⁴ His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to deliver a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.^(A)

⁹ The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.^(A)

⁹ Out of one of them came another^[a] horn, a little one, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.^{(A) 10} It grew as high as the host of heaven. It threw down to earth some of the host and some of the stars and trampled on them.^{(B) 11} Even against the prince of the host it acted arrogantly; it took the regular burnt offering away from him and overthrew the place of his sanctuary.^{(C) 12} Because of wickedness, the host was given over to it together with the regular burnt offering;^[b] it cast truth to the ground and kept prospering in what it did.

⁴⁴ You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.^(A)

² She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth.^{(A) 3} Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads.^(B)

¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, with heads, and with them they inflict harm.

¹⁰ They have tails like scorpions, with stingers, and in their tails is their power to harm people for five months.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were hurled to the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.^(A)

⁸ Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.^(A)

³ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, ⁴ and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah^[a] was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:^(A)

⁷ Then Herod secretly called for the magi^[c] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. ⁸ Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” ⁹ When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,^[d] until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw that the star had stopped,^[e] they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹ On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.^{(C) 12} And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.^(D)

The Escape to Egypt

¹³ Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, 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.”^{(E) 14} Then Joseph^[f] got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt^{(F) 15} and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

The Massacre of the Infants

¹⁶ When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi,^[g] he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi.^[h]