Matthew 2:19-3:2

English Standard Version

The Return to Nazareth

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

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 ^(E)In those days ^(F)John the Baptist came preaching in ^(G)the wilderness of Judea, ^2 (H)“Repent, for ^(I)the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”^[a]