Matthew 2
2
The Visit of the Wise Men
1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men#2.1 Or astrologers; Gk magi from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,#2.2 Or in the East and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah#2.4 Or the Christ was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd#2.6 Or rule my people Israel.’ ”
7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men#2.7 Or astrologers; Gk magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,#2.9 Or in the East until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped,#2.10 Gk saw the star they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The Escape to Egypt
13Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14Then Joseph#2.14 Gk he got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
The Massacre of the Infants
16When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,#2.16 Or astrologers; Gk magi he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.#2.16 Or astrologers; Gk magi 17Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18“A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
The Return from Egypt
19When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead.” 21Then Joseph#2.21 Gk he got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”
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Matthew 2: NRSV
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Matthew 2
2
Chapter 2
Some men come to visit Jesus
1Jesus was born in a town called Bethlehem, in Judea. King Herod ruled Judea at that time. #2:1 This King Herod was called Herod the Great. He was king in Judea during the years from 37 BC to 4 BC. Judea was a region of Israel. After Jesus was born, some wise men came to Jerusalem from a country in the east. 2When they arrived there, they asked people, ‘Where is the baby who has been born as the king of the Jews? We saw his special star when it first appeared in the sky. So now we have come here to worship him.’
3When King Herod heard what the men said, he was very upset. All the people in Jerusalem were afraid too. 4Then Herod asked all the leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law to meet with him. He asked them, ‘Where will God's Messiah be born?’ 5They replied, ‘The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem in Judea. This is what the prophet wrote about it:
6“People who live in Bethlehem,
your town is a very important town in Judea.
A person born in your town will become a leader of my people Israel.
He will lead my people like a shepherd leads his sheep.” ’
7Then Herod secretly told the wise men to come to meet with him. They told him the time that the star had appeared. 8Herod sent the men to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Go and look everywhere for this child. When you find him, come back here and tell me where he is. Then I can also go and worship him.’
9-10After the men had heard the king, they left to go to Bethlehem. They could see the same star that they had seen before. They were very happy when they saw the star. It moved along in front of them. Then it stopped above the place where the child was staying. 11The men went into the house and they saw the child. He was with Mary, his mother. They went down on their knees in front of the child and they worshipped him. Then they opened their bags. They took out valuable gifts and they gave them to the child. The gifts were gold, incense called frankincense, and also myrrh. #2:11 Gold is a very valuable metal. People would give gold to a king. 12After that, God said to them in a dream, ‘Do not go back to see Herod again.’ So the men followed a different road to return to their own country.
Mary, Joseph and Jesus go to Egypt
13After the men had gone away, Joseph had a dream. In the dream, he saw one of the Lord God's angels. The angel said to him, ‘Herod will look for the child, so that his soldiers can kill him. You must get up and take the child and his mother with you. Go immediately to Egypt. I will tell you when you can return again. You must remain there until then.’
14So Joseph got up and he took the child and his mother with him. They started on the journey to Egypt that night. 15They all remained in Egypt until Herod died. This happened so that the words of the prophet would become true. The Lord God had said by his prophet, ‘I have called my son to come out of Egypt.’ #2:15 See Hosea 11:1
Herod's soldiers kill the baby boys in Bethlehem
16When the wise men did not return to Herod, he was very angry. He knew that they had deceived him. So he sent his men to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem. Kill the boys who live near there too. Kill all the boys who are two years old or younger than that.’ The wise men had told Herod how long ago they had first seen the special star. So he decided to kill the baby boys of that age. 17In this way, these words that God's prophet Jeremiah spoke long ago became true: #2:17 See Jeremiah 31:15
18‘People heard a sad noise in Ramah.
Someone is weeping with a loud voice.
It is Rachel and she is weeping for her children.
Nobody can help her to stop weeping,
because her children are dead.’
Joseph, Mary and Jesus return to Israel
19After Herod died, Joseph had a dream in Egypt. In the dream he saw one of the Lord God's angels. 20The angel said to Joseph, ‘Get up. The people who wanted to kill the child are dead. Take the child and his mother. You can now return with them to Israel.’
21So Joseph got up. He took the child and his mother and they travelled to Israel. 22But then Joseph heard that Herod's son, Archelaus, was now king of Judea instead of his father. So Joseph was afraid to go to Judea. In another dream God showed Joseph that he should go to Galilee instead. 23So Joseph went there and he lived in a town called Nazareth. Long ago God's prophets had said about God's Messiah, ‘He will be called a person from Nazareth.’ Now this had become true.
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