Matthew 2

Visit of Wise Men

2Now after ^aJesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, ¹wise men ^bfrom the East came to Jerusalem, ²saying, ^c“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen ^dHis star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And when he had gathered all ^ethe chief priests and ^fscribes of the people together, ^ghe inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁶‘But ^hyou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

ⁱWho will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

⁷Then Herod, when he had secretly called the ²wise men, determined from them what time the ^jstar appeared. ⁸And 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.”

⁹When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, ^kthey presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹²Then, being divinely warned ^lin a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Flight into Egypt

¹³Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

¹⁴When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, ¹⁵and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ^m“Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Herod Kills the Children

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸“A ⁿvoice was heard in Ramah,

Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

Refusing to be comforted,

Because they are no more.”

Jesus Returns to Nazareth

Luke 2:39

¹⁹Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ^20osaying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who ^psought the young Child’s life are dead.” ²¹Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a ^qdream, he turned aside ^rinto the region of Galilee. ²³And he came and dwelt in a city called ^sNazareth, that it might be fulfilled ^twhich was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”