Matthew 2 - Prayer Tents

Matthew 2

New Living Translation

Visitors from the East

2Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men[1] from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,

2"Where is the newborn king of the Jews - We saw his star as it rose[2], and we have come to worship him."

3King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.

4He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"

5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they said, "for this is what the prophet wrote.

6`And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities[3] of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.'[4]"

7Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.

8Then 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!"

9After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.

10When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!

11They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

The Escape to Egypt

13After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother," the angel said. "Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

14That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother,

15and they stayed there until Herod's death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: "I called my Son out of Egypt."[5]

16Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men's report of the star's first appearance.

17Herod's brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah.

18"A cry was heard in Ramah - weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead."[6]

The Return to Nazareth

19When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

20"Get up!" the angel said. "Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead."

21So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother.

22But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod's son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee.

23So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: "He will be called a Nazarene."

[1] Matthew 2:1Or royal astrologers; Greek reads magi; also in 2.7, 16
[2] Matthew 2:2Or star in the east
[3] Matthew 2:6Greek the rulers
[4] Matthew 2:6Mic 5.2; 2 Sam 5.2
[5] Matthew 2:15Hos 11.1
[6] Matthew 2:18Jer 31.15