智者来朝拜

希律王执政期间,耶稣降生在犹太的伯利恒城。

当时有几位智者[a]从东方来到耶路撒冷, 问道:“那生来做犹太人之王的在哪里呢?我们在东方看见祂的星,特来朝拜祂。”

希律王听后,心里不安,全城的人都感到不安。 希律王就召来祭司长和律法教师,问他们:“基督在哪里降生呢?”

他们回答说:“在犹太的伯利恒,因为先知这样记载,

“‘犹大地区的伯利恒啊!
你在犹大各城中并不是最小的,
因为有一位君王要从你那里出来,
牧养我的以色列子民。’”

于是,希律暗中召见那几位智者,仔细查问那星出现的准确时间, 然后派他们去伯利恒,并吩咐道:“你们去仔细寻访那个小孩,找到了,就回来报信,我也好去朝拜祂。”

他们听了王的吩咐,就去了。忽然,那颗曾在东方出现的星又出现在他们前面,引领他们来到小孩耶稣所在的地方,便停下来。 10 他们看见那颗星,喜出望外。

11 他们进了屋子,看见孩子和祂母亲玛丽亚,就俯伏在地上拜祂,并打开盛宝物的盒子献上黄金、乳香和没药作礼物。 12 他们在梦中得到指示不可回希律那里,便改道返回了家乡。

逃往埃及

13 他们离开之后,主的天使在梦中向约瑟显现,说:“起来,带着小孩子和祂母亲逃往埃及,住在那里等候我的通知,因为希律要寻找这孩子,杀害祂。” 14 于是,约瑟起来带着孩子和祂母亲连夜逃往埃及, 15 并在那里一直住到希律死了。这就应验了主借着先知所说的话:“我把儿子从埃及召出来。”

16 希律见自己被智者愚弄,大为恼怒,便照着智者所说的时间推算,下令把伯利恒附近两岁以下的男孩杀光。 17 这正应验了耶利米先知的话:

18 “在拉玛有痛哭哀号的声音,
是拉结在为儿女哀痛,
不肯接受安慰,
因为他们都死了!”

定居拿撒勒

19 希律死后,主的天使在梦中向在埃及的约瑟显现,说: 20 “起来,带着孩子和祂母亲回以色列去吧!因为要杀害孩子的人已经死了。” 21 约瑟就起来,带着孩子和祂母亲返回以色列。

22 但约瑟听闻亚基劳继承父亲希律的王位统治犹太,就不敢回犹太。这时,他在梦中得到主的指示,便前往加利利地区, 23 定居在拿撒勒镇。这应验了先知的话:“祂将被称为拿撒勒人。”

Footnotes

  1. 2:1 智者”或译“占星家”下同7节和16节。

The Magi Visit the Messiah

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,(A) during the time of King Herod,(B) Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?(C) We saw his star(D) when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem(E) in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b](F)

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.(G) Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts(H) of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned(I) in a dream(J) not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel(K) of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.(L) “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”(M)

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled(N) what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[c](O)

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:(P)

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel(Q) weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”[d](R)

The Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel(S) of the Lord appeared in a dream(T) to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”(U)

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream,(V) he withdrew to the district of Galilee,(W) 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.(X) So was fulfilled(Y) what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.(Z)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:1 Traditionally wise men
  2. Matthew 2:6 Micah 5:2,4
  3. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
  4. Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15

Chapter 2

The Wise Men Render Homage to the Messiah.[a] After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem[b] of Judea during the reign of King Herod, wise men traveled from the east and arrived in Jerusalem, inquiring, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage.”

On hearing about their inquiry, King Herod was greatly troubled, as was true of the whole of Jerusalem. Therefore, he summoned all the chief priests[c] and the scribes and questioned them about where the Christ was to be born. They replied, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus has the prophet written:

‘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 will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”[d]

Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men, and he ascertained from them the exact time of the star’s appearance, after which he sent them on to Bethlehem, saying: “Go forth and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I can go and pay him homage.”

After receiving these instructions from the king, the wise men set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising proceeded ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 The sight of the star filled them with great joy, 11 and when they entered the house they beheld the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they paid him homage. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.[e] 12 And since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another route.

13 The Flight into Egypt. After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and instructed him, “Arise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Remain there until I tell you. Herod seeks the child to kill him.” 14 Therefore, he got up, took the child and his mother, and departed that night for Egypt, 15 where they remained until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[f]

16 The Slaughter of the Innocents at Bethlehem. When Herod realized that the wise men had deceived him, he flew into a rage and issued an order to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding area who were two years old or less, in accordance with the information that he had obtained from the wise men. 17 [g]Thus were fulfilled the words that had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
    lamenting and sobbing bitterly:
Rachel weeping for her children,
    and refusing to be consoled,
    because they were no more.”

19 The Return to the Land of Israel.[h] After the death of Herod, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Arise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought to kill the child are dead.”[i] 21 He got up, took the child and his mother, and returned to the land of Israel.

22 But when Joseph learned that Archelaus[j] had succeeded his father Herod in Judea, he was afraid to go there. After he had been warned in a dream concerning this, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 He settled in a town called Nazareth,[k] so that what had been spoken through the Prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazorean.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:1 We shall never be able to identify with certainty these men of study and prayer, who may also have been astrologers (called by a Persian name, “Magi”). Orientals thought that a new star appeared at the birth of great persons (Num 24:17). In any case, the hour has come for pagans to share in the joy of encounter with God. This Gospel also confirms the expectation of Israel and cites the Prophets (Mic 5:1; 2 Sam 5:1-3): the new future of the People of God originates in the dynasty of David and in his native place, Bethlehem (1 Sam 16), but the mission of the Messiah goes beyond religious and national frontiers. The Messianic age is beginning (see Ps 72:10-11; Isa 9:1, 5; 49:23; 60:1-5; Lk 2:30-34).
  2. Matthew 2:1 Bethlehem: about five miles south of Jerusalem.
  3. Matthew 2:4 Chief priests: in the plural signifies the high priest now in office and his predecessors and members of their respective families. Herod’s act of consulting with the chief priests and teachers of the Law has some affinity with a Jewish legend about the child Moses in which Pharaoh is warned by sacred scribes about the coming birth of a deliverer of Israel from Egypt and plots to destroy the deliverer.
  4. Matthew 2:6 This prophecy of Micah (5:1) had been pronounced seven centuries earlier.
  5. Matthew 2:11 Because of the Old Testament texts of Ps 72:11, 16; Isa 60:6, the wise men were thought to be kings. House: indicates that the wise men did not visit Jesus on the night of his birth as did the shepherds. Although there are three gifts, this does not mean there were three wise men.
  6. Matthew 2:15 The citation from Hos 11:1, which originally referred to God’s calling Israel (God’s son) out of Egypt, is here applied to Jesus. Just as Israel was called out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus, so Jesus, the Son of God, will be called out of Egypt at the New Exodus.
  7. Matthew 2:17 The citation of Jer 31:15 originally referred to Rachel, the wife of Jacob, weeping for her children taken into exile in 721 B.C. Matthew applies it to the mourning for the Holy Innocents.
  8. Matthew 2:19 Herod died in 4 B.C. We do not know for sure to which prophecies (note the plural “Prophets”) v. 23 is alluding. Some believe Matthew is here thinking of the Old Testament declarations that the Messiah would be despised (e.g., Ps 22:6; Isa 53:3), for “Nazorean” was a synonym for “despised” (see Jn 1:45f). Or he may be saying that according to the plan of God Jesus was to live his childhood and youth in Nazareth and begin his ministry there. Some think “Nazorean” fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah (11:1): Jesus is the “shoot” (nezer in Hebrew) of the race of Abraham and David.
  9. Matthew 2:20 For those who sought to kill the child are dead: another subtle reference to the Moses-Christ parallel. After fleeing from Egypt because the Pharaoh sought to kill him, Moses was told to return in similar words: “for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead” (Ex 4:19).
  10. Matthew 2:22 Archelaus: son of Herod who ruled Judea and Samaria for ten years (4 B.C. to A.D. 6) and was deposed because of his cruelty. After him Judea became a Roman province administered by “procurators” appointed by the Emperor. Galilee: the northern part of Palestine, whose principal cities were: Capernaum, Cana, Nazareth, and Tiberias. Its people were not very highly esteemed by the Jews of Jerusalem and Judea (see Jn 1:46; 7:52) probably because of the strong Hellenization of the region and the mixed (Jew-Gentile) population there. It was the primary region of Jesus’ public ministry and is viewed as a providential indicator of his Messianic mission to the Gentiles (see Isa 66:18f; Am 9:11f).
  11. Matthew 2:23 Nazareth: a town that stands on the last spurs of the Galilean hills, some 87 miles north of Jerusalem.