Matthew 1:23 – “They will call His name Immanuel, which means, ‘God with us.’”

Issue: Interpretive Rendering of a Prophetic Title

Matthew 1:23 quotes directly from Isaiah 7:14, affirming its prophetic fulfillment in the conception and birth of Jesus Christ. The Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל (ʿImmānûʾēl), meaning “God with us,” is transliterated in the Greek New Testament as Ἐμμανουήλ (Emmanouēl), and then explained with the phrase ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός, literally, “which being translated is, With us [is] God.” The Greek preserves the theological density of the name, and a faithful English rendering must do the same.

The Updated American Standard Version (UASV) translates this passage with precision and fidelity to the original languages:

Matthew 1:23 (UASV)
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which being translated means, “God with us.”

This maintains both the transliteration of the name and the forceful theological assertion of divine presence—not merely spiritual comfort or general reassurance, but the actual presence of God in the incarnate person of Jesus Christ.

By contrast, many modern translations either dilute this reality or introduce paraphrastic interpretation that dulls the original force of the statement. Here are examples of less faithful renderings:

New Living Translation (NLT):

“…and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

The addition of the verb is introduces a more philosophical or existential sense, and subtly shifts the focus away from the specific identification of Jesus as Immanuel—the one in whom God is personally, bodily present.

Contemporary English Version (CEV):

“…and he will be called Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

Again, the substitution of is with us rather than the more direct with us God or God with us tilts the translation toward subjective experience and comfort language, rather than asserting the reality of divine incarnation.

The Message (MSG):

“…They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for ‘God is with us!’).”

Here, the translation is not only interpretive but stylistically informal. The exclamation mark and casual insertion within a paraphrastic sentence strip the phrase of its Messianic weight, reducing the prophecy to a slogan.

Good News Translation (GNT):

“…He will be called ‘Immanuel’ (which means, ‘God is with us’).”

Like others, it rephrases into a comforting notion rather than a declarative fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

By contrast, the UASV translation aligns accurately with both the Hebrew and the Greek structure, retaining the transliterated name and its theological translation. The phrase Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός (Meth’ hēmōn ho Theos) places “God” emphatically last, reflecting the same structure as the Hebrew ʿImmānûʾēl—emphasizing the identity of the One who is with us. This is not a general statement about divine presence, but a designation of Jesus Himself as God incarnate.

The structure of Matthew’s Greek also makes clear that the name itself is not up for reinterpretation:

ὃ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός
“which being translated means, With us [is] God”

The phrase ὃ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον is used in only a few places in the New Testament (cf. John 1:38, John 1:41, Acts 4:36), always when a proper name is explained, and always with strict lexical precision, not interpretive latitude.

Thus, interpretive renderings such as “God is with us,” while not completely inaccurate in theology, nonetheless introduce ambiguity and deviation from the grammatical and theological purpose of the text. Jesus is not merely a sign of God’s general presence—He is the very embodiment of God dwelling among men (cf. John 1:14; Colossians 2:9). Translation must safeguard that truth, not obscure it through theological softening or stylistic paraphrase.

Furthermore, in the broader context of Matthew’s presentation of Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, this passage is strategically placed. It establishes Jesus’ divine origin, not just His human role. To reduce “Immanuel” to mere symbolic significance is to rob the text of its Christological declaration.

To illustrate this importance further, compare Matthew’s translation explanation with Isaiah 8:8 and 8:10, where the name Immanuel functions again in prophetic judgment and comfort—but always as a designation of Jehovah’s actual presence. The New Testament claim is not less than the Old; it is more—Christ is Jehovah with us in the flesh.

Therefore, a faithful, literal translation must:

• Retain the transliterated name Immanuel

• Preserve the theological explanation “God with us”

• Avoid interpretive glosses such as “God is with us,” “He will be called,” or informal paraphrases

• Align grammatically with both the Greek structure and Hebrew precedent

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