Matthew 2
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Magi Arrive Seeking The Newborn King. King Herod Sends Them To Bethlehem
2 Now Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod[a] the king, behold— magi[b] from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying “Where is the One having been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east[c] and came to pay-homage to Him”. 3 And having heard it, King Herod was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And having gathered-together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring from them as to where the Christ was [to be] born. 5 And the ones said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it has been written through the prophet [in Mic 5:2]: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For One ruling[d] will come out of you Who will shepherd My people Israel’”. 7 Then Herod, having called the magi secretly, learned-accurately from them the time of the appearing of the star. 8 And having sent them to Bethlehem, he said, “Having gone, search-out accurately[e] concerning the Child. And when you find Him, report to me so that I also, having come, may pay-homage to Him”.
A Star Leads Them To The Child, To Whom They Give Gifts
9 And the ones, having heard the king, proceeded. And behold— the star which they saw in the east was going-ahead-of them, until having come, it stood[f] over where the Child was. 10 And having seen the star, they rejoiced an extremely great rejoicing. 11 And having come into the house[g], they saw the Child with Mary His mother. And having fallen-down, they paid homage to Him. And having opened their treasure-chests, they offered gifts to Him— gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their country by another way.
An Angel Tells Joseph To Flee From Herod To Egypt, Fulfilling Hosea
13 And they having gone away, behold— an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream saying, “Having arisen, take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek-for the Child that he might destroy Him”. 14 And the one, having arisen, took the Child and His mother by night and withdrew into Egypt, 15 and was there until the end[h] of Herod— in order that the thing might be fulfilled having been spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying “I called My Son out of Egypt” [Hos 11:1].
Herod Kills The Boys In Bethlehem, Bringing Another Fulfillment of Jeremiah
16 Then Herod, having seen that he was tricked[i] by the magi, became very furious. And having sent-out men, he killed all[j] the boys— the ones in Bethlehem and in all its districts from two years old and under— in accordance with the time which he learned-accurately from the magi. 17 Then the thing was fulfilled having been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet saying 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah[k], weeping and great mourning— Rachel weeping-for her children. And she was not willing to be comforted, because they are no more” [Jeremiah 31:15].
After Herod Dies, Joseph Returns To Israel And Settles In Nazareth
19 And Herod having come-to-an-end[l], behold— an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream in Egypt 20 saying, “Having arisen, take the Child and His mother and proceed into the land of Israel. For the ones seeking the life of the Child are dead”. 21 And the one, having arisen, took the Child and His mother and entered into the land of Israel. 22 But having heard that Archelaus[m] was king of Judea in place of his father Herod, he feared to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew into the regions of Galilee. 23 And having come, he dwelled in a city being called Nazareth— so that the thing having been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, because[n] He will be called a Nazarene.
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:1 That is, Herod the Great, king of Israel from 37 to 4 b.c.
- Matthew 2:1 That is, wise men/priests/seers/astrologers at least similar (their country is not given) to those in Daniel 2:48. Perhaps their knowledge came from Daniel’s prophecies.
- Matthew 2:2 That is, while they were in the east.
- Matthew 2:6 Or, leading, governing.
- Matthew 2:8 Or, carefully.
- Matthew 2:9 Or, stopped, stood still.
- Matthew 2:11 Joseph would have moved his family from the stable (Lk 2:7) to a house as soon as possible.
- Matthew 2:15 That is, the death.
- Matthew 2:16 Or, made a fool, mocked.
- Matthew 2:16 Some think this might have involved up to twenty infants.
- Matthew 2:18 This town is about 6 miles or 9 kilometers north of Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 31:15, Rachel, representing the mother of the nation, weeps over the ten tribes killed or taken captive by the Assyrians. Matthew sees another fulfillment of this here when some of her children are again taken in violence.
- Matthew 2:19 That is, having died.
- Matthew 2:22 This son of Herod the Great ruled part of his father’s kingdom from 4 b.c. until a.d. 6, when the Romans deposed him.
- Matthew 2:23 Matthew may be referring to the prophets who say Messiah will be despised and lowly. He sees this as partially fulfilled in that Jesus is called a Nazarene. Or, ‘that’, if what follows is a summary quote to this effect.
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, 2 saying, “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.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where (H)the Christ was to be born. 5 They 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.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And 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.” 9 After 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. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And 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. 12 And (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
13 Now 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.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and 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
16 Then 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
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 (W)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 (X)being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And 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
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
