Matthew 2
2
1When Jesus then was borne at Bethleem in Iudea, in the dayes of Herod the King, beholde, there came Wisemen from the East to Hierusalem, 2Saying, Where is that King of the Iewes that is borne? for wee haue seene his starre in the East, and are come to worship him. 3When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Hierusalem with him. 4And gathering together all the chiefe Priestes and Scribes of the people, hee asked of them, where Christ should be borne. 5And they saide vnto him, At Beth-leem in Iudea: for so it is written by the Prophet, 6And thou Beth-leem in the lande of Iuda, art not the least among the Princes of Iuda: For out of thee shall come the gouernour that shall feede that my people Israel. 7Then Herod priuily called the Wisemen, and diligently inquired of them the time of the starre that appeared, 8And sent them to Beth-leem, saying, Goe, and searche diligently for the babe: and when ye haue founde him, bring mee worde againe, that I may come also, and worship him. 9So when they had heard the King, they departed: and loe, the starre which they had seene in the East, went before them, till it came and stoode ouer the place where the babe was. 10And when they sawe the starre, they reioyced with an exceeding great ioy, 11And went into the house, and founde the babe with Mary his mother, and fell downe, and worshipped him, and opened their treasures, and presented vnto him giftes, euen golde, and frankincense, and myrrhe. 12And after they were warned of God in a dreame, that they should not go againe to Herod, they returned into their countrey another way. 13After their departure, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeareth to Ioseph in a dreame, saying, Arise, and take the babe and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there til I bring thee word: for Herod will seeke the babe, to destroy him. 14So he arose and tooke the babe and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt, 15And was there vnto the death of Herod, that that might be fulfilled, which is spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying, Out of Egypt haue I called my sonne. 16Then Herod, seeing that he was mocked of the Wisemen, was exceeding wroth, and sent foorth, and slew all the male children that were in Beth-leem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two yeere old and vnder, according to the time which he had diligently searched out of the Wisemen. 17Then was that fulfilled which is spoken by the Prophet Ieremias, saying, 18In Rhama was a voyce heard, mourning, and weeping, and great howling: Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they were not. 19And whe Herod was dead, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeareth in a dreame to Ioseph in Egypt, 20Saying, Arise, and take the babe and his mother, and goe into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the babes life. 21Then he arose vp and tooke the babe and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22But whe he heard that Archelaus did reigne in Iudea in stead of his father Herod, he was afraide to go thither: yet after he was warned of God in a dreame, he turned aside into the parts of Galile, 23And went and dwelt in a citie called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophets, which was, That hee should be called a Nazarite.
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Matthew 2: GNV
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PUBLIC DOMAIN
Matthew 2
2
Scholars from the East
1-2After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory—this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”
3-4When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5-6They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:
It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land,
no longer bringing up the rear.
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”
7-8Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”
9-10Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
11They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
12In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
* * *
13After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”
14-15Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”
16-18Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he’d gotten from the scholars.) That’s when Jeremiah’s revelation was fulfilled:
A sound was heard in Ramah,
weeping and much lament.
Rachel weeping for her children,
Rachel refusing all solace,
Her children gone,
dead and buried.
19-20Later, when Herod died, God’s angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt: “Up, take the child and his mother and return to Israel. All those out to murder the child are dead.”
21-23Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother, and reentered Israel. When he heard, though, that Archelaus had succeeded his father, Herod, as king in Judea, he was afraid to go there. But then Joseph was directed in a dream to go to the hills of Galilee. On arrival, he settled in the village of Nazareth. This move was a fulfillment of the prophetic words, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.