Matthew 2:16–23

Herod Has Innocent Children Murdered

16 Then Herod, when he* saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent soldiers* and* executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region around it from the age of two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying,

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she did not want to be comforted,

because ⌊they exist no longer⌋d.”e

Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Return to Nazareth

19 Now after* Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the child are dead.” 21 So he got up and* took the child and his mother and ⌊entered⌋f the land of Israel. 22 But when he* heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee. 23 And he came and* lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled:g “He will be called a Nazarene.”