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Matthew 2:16-3:17
New American Standard Bible 1995
Matthew 2:16-3:17
New American Standard Bible 1995
Herod Slaughters Babies
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by (A)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and (B)slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and 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 “(C)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 *(D)appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So [a]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 (E)warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and lived in a city called (F)Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a (G)Nazarene.”
The Preaching of John the Baptist
3 Now (H)in those days (I)John the Baptist *[b]came, [c]preaching in the (J)wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “(K)Repent, for (L)the kingdom of heaven [d]is at hand.” 3 For this is the (M)one referred to [e]by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“(N)The voice of one [f]crying in the wilderness,
‘(O)Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
4 Now John himself had [g](P)a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was (Q)locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem (R)was going out to him, and all Judea and all (S)the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being (T)baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the (U)Pharisees and (V)Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You (W)brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from (X)the wrath to come? 8 (Y)Therefore bear fruit (Z)in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘(AA)We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 The (AB)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore (AC)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “As for me, (AD)I baptize you [h]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; (AE)He will baptize you [i]with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His (AF)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will (AG)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the (AH)chaff with (AI)unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13 (AJ)Then Jesus *arrived (AK)from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us (AL)to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and [j](AM)he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and [k]lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “(AN)This is [l]My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:21 Lit he
- Matthew 3:1 Or arrived, or appeared
- Matthew 3:1 Or proclaiming as a herald
- Matthew 3:2 Lit has come near
- Matthew 3:3 Or through
- Matthew 3:3 Or shouting
- Matthew 3:4 Lit his garment
- Matthew 3:11 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
- Matthew 3:11 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
- Matthew 3:16 Or He
- Matthew 3:16 Lit coming upon Him
- Matthew 3:17 Or My Son, the Beloved
Matthew 2:16-3:17
New International Version
Matthew 2:16-3:17
New International Version
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:(A)
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel(B) weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”[a](C)
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel(D) of the Lord appeared in a dream(E) 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.”(F)
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,(G) he withdrew to the district of Galilee,(H) 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.(I) So was fulfilled(J) what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.(K)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way(L)
3 In those days John the Baptist(M) came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven(N) has come near.” 3 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.’”[b](O)
4 John’s(P) clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.(Q) His food was locusts(R) and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized(S) by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers!(T) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(U) 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.(V) 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(W) I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.(X)
11 “I baptize you with[c] water for repentance.(Y) But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[d] the Holy Spirit(Z) and fire.(AA) 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”(AB)
The Baptism of Jesus(AC)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.(AD) 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened,(AE) and he saw the Spirit of God(AF) descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven(AG) said, “This is my Son,(AH) whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”(AI)
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15
- Matthew 3:3 Isaiah 40:3
- Matthew 3:11 Or in
- Matthew 3:11 Or in
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.