MAT 2
2
The Visit of the Magi
1 Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea—the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah—in the days of Herod the king—the Idumean king ruling under Roman authority—behold, magi from the East—learned men, possibly astrologers or wise men from Persia or Babylon—came to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, "Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star at its emergence in the heavens, and we have come from afar to worship Him and pay Him homage."
3 Now, when King Herod heard this enquiry, he was troubled, disturbed, and deeply anxious—fearing a rival to his throne—and all Jerusalem was troubled with him, sharing his anxiety and fear.
4 And having gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people—the religious authorities and experts in Scripture—he began enquiring and demanding from them where the Christ, the Messiah, was prophesied to be born.
5 And they answered him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written and prophesied by the prophet Micah:
6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least or insignificant amongst the rulers of Judah,
for from you will come forth a ruler, a shepherd-king,
who will shepherd, lead, and care for My people Israel.'"*
7 Then, Herod secretly and privately called the magi and ascertained and determined precisely from them the exact time when the star had first appeared—calculating the Child's age.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem with deceptive instructions and said, "Go, search carefully and diligently for the Child, and when you have found Him, bring a report back to me, so that I also may come and worship Him"—though his true intent was murderous.
9 And listening to the king's instructions, they went out on their journey; and behold, the star which they had seen at its rising led them and guided them supernaturally until it came and stood directly over the place where the Child was—pinpointing the exact location.
10 Now, when they saw the star positioned over the location, they rejoiced profoundly with exceedingly great joy and exultation.
11 And coming into the house—no longer a stable but a dwelling where the family had taken residence—they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down prostrate and worshipped Him with reverence and adoration. And when they opened their treasures and valuable containers, they offered Him costly and significant gifts: gold—fit for a king, frankincense—fit for deity and priestly worship, and myrrh—foreshadowing His death and burial.
12 And having been divinely warned and instructed in a dream not to return to Herod—God protecting the Child from danger—they departed and returned to their own country by another route, avoiding Jerusalem.
The Flight to Egypt
13 Now, after they had departed and left, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph with urgent instructions, saying, "Rise quickly, take the Child and His mother, and flee immediately to Egypt, and stay there in safety until I speak to you again. For Herod is about to seek and search for the Child to destroy and kill Him."
14 So he got up immediately, and took the Child and His mother by night under cover of darkness, and departed and fled to Egypt for refuge.
15 And he remained and stayed there until the death of Herod, when the threat was removed. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet Hosea, saying, "Out of Egypt I have called My Son"*—the child Jesus recapitulating Israel's history, as Israel was called God's son who came out of Egypt.
Herod's Murderous Action
16 Then Herod, when he realised and saw that he had been mocked, tricked, and outwitted by the magi, was intensely and violently enraged; and he sent soldiers and gave orders to put to death cruelly all the male boys in Bethlehem and in all its surrounding regions from two years old and under—massacring innocent children—according to the time which he had carefully ascertained from the magi regarding when the star appeared.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken prophetically by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 "A voice was heard in Ramah—a town north of Jerusalem—
weeping and loud lamentation and bitter mourning,
Rachel—the matriarch representing the mothers of Israel—
weeping inconsolably for her children;
and she would not be consoled or comforted,
because they are no more, they have been killed."*
The Return to Israel and Nazareth
19 Now, when Herod died and the threat was removed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt with new instructions,
20 Saying, "When you get up, take the Child and His mother, and go back to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the Child to kill Him are now dead."
21 So, when he got up in obedience, he took the Child and His mother, and came back into the land of Israel to return home.
22 But having heard that Archelaus—Herod's son, known for his cruelty—was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid and hesitant to go there to Bethlehem or Jerusalem; and having been divinely warned and instructed in a dream, he took refuge and withdrew to the district and region of Galilee in the north.
23 And he came and settled and lived in a city called Nazareth—an insignificant city. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophets collectively: "He will be called a Nazarene."
Notes
6 Quoted from Mic. 5:2
15 Quoted from Hos. 11:1
18 Quoted from Jer. 31:15
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
