Matthew 2:1-11

Matthew 1 Matthew 3

Matthew 2:1-11 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The Wise Men

2 When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ²and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east^[b] and have come to worship him.”

³When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. ⁴Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”

⁵They told him, “He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,

⁶’Bethlehem in the land
    of Judea,
you are very important
    among the towns of Judea.
From your town
    will come a leader,
who will be like a shepherd
    for my people Israel.’”

⁷Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. ⁸He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too.”

⁹The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰They were thrilled and excited to see the star.

¹¹When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh^[c] and gave them to him.

Footnotes:

2.1 wise men: People famous for studying the stars.
2.2 his star in the east: Or “his star rise.”
2.11 frankincense, and myrrh: Frankincense was a valuable powder that was burned to make a sweet smell. Myrrh was a valuable sweet-smelling powder often used in perfume.