Matthew 2

2 ¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, ² saying, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ He gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what was written through the prophet: ⁶ 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

⁷ Then Herod secretly summoned the magi and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search carefully for the child, and when you have found him, come back and tell me, so that I too may come and worship him."

⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy. ¹¹ They went into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling down, they worshiped him. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

The Father Shelters His Son

¹³ Now when they had departed, an angel of our Father appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Get up! Take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."

¹⁴ And he got up and took the child and his mother by night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod, to fulfill what our Father had spoken through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." ^a a v15 Matthew applies these words of Hosea to Jesus: the true Son who fulfills what Israel, called out of Egypt, never could.

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the magi, became furious and ordered the killing of all the male children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region who were two years old and under, based on the time he had learned from the magi. ¹⁷ This fulfilled what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet: ¹⁸ "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.

The Father Calls Him Home

¹⁹ But when Herod died, an angel of our Father 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 sought the child's life are dead."

²¹ And he got up and took the child and his mother and went to 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 went to the region of Galilee. ²³ And he went and lived in a town called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: "He will be called a Nazarene."