Matthew 2
New King James Version
Wise Men from the East
2 Now after (A)Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, [a]wise men (B)from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, (C)“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen (D)His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all (E)the chief priests and (F)scribes of the people together, (G)he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But(H) you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
(I)Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the [b]wise men, determined from them what time the (J)star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, (K)they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned (L)in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
The Flight into Egypt
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, (M)“Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
Massacre of the Innocents
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A (N)voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”
The Home in Nazareth(O)
19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 (P)saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who (Q)sought the young Child’s life are dead.” 21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a (R)dream, he turned aside (S)into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called (T)Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled (U)which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:1 Gr. magoi
- Matthew 2:7 Gr. magoi
Matthew 2
New Life Version
Wise Men Visit the Young Child Jesus
2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in the country of Judea. It was the time when Herod was king of that part of the country. Soon after Jesus was born, some wise men who learned things from stars came to Jerusalem from the East. 2 They asked, “Where is the King of the Jews Who has been born? We have seen His star in the East. We have come to worship Him.”
3 King Herod heard this. He and all the people of Jerusalem were worried. 4 He called together all the religious leaders of the Jews and the teachers of the Law. Herod asked them where Christ was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea. The early preacher wrote, 6 ‘You, Bethlehem of Judah, are not the least of the leaders of Judah. Out of you will come a King Who will lead My people the Jews.’” (A)
7 Then Herod had a secret meeting with the men who learned things from stars. He asked them about what time the star had been seen. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and find the young Child. When you find Him, let me know. Then I can go and worship Him also.”
9 After the king had spoken, they went on their way. The star they had seen in the East went before them. It came and stopped over the place where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with much joy.
11 They went into the house and found the young Child with Mary, His mother. Then they got down before Him and worshiped Him. They opened their bags of riches and gave Him gifts of gold and perfume and spices. 12 Then God spoke to them in a dream. He told them not to go back to Herod. So they went to their own country by another road.
Joseph Goes to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up. Take the young Child and His mother to the country of Egypt. Go as fast as you can! Stay there until you hear from Me. Herod is going to look for the young Child to kill Him.” 14 During the night he got up and left with the young Child and His mother for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod died. This happened as the Lord had said through an early preacher, “I called My Son out of Egypt.” (B)
Herod Had All the Young Boys Killed
16 Herod learned that the wise men had fooled him. He was very angry. He sent men to kill all the young boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and in all the country near by. He decided to do this from what he had heard from the wise men as to the time when the star was seen. 17 Then it happened as the early preacher Jeremiah said it would happen. 18 He said, “The sound of crying and much sorrow was heard in Ramah. Rachel was crying for her children. She would not be comforted because they were dead.” (C)
Joseph Goes from Egypt to Nazareth (D)
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt. 20 He said, “Get up. Take the young Child and His mother and go into the land of the Jews. Those who tried to kill the young Child are dead.” 21 Joseph got up. He took the young Child and His mother and came into the land of the Jews. 22 Joseph heard that Archelaus was the king of the country of Judea. Herod, the father of Archelaus, had died. Joseph was afraid to go there. God told him in a dream to go to the country of Galilee and he went. 23 Joseph stayed in a town called Nazareth. It happened as the early preachers said it would happen. They said, “Jesus will be called a Nazarene.”
馬 太 福 音 2
Chinese New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version
星相家拜见耶稣
2 耶稣出生在犹太的伯利恒，他出生的时候正是希律王统治的时期。耶稣出生后，几个星相家从东方来到耶路撒冷。 2 他们问∶“新出生的犹太王在哪里？我们在东方看见了显示他出生的那颗星星在天空中升起，我们就来向他敬拜。”
3 希律王听说以后，非常不安。所有的耶路撒冷人都很担心。 4 于是希律召集所有的祭司长和律法师，向他们询问基督会在哪里出生。 5 他们告诉希律：
“在犹太的伯利恒，因为先知是这样写的∶
6 ‘犹大土地上的伯利恒啊，
你对犹太诸王来说绝不是无足轻重的，
因为一位统治者要来自于你们，
他将牧养我的子民—以色列。’” (A)
7 希律王秘密召见那几位从东方来的星相家，从他们那里了解到那颗星出现的准确时间， 8 并且派遣他们去伯利恒。希律说∶“请你们仔细打听那个婴儿的下落。找到后立即向我报告，好让我也去拜见他。”
9 星相家遵照国王的指示出发了。一路上，他们在东方看见的那颗星在天上一直为他们引路，引导他们来到那婴儿的住处上方后就停止不动了。 10 他们看到这颗星时，就欣喜若狂。 11 他们走进房子，看见婴儿和他的母亲马利亚在一起，就俯身拜他。然后打开为婴儿带来的宝箱，拿出金子、乳香和没药等礼物献给他。 12 然后，他们就从另一条路回家了,因为上帝托梦给他们，警告他们不要回去见希律。
耶稣的父母带他逃往埃及
13 星相家离开后，天使出现在约瑟的梦中，对他说∶“赶快起来，带着婴儿和他的母亲，逃到埃及去吧。没有我的吩咐，你们不要离开那里。希律想要找到婴儿，杀掉他。”
14 约瑟急忙起床，连夜带着婴儿和他母亲逃往埃及。 15 他们一直住在那里,直到希律死去。这正好应验了上帝借先知的口说出的预言∶“我从埃及把我的儿子召出来。” [a]
希律屠杀伯利恒的婴儿
16 希律发现受了星相家的骗，勃然大怒。他按照星相家的话推算出婴儿的年龄，然后下令把伯利恒和附近地区的所有两岁和两岁以下的男孩统统杀掉。
17 这些事都应验了先知耶利米的预言：
18 “从拉玛那里传出伤心欲绝的哭声，
那是拉结在为她的孩子们哭泣，
她听不进别人的安慰，
因为孩子们被杀了。” (B)
约瑟和马利亚重返以色列
19 希律死后，天使又出现在约瑟的梦里，这时他正在埃及。天使对他说： 20 “赶快起来，带上婴儿和他母亲，到以色列去吧。那些想杀害这婴儿的人已经死了。”
21 于是约瑟起床，带着婴儿和他母亲，去了以色列。 22 但是当约瑟听说亚基劳继承了他父亲希律的王位，成为新的犹太国王时，很害怕回去。他又在梦中受到了警告，便带着全家离开那里到加利利去了。 23 他们在一个叫作拿撒勒的城镇上安家落户。这恰恰证实了先知的预言∶“人们说他是拿撒勒人 [b]。”
Footnotes
- 馬 太 福 音 2:15 旧约《何西阿书》11:1。
- 馬 太 福 音 2:23 拿撒勒人： 来自拿撒勒城的人。意思或许为“枝子”的名字.见旧约《以赛亚书》11:1。
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Copyright © 2004 by World Bible Translation Center