The Escape to Egypt

13 Now when they had gone, behold, an (A)angel of the Lord *(B)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.”

14 So [a]Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He [b]stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through [c]the prophet would be fulfilled: “(C)Out of Egypt I called (D)My Son.”

Herod Slaughters Babies

16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by (E)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and (F)killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity [d]who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

18 (G)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.”

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *(H)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.” 21 So [e]Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being (I)warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and settled in a city called (J)Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a (K)Nazarene.”

The Preaching of John the Baptist

Now (L)in those days (M)John the Baptist *[f]came, [g]preaching in the (N)wilderness of Judea, saying, (O)Repent, for (P)the kingdom of heaven [h]is at hand.” For this is the (Q)one referred to [i]by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

(R)The voice of one [j]calling [k]out in the wilderness,
(S)Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”

Now John himself had [l](T)a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was (U)locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem (V)was going out to him, and all Judea and all (W)the region around the Jordan; and they were being (X)baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:14 Lit he
  2. Matthew 2:15 Lit was
  3. Matthew 2:15 I.e., Hosea
  4. Matthew 2:16 Lit from two...and under
  5. Matthew 2:21 Lit he
  6. Matthew 3:1 Or arrived; or appeared
  7. Matthew 3:1 Or proclaiming as a herald
  8. Matthew 3:2 Lit has come near
  9. Matthew 3:3 Or through
  10. Matthew 3:3 Or shouting
  11. Matthew 3:3 Or out, Prepare in the wilderness the way
  12. Matthew 3:4 Lit his garment

The Escape to Egypt

13 When they had gone, an angel(A) of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.(B) “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.”(C)

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(D) what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a](E)

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:(F)

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

The Return to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, an angel(I) of the Lord appeared in a dream(J) 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.”(K)

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,(L) he withdrew to the district of Galilee,(M) 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.(N) So was fulfilled(O) what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.(P)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way(Q)

In those days John the Baptist(R) came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(S) has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”[c](T)

John’s(U) clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.(V) His food was locusts(W) and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized(X) by him in the Jordan River.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
  2. Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15
  3. Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3