Matthew 2
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Magi Arrive Seeking The Newborn King. King Herod Sends Them To Bethlehem
2 Now Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod[a] the king, behold— magi[b] from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying “Where is the One having been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east[c] and came to pay-homage to Him”. 3 And having heard it, King Herod was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And having gathered-together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring from them as to where the Christ was [to be] born. 5 And the ones said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it has been written through the prophet [in Mic 5:2]: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For One ruling[d] will come out of you Who will shepherd My people Israel’”. 7 Then Herod, having called the magi secretly, learned-accurately from them the time of the appearing of the star. 8 And having sent them to Bethlehem, he said, “Having gone, search-out accurately[e] concerning the Child. And when you find Him, report to me so that I also, having come, may pay-homage to Him”.
A Star Leads Them To The Child, To Whom They Give Gifts
9 And the ones, having heard the king, proceeded. And behold— the star which they saw in the east was going-ahead-of them, until having come, it stood[f] over where the Child was. 10 And having seen the star, they rejoiced an extremely great rejoicing. 11 And having come into the house[g], they saw the Child with Mary His mother. And having fallen-down, they paid homage to Him. And having opened their treasure-chests, they offered gifts to Him— gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their country by another way.
An Angel Tells Joseph To Flee From Herod To Egypt, Fulfilling Hosea
13 And they having gone away, behold— an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream saying, “Having arisen, take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek-for the Child that he might destroy Him”. 14 And the one, having arisen, took the Child and His mother by night and withdrew into Egypt, 15 and was there until the end[h] of Herod— in order that the thing might be fulfilled having been spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying “I called My Son out of Egypt” [Hos 11:1].
Herod Kills The Boys In Bethlehem, Bringing Another Fulfillment of Jeremiah
16 Then Herod, having seen that he was tricked[i] by the magi, became very furious. And having sent-out men, he killed all[j] the boys— the ones in Bethlehem and in all its districts from two years old and under— in accordance with the time which he learned-accurately from the magi. 17 Then the thing was fulfilled having been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet saying 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah[k], weeping and great mourning— Rachel weeping-for her children. And she was not willing to be comforted, because they are no more” [Jeremiah 31:15].
After Herod Dies, Joseph Returns To Israel And Settles In Nazareth
19 And Herod having come-to-an-end[l], behold— an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream in Egypt 20 saying, “Having arisen, take the Child and His mother and proceed into the land of Israel. For the ones seeking the life of the Child are dead”. 21 And the one, having arisen, took the Child and His mother and entered into the land of Israel. 22 But having heard that Archelaus[m] was king of Judea in place of his father Herod, he feared to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew into the regions of Galilee. 23 And having come, he dwelled in a city being called Nazareth— so that the thing having been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, because[n] He will be called a Nazarene.
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:1 That is, Herod the Great, king of Israel from 37 to 4 b.c.
- Matthew 2:1 That is, wise men/priests/seers/astrologers at least similar (their country is not given) to those in Daniel 2:48. Perhaps their knowledge came from Daniel’s prophecies.
- Matthew 2:2 That is, while they were in the east.
- Matthew 2:6 Or, leading, governing.
- Matthew 2:8 Or, carefully.
- Matthew 2:9 Or, stopped, stood still.
- Matthew 2:11 Joseph would have moved his family from the stable (Lk 2:7) to a house as soon as possible.
- Matthew 2:15 That is, the death.
- Matthew 2:16 Or, made a fool, mocked.
- Matthew 2:16 Some think this might have involved up to twenty infants.
- Matthew 2:18 This town is about 6 miles or 9 kilometers north of Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 31:15, Rachel, representing the mother of the nation, weeps over the ten tribes killed or taken captive by the Assyrians. Matthew sees another fulfillment of this here when some of her children are again taken in violence.
- Matthew 2:19 That is, having died.
- Matthew 2:22 This son of Herod the Great ruled part of his father’s kingdom from 4 b.c. until a.d. 6, when the Romans deposed him.
- Matthew 2:23 Matthew may be referring to the prophets who say Messiah will be despised and lowly. He sees this as partially fulfilled in that Jesus is called a Nazarene. Or, ‘that’, if what follows is a summary quote to this effect.
Matthew 2
Easy-to-Read Version
Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus
2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked people, “Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about this, it upset him as well as everyone else in Jerusalem. 4 Herod called a meeting of all the leading Jewish priests and teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah would be born. 5 They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea, just as the prophet wrote:
6 ‘Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are important among the rulers of Judah.
Yes, a ruler will come from you,
and that ruler will lead Israel, my people.’” (A)
7 Then Herod had a private meeting with the wise men from the east. He learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too.”
9 After the wise men heard the king, they left. They saw the same star they had seen in the east, and they followed it. The star went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10 They were very happy and excited to see the star.
11 The wise men came to the house where the child was with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened the boxes of gifts they had brought for him. They gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they went home to their own country a different way.
Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt
13 After the wise men left, an angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “Get up! Take the child with his mother and escape to Egypt. Herod wants to kill the child and will soon start looking for him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to come back.”
14 So Joseph got ready and left for Egypt with the child and the mother. They left during the night. 15 Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This gave full meaning to what the Lord said through the prophet: “I called my son to come out of Egypt.”[a]
Herod Kills the Baby Boys in Bethlehem
16 Herod saw that the wise men had fooled him, and he was very angry. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and the whole area around Bethlehem. Herod had learned from the wise men the time the baby was born. It was now two years from that time. So he said to kill all the boys who were two years old and younger. 17 This gave full meaning to what God said through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A sound was heard in Ramah—
bitter crying and great sadness.
Rachel cries for her children,
and she cannot be comforted,
because her children are gone.” (B)
Joseph and Mary Return From Egypt
19 While Joseph was in Egypt, Herod died. An angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream 20 and said, “Get up! Take the child with his mother and go to Israel. Those who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”
21 So Joseph took the child and the mother and went to Israel. 22 But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea. Archelaus became king when his father Herod died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he went away to the area of Galilee. 23 He went to a town called Nazareth and lived there. This gave full meaning to what God said through the prophets. God said the Messiah[b] would be called a Nazarene.[c]
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:15
Quote from Hos. 11:1. - Matthew 2:23 the Messiah Literally, “he.” See “Messiah” in the Word List.
- Matthew 2:23 Nazarene A person from the city of Nazareth. This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “branch.” So Matthew may be referring to the promise of a “branch” of David’s family. See Isa. 11:1.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International