Matthew 2
2
The Visit of the Magi
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, #2:1 A caste of educated men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural sciencemagi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the #2:4 From Gr Christos, which means Messiah (Heb for Anointed One)Messiah was to be born. 5They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written #2:5 Or throughby #2:5 I.e., Micahthe prophet:
6‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact #2:7 Lit time of the appearing startime the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and #2:11 Lit prostrated themselves to; i.e., lay face down in a prone position to indicate worshipworshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
The Escape to Egypt
13Now when they had gone, behold, 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 stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
14So #2:14 Lit heJoseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15He #2:15 Lit wasstayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through #2:15 I.e., Hoseathe prophet would be fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
Herod Slaughters Babies
16Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity #2:16 Lit from two...and underwho were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *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 sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21So #2:21 Lit heJoseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23and came and settled in a city called Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Currently Selected:
Matthew 2: NASB2020
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE® NASB®
Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977,1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation
A Corporation Not for Profit
La Habra, CA
All Rights Reserved
www.lockman.org
Matthew 2
2
Some wise men came to Jesus
1Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea country. At that time, the big boss over that country was called Herod.
There were some wise men in a country to the east of Judea. They always looked at the stars, and one night they saw a special star in the sky. So they went west to Jerusalem, the city in Judea country. 2They asked the Jerusalem people, “Where was that baby born that is going to be the big boss over you Jewish people? You see, back in our country, we saw his special star. We saw it come up into the sky, so we came here, to show our respect for him. Where will we find him?”
3Herod was the big boss over that country, and somebody told him that these wise men were talking about another big boss. Herod got very worried. He thought this other person might fight against him and take over his job. A lot of other people in Jerusalem were worried about it too. 4So Herod had a meeting with the bosses of the Jewish ceremonies and the Jewish law teachers, and he asked them, “Where will that baby be born? You know, the Christ, the man that God promised to send?”
5They said, “He will be born in Bethlehem, in Judea country. You see, a long time ago, God told one of his men to write about it. He wrote this in God’s book,
6‘Bethlehem is a little town in Judea country,
but it is a very important town,
because a big boss will be born there.
He will really look after God’s people, the Israel nation.’ ”#Micah 5:2
That’s what those Jewish leaders told Herod.
7So Herod sent for those wise men to come and meet him, but he didn’t tell anyone else about the meeting. He asked them, “When did you first see that star?” 8So they told him when they first saw it.
Then he said to them, “Go to Bethlehem and look carefully for that boy. After you find him, come and tell me the place where he’s living, so that I can go there too and show respect to him.”
9-10The wise men listened to Herod, then they started to go to Bethlehem. Then they saw that same star that they saw before, and they were very happy. That star moved through the sky, and they followed it until it stopped right above the house that Joseph and Mary were living in. 11The wise men went into that house. They saw Jesus with his mother Mary, and they got down on their knees, to show him respect. Then they opened their bags and gave him some presents. They gave him some gold. And they gave him some powder called frankincense, to burn to make a good smell. And they gave him some rubbing medicine called myrrh, that smells good, like perfume.
12After that, the wise men had a dream. In that dream God told them not to go back to Herod, so they went back to their own country along a different road.
The big boss tried to kill Jesus
13After those wise men went away, Joseph had a dream. He heard God’s angel messenger say, “Herod will try to kill the boy, so get up and take Jesus and Mary to Egypt country, and stay there until I tell you to come back.” 14So Joseph got up right then, in the middle of the night, and he got Mary and Jesus, and they left to go to Egypt. 15They lived in Egypt until Herod died, and then they came out of Egypt and went back to Israel country. So it happened just like God told one of his men to write in God’s book, a long time ago. He wrote,
“God called his son to come out of Egypt.”#Hosea 11:1
16At the time when Joseph, Mary and Jesus were going to Egypt, Herod waited for those wise men to come back, but they tricked him. They didn’t come back to him. Then he got really angry. He remembered their story about when they first saw the star, so he sent his soldiers to Bethlehem, and he told them to kill all the little boys up to 2 years old. So they killed all the little boys around Bethlehem. Herod wanted to make sure that Jesus was dead.
17That all happened the way God’s man, Jeremiah, wrote in God’s book, a long time ago. This is what he wrote,
18“In the town called Ramah,
a lot of women are really sad, and they are crying out loud.
They are the grand-daughters of Rachel.
They are crying for their babies.
Nobody can cheer them up,
because their babies are dead.”#Genesis 35:16-19; Jeremiah 31:15
19Some time later, Herod died. Then, in Egypt, Joseph had another dream. He heard God’s angel messenger say, 20“Get up and take Mary and Jesus back to Israel country. The people that wanted to kill him are dead now.”
21So Joseph did what God’s angel messenger told him. He got up, and he got Mary and Jesus, and they started to go back to Israel country. 22But then somebody told him that Herod’s son Arkelayus was the new big boss over the part of Israel called Judea, and Joseph was too frightened to go there.
Then he had another dream. God told him, “Go to Galilee country.” 23So he took his family up north to Galilee. He got to the town called Nazareth, and he stayed there. A long time before that, one of God’s men wrote about this, and it is in God’s book. He wrote,
“People will say that God’s special man is from Nazareth.”#Mark 1:24; Luke 2:39; John 1:45
And that happened after Joseph took his family to live at Nazareth.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2021, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. All rights reserved.