Matthew 2

English Standard Version

The Visit of the Wise Men

2 Now ^(A)after Jesus was born in ^(B)Bethlehem of Judea ^(C)in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men^[a] from ^(D)the east came to Jerusalem, ²saying, “Where is he who has been born ^(E)king of the Jews? For we saw ^(F)his star when it rose^[b] and have come to ^(G)worship him.” ³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where ^(H)the Christ was to be born. ⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

⁶^(I)“‘And you, O 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 ^(J)shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, ^(K)they offered him gifts, ^(L)gold and ^(M)frankincense and ^(N)myrrh. ¹²And ^(O)being warned ^(P)in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

The Flight to Egypt

¹³Now when they had departed, behold, ^(Q)an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, 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.” ¹⁴And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. ^(R)This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ^(S)“Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Herod Kills the Children

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷^(T)Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸^(U)“A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they ^(V)are no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for ^(W)those who sought the child's life are dead.” ²¹And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and ^(X)being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. ²³And he went and lived in a city called ^(Y)Nazareth, ^(Z)so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Footnotes

Matthew 2:1 Greek magi; also verses 7, 16
Matthew 2:2 Or in the east; also verse 9

Isaiah 60

English Standard Version

The Future Glory of Israel

60 ^(A)Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and ^(B)the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
²For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.
³^(C)And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴^(D)Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
    they all gather together, they come to you;
^(E)your sons shall come from afar,
    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
⁵Then you shall see and ^(F)be radiant;
    your heart shall thrill and exult,^[a]
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
    ^(G)the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
⁶A multitude of camels shall cover you,
    the young camels of ^(H)Midian and ^(I)Ephah;
    all those from ^(J)Sheba shall come.
^(K)They shall bring gold and frankincense,
    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
⁷All the flocks of ^(L)Kedar shall be gathered to you;
    the rams of ^(M)Nebaioth shall minister to you;
^(N)they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,
    ^(O)and I will beautify my beautiful house.

⁸Who are these that fly like a cloud,
    and ^(P)like doves to their windows?
⁹For ^(Q)the coastlands shall hope for me,
    ^(R)the ships of Tarshish first,
^(S)to bring your children from afar,
    their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
    and for the Holy One of Israel,
    because ^(T)he has made you beautiful.

¹⁰^(U)Foreigners shall build up your walls,
    and ^(V)their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you,
    but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
¹¹^(W)Your gates shall be open continually;
    day and night they shall not be shut,
^(X)that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
    with their kings led in procession.
¹²^(Y)For the nation and kingdom
    that will not serve you shall perish;
    those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
¹³^(Z)The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
    the cypress, the plane, and ^(AA)the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
    and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
¹⁴^(AB)The sons of those who afflicted you
    shall come bending low to you,
^(AC)and all who despised you
    shall bow down at your feet;
^(AD)they shall call you the City of the Lord,
    the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵^(AE)Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
    with no one passing through,
^(AF)I will make you majestic forever,
    a joy from age to age.
¹⁶^(AG)You shall suck the milk of nations;
    you shall nurse at the breast of kings;
and you shall know that ^(AH)I, the Lord, am your Savior
    and your Redeemer, ^(AI)the Mighty One of Jacob.

¹⁷Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
    and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
    instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
    ^(AJ)and your taskmasters righteousness.
¹⁸^(AK)Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
    devastation or destruction within your borders;
^(AL)you shall call your walls Salvation,
    and your gates Praise.

¹⁹^(AM)The sun shall be no more
    your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
    give you light;^[b]
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and your God will be your glory.^[c]
²⁰Your sun shall no more go down,
    nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
    and ^(AN)your days of mourning shall be ended.
²¹^(AO)Your people shall all be righteous;
    ^(AP)they shall possess the land forever,
^(AQ)the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
    that I might be glorified.^[d]
²²^(AR)The least one shall become a clan,
    and the smallest one a mighty nation;
^(AS)I am the Lord;
    in its time I will hasten it.