Matthew 2
The Visit of the Wise Men
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise
mena 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,b 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 Messiahc 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 shepherdd my people
Israel.' "
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise mene
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,f
until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When
they saw that the star had stopped,g 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
13 Now 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 Josephh 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
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by
the wise men,i 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.j 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
19 When 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 Josephk 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."