Matthew 2
Modern English Version
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who was born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where Christ should be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are no longer least among the princes of Judah;
for out of you shall come a Governor,
who will shepherd My people Israel.’[a]”
7 Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, carefully inquired of them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring me word again, so that I may come and worship Him also.”
9 When they heard the king, they departed. And the star which they saw in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great excitement. 11 And when they came into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary, His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But being warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now when they departed, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word. For Herod will seek the young Child to kill Him.”
14 When he rose, he took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod, to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called My Son.”[b]
The Killing of the Infants
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was utterly furious and sent forth and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and the surrounding region, from two years old and under, based on the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet:
18 “In Ramah a voice was heard,
grieving and weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be comforted,
because they are no more.”[c]
The Return From Egypt
19 But when Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”
21 And he rose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Nevertheless, being warned by God in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Footnotes
Matthew 2
Legacy Standard Bible
The Visit of the Magi
2 Now after Jesus was (A)born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of (B)Herod the king, behold, [a]magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born (C)King of the Jews? For we saw (D)His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the [b]Christ was to be born. 5 And they said to him, “(E)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written [c]by the prophet:
6 ‘(F)And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Leader
Who will (G)shepherd My people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and carefully determined from them [d]the time (H)the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 Now after hearing the king, they went their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, was going on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And after coming into the house they saw the Child with (I)Mary His mother; and they [e]fell to the ground and (J)worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been (K)warned (L)in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi departed for their own country by another way.
The Flight to Egypt
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an (M)angel of the [f]Lord *(N)appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”
14 So [g]Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and departed for Egypt. 15 And he [h]remained there until the death of Herod, in order that what had been spoken by the [i]Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “(O)Out of Egypt I called (P)My Son.”
Herod Slaughters Children
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by (Q)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and (R)slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
18 “(S)A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she was refusing to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the [j]Lord *(T)appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So [k]Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into 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. Then after being (U)warned by God in a dream, he departed for the district of Galilee, 23 and came and lived in a city called (V)Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He shall be called a (W)Nazarene.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:1 A class of wise men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science
- Matthew 2:4 Messiah
- Matthew 2:5 Or through
- Matthew 2:7 Lit the time of the appearing star
- Matthew 2:11 Face down in a prone position to indicate worship; lit prostrated
- Matthew 2:13 In OT, Yahweh, cf. 2 Kin 1:3
- Matthew 2:14 Lit he
- Matthew 2:15 Lit was
- Matthew 2:15 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Hos 1:1
- Matthew 2:19 In OT, Yahweh, cf. 2 Kin 1:3
- Matthew 2:21 Lit he
马太福音 2
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
星象家朝拜耶穌
2 希律王執政的時候，耶穌生在猶太的伯利恆。那時，有幾個星象家（“星象家”或譯：“智者”）從東方來到耶路撒冷， 2 說：“那生下來作猶太人的王的在哪裡？我們看見他的星出現，特來朝拜他。” 3 希律王聽見了就心裡不安，全耶路撒冷的居民也是這樣。 4 他就召集所有的祭司長和民間的經學家，問他們基督應該生在哪裡。 5 他們回答：“在猶太的伯利恆。因為有先知在經上這樣說：
6 ‘猶大地的伯利恆啊！
你在猶大的領袖中，並不是最小的，
因為必有一位領袖從你那裡出來，
牧養我的子民以色列。’”
7 希律暗中把星象家召來，仔細查問他們，那顆星甚麼時候出現， 8 然後派他們到伯利恆去，說：“你們去細心尋訪那小孩，找到了就向我報告，好叫我也去拜他。” 9 他們聽命去了。他們在東方看見的那顆星，忽然在他們前頭，領他們到那小孩所在的地方，就在上頭停住了。 10 他們看見那顆星，歡喜極了； 11 進了房子，看見小孩和他母親馬利亞，就俯伏拜他，並且打開寶盒，把黃金、乳香、沒藥作禮物獻給他。 12 後來他們在夢中得著指示不要回到希律那裡去，就從別的路回鄉去了。
逃往埃及
13 他們走了以後，主的使者在夢中向約瑟顯現，說：“起來，帶著孩子和他母親逃到埃及去，留在那裡，直到我再指示你，因為希律要尋找這孩子，把他殺掉。” 14 約瑟就起來，連夜帶著孩子和他母親往埃及去， 15 住在那裡，直到希律死了，為的是要應驗主藉先知所說的：“我從埃及召我的兒子出來。”
屠殺嬰孩
16 希律見自己被星象家愚弄了，就大怒，於是照著他從星象家所問得的日子，下令把伯利恆和附近地方，兩歲及以下的小孩全都殺死。 17 這就應驗了耶利米先知所說的：
18 “在拉瑪聽見有聲音，
是痛哭、極大哀號的聲音；
拉結為她的兒女哀哭，
不肯受安慰，因為他們都不在了。”
從埃及回來
19 希律死後，在埃及，主的使者在夢中向約瑟顯現， 20 說：“那些要殺害這孩子的人已經死了。起來，帶著孩子和他母親回以色列地去吧。” 21 約瑟就起來，帶著小孩子和他母親回到以色列地。 22 只是聽見亞基老接續他父親希律作了猶太王，他就不敢到猶太地去；又在夢中得了指示，於是往加利利境去， 23 來到拿撒勒城住下，這樣就應驗了先知所說的：“他必稱為拿撒勒人。”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
