Matthew 2
2
Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus
1Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east. We came to worship him.”
3When King Herod heard about this new king of the Jews, he was troubled. And all the people in Jerusalem were worried too. 4Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ would be born. 5They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:
6‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are important among the rulers of Judah.
A ruler will come from you.
He will be like a shepherd for my people, the Israelites.’” Micah 5:2
7Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men from the east. He learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. 8Then Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem. He said to them, “Go and look carefully to find the child. When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too.”
9The wise men heard the king and then left. They saw the same star they had seen in the east. It went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11They went to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary. They bowed down and worshiped the child. They opened the gifts they brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they went home to their own country by a different way.
Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt
13After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Herod will start looking for the child to kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.”
14So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother. 15Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This was to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord had said through the prophet. The Lord said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”# Quotation from Hosea 11:1.
Herod Kills the Baby Boys
16When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was very angry. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in all the area around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men. 17So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true:
18“A sound was heard in Ramah.
It was painful crying and much sadness.
Rachel cries for her children,
and she cannot be comforted,
because her children are dead.” Jeremiah 31:15
Joseph and Mary Return
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. This happened while Joseph was in Egypt. 20The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to Israel. The people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”
21So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel. 22But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea. Archelaus became king when his father Herod died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee. 23He went to a town called Nazareth and lived there. And so what God had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”# A person from the town of Nazareth. Matthew may be referring to Isaiah 11:1, where the Hebrew word translated “branch” sounds like “Nazarene.”
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Matthew 2
2
1 Now when Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men#2:1 The word for “wise men” (magoi) can also mean teachers, scientists, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, or sorcerers. from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2“Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” 3When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Messiah would be born. 5They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,
6‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are in no way least among the princes of Judah;
for out of you shall come a governor
who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”#Micah 5:2
7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”
9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, 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 exceedingly great joy. 11They came into the house and saw the young child with Miriam, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, 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.”#Hosea 11:1
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men. 17Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
18“A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she wouldn’t be comforted,
because they are no more.”#Jeremiah 31:15
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20“Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into Eretz-Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”
21 He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into Eretz-Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee, 23and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets that he will be called a Nazarene.
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