Matthew 2:16–23

THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS

¹⁶Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.^{k 17}Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

¹⁸A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping,^B and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children;

and she refused to be consoled,

because they are no more.^Cl

THE RETURN TO NAZARETH

¹⁹After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,^{m 20}saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.” ²¹So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.^{n 23}Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.^o