Matthew 2

Visitors from the East

2Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men who studied the stars came from the East to JerusalemG1161G2424G1080G1722G965G2449G1722G2250G2264G935G2400G3854G3097G575G395G1519G24142and asked, "Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him."G3004G4226G2076G5088G935G2453G1063G1492G846G792G1722G395G2532G2064G4352G8463When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem.G1161G2264G935G191G5015G2532G3956G2414G3326G8464He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"G2532G4863G3956G749G2532G1122G2992G4863G4441G3844G846G4226G5547G10805"In the town of Bethlehem in Judea," they answered. "For this is what the prophet wrote:G1161G2036G846G1722G965G2449G1063G3779G1125G1223G43966'Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah; for from you will come a leader who will guide my people Israel.' "G2532G4771G965G1093G2448G1488G3760G1646G1722G2232G2448G1063G1537G4675G1831G2233G3748G4165G3450G2992G24747So Herod called the visitors from the East to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.G5119G2264G2977G2564G3097G198G3844G846G198G5550G792G53168Then he sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions: "Go and make a careful search for the child; and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him."G2532G3992G846G1519G965G2036G4198G1833G199G4012G3813G1161G1875G2147G518G3427G518G3704G2064G4352G846G25049And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East.G1161G191G935G4198G2532G2400G792G3739G1492G1722G395G4254G846G2193G2064G2476G1883G3757G3813G225810When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.G1161G1492G792G5463G4970G3173G547911They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshiped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him.G2532G2064G1519G3614G2147G1492G3813G3326G3137G846G3384G2532G4098G4352G846G2532G455G846G2344G4374G846G1435G5557G2532G3030G2532G466612Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.G2532G5537G2596G3677G344G3361G344G4314G2264G402G1519G846G5561G1223G243G3598

The Escape to Egypt

13After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, "Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave."G1161G846G402G2400G32G2962G5316G2501G2596G3677G3004G1453G3880G3813G2532G846G3384G2532G5343G1519G125G2532G2468G1563G2193G302G2036G4671G2036G1063G2264G3195G2212G3813G622G84614Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt,G1161G1453G3880G3813G2532G846G3384G3571G2532G402G1519G12515where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, "I called my Son out of Egypt."G2532G2258G1563G2193G5054G2264G2443G4137G3588G4483G5259G2962G1223G4396G3004G1537G125G2564G3450G5207

The Killing of the Children

16When Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger - -this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared.G5119G2264G1492G3754G1702G5259G3097G3029G2373G2532G649G337G3956G3816G1722G965G2532G1722G3956G3725G846G575G1332G2532G2736G2596G5550G3739G198G3844G309717In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true:G5119G4137G3588G4483G5259G2408G4396G300418"A sound is heard in Ramah, the sound of bitter weeping. Rachel is crying for her children; she refuses to be comforted, for they are dead."G1722G4471G191G5456G191G2355G2532G2805G2532G4183G3602G4478G2799G846G5043G2532G2309G3756G3870G3754G1526G3756

The Return from Egypt

19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in EgyptG1161G2264G5053G2400G32G2962G5316G2596G3677G2501G1722G12520and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel, because those who tried to kill the child are dead."G3004G1453G3880G3813G2532G846G3384G2532G4198G1519G1093G2474G1063G2348G3588G2212G3813G559021So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went back to Israel.G1161G1453G3880G3813G2532G846G3384G2532G2064G1519G1093G247422But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. He was given more instructions in a dream, so he went to the province of GalileeG1161G191G3754G745G936G1909G2449G473G846G3962G2264G5399G565G1563G1161G5537G2596G3677G402G1519G3313G105623and made his home in a town named Nazareth. And so what the prophets had said came true: "He will be called a Nazarene."G2532G2064G2730G1519G4172G3004G3478G3704G4137G3588G4483G1223G4396G3754G2564G3480