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Matthew 2:4–8

and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where othe Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

p“ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who will qshepherd my people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

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Matthew 2:4–8 — The New International Version (NIV)

When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

Matthew 2:4–8 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Beth-lehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Beth-lehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Beth-lehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

Matthew 2:4–8 — New Living Translation (NLT)

He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,

are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,

for a ruler will come from you

who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

Matthew 2:4–8 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

Matthew 2:4–8 — New Century Version (NCV)

Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ would be born. They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are not just an insignificant village in Judah.

A ruler will come from you

who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. He sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, “Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too.”

Matthew 2:4–8 — American Standard Version (ASV)

And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah,

Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah:

For out of thee shall come forth a governor,

Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel.

Then Herod privily called the Wise-men, and learned of them exactly what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word, that I also may come and worship him.

Matthew 2:4–8 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

and, assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judaea; for thus it is written through the prophet: And thou Bethlehem, land of Juda, art in no wise the least among the governors of Juda; for out of thee shall go forth a leader who shall shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod, having secretly called the magi, inquired of them accurately the time of the star that was appearing; and having sent them to Bethlehem, said, Go, search out accurately concerning the child, and when ye shall have found him bring me back word, so that I also may come and do him homage.

Matthew 2:4–8 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

He called together all the chief priests and the experts in the Scriptures and tried to find out from them where the Messiah was supposed to be born. 

They told him, “In Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this: 

Bethlehem in the land of Judah, 

you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. 

A leader will come from you. 

He will shepherd my people Israel.” 

Then Herod secretly called the wise men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. As he sent them to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you have found him, report to me so that I may go and worship him too.” 

Matthew 2:4–8 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the leaders of Judah:

because out of you will come a leader

who will shepherd My people Israel.

Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him.”

Matthew 2:4–8 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 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.”

Matthew 2:4–8 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

and after calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet,

‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,

for from you will go out a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and determined precisely from them the time when the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found him, report to me so that I also may come and worship him.”

Matthew 2:4–8 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ was going to be born.

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied. “This is what the prophet has written. He said,

“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.

A ruler will come out of you.

He will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod called for the Wise Men secretly. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go! Make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, bring me a report. Then I can go and worship him too.”

Matthew 2:4–8 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,

Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;

For out of you shall come forth a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.

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.”


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