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.