Matthew 2
2
Visitors from the East
1Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men#2:1 Or royal astrologers; Greek reads magi; also in 2:7, 16. from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,#2:2 Or star in the east. and we have come to worship him.”
3King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities#2:6a Greek the rulers. of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’#2:6b Mic 5:2; 2 Sam 5:2.”
7Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
9After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
The Escape to Egypt
13After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”#2:15 Hos 11:1.
16Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18“A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”#2:18 Jer 31:15.
The Return to Nazareth
19When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20“Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
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Matthew 2
2
1And Jesus having been born in Beth-Lehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, lo, mages from the east came to Jerusalem,
2saying, ‘Where is he who was born king of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and we came to bow to him.’
3And Herod the king having heard, was stirred, and all Jerusalem with him,
4and having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring from them where the Christ is born.
5And they said to him, ‘In Beth-Lehem of Judea, for thus it hath been written through the prophet,
6And thou, Beth-Lehem, the land of Judah, thou art by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for out of thee shall come one leading, who shall feed My people Israel.’
7Then Herod, privately having called the mages, did inquire exactly from them the time of the appearing star,
8and having sent them to Beth-Lehem, he said, ‘Having gone — inquire ye exactly for the child, and whenever ye may have found, bring me back word, that I also having come may bow to him.’
9And they, having heard the king, departed, and lo, the star, that they did see in the east, did go before them, till, having come, it stood over where the child was.
10And having seen the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy,
11and having come to the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and having fallen down they bowed to him, and having opened their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh,
12and having been divinely warned in a dream not to turn back unto Herod, through another way they withdrew to their own region.
13And on their having withdrawn, lo, a messenger of the Lord doth appear in a dream to Joseph, saying, ‘Having risen, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and be thou there till I may speak to thee, for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.’
14And he, having risen, took the child and his mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt,
15and he was there till the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I did call My Son.’
16Then Herod, having seen that he was deceived by the mages, was very wroth, and having sent forth, he slew all the male children in Beth-Lehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under, according to the time that he inquired exactly from the mages.
17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18‘A voice in Ramah was heard — lamentation and weeping and much mourning — Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she would not be comforted because they are not.’
19And Herod having died, lo, a messenger of the Lord in a dream doth appear to Joseph in Egypt,
20saying, ‘Having risen, take the child and his mother, and be going to the land of Israel, for they have died — those seeking the life of the child.’
21And he, having risen, took the child and his mother, and came to the land of Israel,
22and having heard that Archelaus doth reign over Judea instead of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither, and having been divinely warned in a dream, he withdrew to the parts of Galilee,
23and coming, he dwelt in a city named Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through the prophets, that ‘A Nazarene he shall be called.’
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