Matthew 2
2
The Visit of the Wise Men
1#Lk 2:4–7; Mic 5:2Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, 2#Nu 24:17; Jer 23:5; Zec 9:9saying, “Where is He who was born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where Christ should be born. 5#Ge 35:19They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6#Mic 5:2; Jn 7:42 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are no longer least among the princes of Judah;
for out of you shall come a Governor,
who will shepherd My people Israel.’#Ps 91:11–12.”
7Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, carefully inquired of them what time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring me word again, so that I may come and worship Him also.”
9When they heard the king, they departed. And the star which they saw in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great excitement. 11#Ps 72:10; Mt 14:33And when they came into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary, His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12#Mt 2:22; 27:19But being warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13#Ac 5:19; Mt 1:20Now when they departed, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word. For Herod will seek the young Child to kill Him.”
14When he rose, he took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt, 15#Hos 11:1; Ex 4:22and remained there until the death of Herod, to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called My Son.”#A talent was worth several hundred pounds.
The Killing of the Infants
16#Isa 59:7Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was utterly furious and sent forth and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and the surrounding region, from two years old and under, based on the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet:
18#Jer 31:15; Ge 42:36 “In Ramah a voice was heard,
grieving and weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be comforted,
because they are no more.”#–21 Isa 42:1–4.
The Return From Egypt
19#Mt 1:20But when Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20#Ex 4:19saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”
21And he rose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22#Lk 2:39But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Nevertheless, being warned by God in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23#Jn 1:45–46; Jdg 13:5And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
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Military Bible Association
Matthew 2
2
Visitors from the East
1Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterwards, some men who studied the stars came from the east to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him.”
3When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. 4He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”
5“In the town of Bethlehem in Judea,” they answered. “For this is what the prophet wrote:
6 #
Mic 5.2
‘Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah;
for from you will come a leader
who will guide my people Israel.’ ”
7So Herod called the visitors from the east to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions: “Go and make a careful search for the child, and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9-10And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the east. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 11They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshipped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him.
12Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.
The Escape to Egypt
13After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.”
14Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt, 15#Hos 11.1where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make what the Lord had said through the prophet come true, “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
The Killing of the Children
16When Herod realized that the visitors from the east had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old and younger — this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared.
17In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true:
18 #
Jer 31.15
“A sound is heard in Ramah,
the sound of bitter weeping.
Rachel is crying for her children;
she refuses to be comforted,
for they are dead.”
The Return from Egypt
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel, because those who tried to kill the child are dead.” 21So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went back to Israel.
22But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. He was given more instructions in a dream, so he went to the province of Galilee 23#Mk 1.24; Lk 2.39; Jn 1.45and made his home in a town named Nazareth. And so what the prophets had said came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.