This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:
Parallel translations
- WEB that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
- KJV That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
- BSB to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
- NKJV that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
- NASB This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Matthew explains that Jesus' move fulfilled what Isaiah had spoken. It underscores that Jesus' ministry unfolds according to Scripture.
Overview
This is one of Matthew's characteristic fulfillment formulas, linking events in Jesus' life to Old Testament prophecy. The Gospel writer wants readers to see that nothing in Jesus' ministry is accidental; it is the unfolding of God's long-promised plan. The Messiah's choice of Galilee is itself a sign of His identity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 9:1–2But there shall be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
- Matt 2:23and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
- Luke 24:44He said to them, “This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled.”
- Luke 22:37For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’ For that which concerns me has an end.”
- Matt 12:17–21that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
- Matt 2:15and 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.”
- Matt 1:22Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
- Matt 26:56But all this has happened, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him, and fled.
- John 19:28After this, Jesus, seeing that all things were now finished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.”
- John 19:36–37For these things happened, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “A bone of him will not be broken.”
- Matt 26:54How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?”
- Matt 8:17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.”
- John 15:25But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 4:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.