2:15), Jeremiah 31:15 (Matthew 2:18) and a saying of "the prophets" about a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23). Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:1, Genesis 49:10 and Numbers 24:17 are often added, but they're echoed or applied elsewhere rather than quoted in the birth accounts.

What does Isaiah 7:14 say?

In the KJV: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." The Hebrew almah means a young woman of marriageable age, so some translations have "young woman". Matthew 1:23 quotes the verse from the Greek Old Testament, which uses the word for "virgin", and applies it to Mary.

Where does the Old Testament say Jesus would be born in Bethlehem?

Micah 5:2 says a ruler of Israel will come out of "Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah". In Matthew 2:4-6, Herod's chief priests and scribes quote it when he asks where the Christ will be born, and John 7:42 shows many people in Jesus' day expected the Messiah to come from David's town.

Is Isaiah 9:6 quoted in the New Testament?

No. Isaiah 9:6 ("For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given") is never quoted directly in the New Testament. Its language is echoed in Gabriel's words to Mary about the throne of David and a kingdom with "no end" (Luke 1:32-33). The verses just before it, Isaiah 9:1-2, are quoted in Matthew 4:15-16 about Jesus' ministry in Galilee.

How many prophecies did Jesus fulfill at his birth?

The Bible doesn't give a number. Counting only what the text says, Matthew 1–2 contains five Old Testament quotations about Jesus' birth and childhood, four introduced with a "fulfilled" formula, and Luke 1 adds echoes of Isaiah 9 and Malachi 3 and 4. Larger counts you see online usually include traditional associations that the Gospels themselves don't make.