Chronological

2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in the country of Judea. Herod was the king. After Jesus was born, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem.

² They asked, `Where is the child who has been born to be King of the Jews? We saw his star rising and we have come to worship him.'

³ When King Herod heard this, he was very troubled. All the people in Jerusalem were troubled also.

⁴ He called all the chief priests and the scribes of the Jews for a meeting. He asked them, `Where is the Christ to be born?'

⁵ They told him, `In Bethlehem in Judea. That is what the prophet, the man of God long ago, wrote:

⁶ "Bethlehem in the country of Judah, you are not the least among the leaders in Judah. A leader will come from you who will rule over my people Israel." '

⁷ Then Herod called the wise men to talk with them secretly. He found out from them what time they saw the star.

⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, `Go and ask everywhere until you find the child. When you have found him, come and tell me, so that I myself may go and worship him.'

⁹ After they heard what the king said, they went away. And the star, which they had seen rising, went in front of them. It stopped above the place where the child was.

¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were very glad.

¹¹ They went into the house, and there they saw the child and Mary his mother. They kneeled down and worshipped him. Then they opened their bags and gave him gifts. These gifts were gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

¹² In a dream they were told not to go back to Herod. So they went home by a different road.

¹³ After the wise men had gone, Joseph had a dream. An angel of the Lord came to him and said, `Get up. Take the child and his mother, and go quickly to the country of Egypt. Stay there till I tell you, because Herod will try to find the child and kill him.'

¹⁴ Joseph woke up. He took the child and his mother in the night and went to Egypt.

¹⁵ He stayed there until Herod died. What the Lord told through his prophet long ago, came true. He said `I called my son out of Egypt.'

¹⁶ Herod saw that the wise men had fooled him. He was very angry. He sent men to kill all the baby boys in the town of Bethlehem and around it. They killed all the boys who were two years old or less. Herod remembered what the wise men had told him about the time they first saw the star.

¹⁷ So what the prophet Jeremiah said, came true.

¹⁸ He said, `A voice could be heard in the town of Ramah. Rachel was crying for her children. She would not let anyone comfort her because her children were dead.'

¹⁹ Herod died. Then Joseph had a dream. An angel of the Lord came to him in Egypt.

²⁰ The angel said, `Get up. Take the child and his mother and go to the country of Israel. The men who wanted to kill the child are dead.'

²¹ Joseph woke up. He took the child and his mother and went to the country of Israel.

²² But he heard that Archelaus was king of Judea in his father Herod's place. So he was afraid to go there. In a dream he was told what to do. He went to the country of Galilee.

²³ He went and made his home in the town of Nazareth. The prophets of God long ago had said, `He shall be called a man from Nazareth.' What they said came true.

³⁹ The parents did everything that the law of the Lord said they should do. Then they went back to Galilee to their own town, Nazareth.

⁴⁰ The child grew. He became strong and very wise. And God blessed him.

⁴¹ Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast [a special time to thank God].

⁴² When Jesus was twelve years old, they went to Jerusalem for the feast as they always did.

⁴³ After the days of the feast were finished, they started home. But the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it.

⁴⁴ They thought he was coming with the rest of the people. They travelled one day. Then they looked for him among their family and friends.

⁴⁵ But they did not find him. So they went back to Jerusalem and looked for him.

⁴⁶ On the third day they found him in the temple. He was sitting in front of the teachers of the law. He was listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷ All who heard him were surprised at what he knew and his answers.

⁴⁸ His parents were surprised when they saw him. His mother said to him, `Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you. We have been very troubled.'

⁴⁹ He said to them, `Why did you look for me? Did you not know that I had to be in my Father's house?'

⁵⁰ They did not understand what he meant.

⁵¹ He went with them back to Nazareth and obeyed them. But his mother remembered all these things.

⁵² Jesus grew and became wiser and taller. He pleased God and also people.