Matthew 2
2
Wise Men Seek the King
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, # Gn 25:6; 1Kg 4:30; Lk 1:5; 2:4-7 2saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? # Jr 23:5; 30:9; Zch 9:9; Mt 27:11; Lk 19:38; Jn 1:49 For we saw His star in the east # Or star at its rising # Nm 24:17; Rv 22:16 and have come to worship Him.” # Or to pay Him homage
3When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes # Mt 16:21; 20:18; 21:15; 27:41; Lk 9:22 of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
5“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:
6And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the leaders of Judah:
because out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd My people Israel.” # 2Sm 5:2; Mc 5:2; Jn 7:42; 21:16 # Mc 5:2
7Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him.” # Or and pay Him homage # Mk 5:6; Lk 1:7; Ac 13:6; Rv 1:16
9After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was — the star they had seen in the east! # Or star . . . at its rising It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed beyond measure. 11Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. # Or they paid Him homage Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. # Ps 72:10; Is 60:6; Mt 1:18; 12:46; Mk 5:6 12And being warned # Mt 27:19; Lk 2:26; Ac 10:22; Heb 8:5; 11:7 in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
The Flight into Egypt
13After they were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him.” # Mt 1:20; 13:49; Mk 11:18; Jms 4:7 14So he got up, took the child and His mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. 15He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called My Son. # Ex 4:22; Nm 24:8; Hs 11:1 # Hs 11:1
The Massacre of the Innocents
16Then Herod, when he saw that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years # Lit were from two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men. # Is 59:7; Mk 10:34; Ac 13:6; 25:3; Rv 12:4 17Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping, # Other mss read Ramah, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
and she refused to be consoled,
because they were no more. # Gn 35:19; Jdg 4:5; Jr 31:15; Ac 8:2; 2Co 7:7 # Jr 31:15
The Holy Family in Nazareth
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, # Mt 1:20; 13:49; Lk 1:11; Jd 5 20saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, because those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21So he got up, took the child and His mother, and entered the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus # A son of Herod the Great who ruled a portion of his father’s kingdom 4 b.c.–a.d. 6 was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. # Mt 17:22; Lk 1:5; Ac 27:29; Col 3:21; Heb 8:5 23Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that He will be called a Nazarene. # Mk 1:24; Lk 1:26; Jn 1:45-46
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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.