Matthew 2
Living Bible
2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.
At about that time some astrologers from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in far-off eastern lands and have come to worship him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, and all Jerusalem was filled with rumors.[a] 4 He called a meeting of the Jewish religious leaders.
“Did the prophets tell us where the Messiah would be born?” he asked.
5 “Yes, in Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet Micah[b] wrote:
6 ‘O little town of Bethlehem, you are not just an unimportant Judean village, for a Governor shall rise from you to rule my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod sent a private message to the astrologers, asking them to come to see him; at this meeting he found out from them the exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them, 8 “Go to Bethlehem and search for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too!”
9 After this interview the astrologers started out again. And look! The star appeared to them again, standing over Bethlehem.[c] 10 Their joy knew no bounds!
11 Entering the house where the baby and Mary, his mother, were, they threw themselves down before him, worshiping. Then they opened their presents and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But when they returned to their own land, they didn’t go through Jerusalem to report to Herod, for God had warned them in a dream to go home another way.
13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up and flee to Egypt with the baby and his mother,” the angel said, “and stay there until I tell you to return, for King Herod is going to try to kill the child.” 14 That same[d] night he left for Egypt with Mary and the baby, 15 and stayed there until King Herod’s death. This fulfilled the prophet’s prediction,
“I have called my Son from Egypt.”[e]
16 Herod was furious when he learned that the astrologers had disobeyed him. Sending soldiers to Bethlehem, he ordered them to kill every baby boy two years old and under, both in the town and on the nearby farms, for the astrologers had told him the star first appeared to them two years before. 17 This brutal action of Herod’s fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah,
18 “Screams of anguish come from Ramah,[f]
Weeping unrestrained;
Rachel weeping for her children,
Uncomforted—
For they are dead.”
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and told him, 20 “Get up and take the baby and his mother back to Israel, for those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So he returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But on the way he was frightened to learn that the new king was Herod’s son, Archelaus. Then, in another dream, he was warned not to go to Judea, so they went to Galilee instead 23 and lived in Nazareth. This fulfilled the prediction of the prophets concerning the Messiah,
“He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:3 and all Jerusalem was filled with rumors, literally, “and all Jerusalem with him.”
- Matthew 2:5 Micah, implied; see Micah 5:2.
- Matthew 2:9 appeared to them again, standing over Bethlehem, literally, “went before them until it came and stood over where the baby lay.”
- Matthew 2:14 same, implied.
- Matthew 2:15 Compare Hosea 11:1.
- Matthew 2:18 Ramah, or “the region of Ramah.”
Matthew 2
New Century Version
Wise Men Come to Visit Jesus
2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as were all the people in Jerusalem. 4 Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ would be born. 5 They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are not just an insignificant village in Judah.
A ruler will come from you
who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’” Micah 5:2
7 Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. 8 He sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, “Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too.”
9 After the wise men heard the king, they left. The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.
Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt
13 After they left, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, because Herod is starting to look for the child so he can kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.”
14 So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother. 15 And Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: “I called my son out of Egypt.”[a]
Herod Kills the Baby Boys
16 When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was furious. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the surrounding area who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men. 17 So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah
of painful crying and deep sadness:
Rachel crying for her children.
She refused to be comforted,
because her children are dead.” Jeremiah 31:15
Joseph and Mary Return
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt. 20 The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, because the people who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”
21 So Joseph took the child and his mother and went to Israel. 22 But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea since his father Herod had died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee, 23 to a town called Nazareth, and lived there. And so what God had said through the prophets came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”[b]
Footnotes
- 2:15 “I called . . . Egypt.” Quotation from Hosea 11:1.
- 2:23 Nazarene A person from the town of Nazareth. Matthew may be referring to Isaiah 11:1, where the Hebrew word translated “branch” sounds like “Nazarene.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
