Matthew 2

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, look! Magi-astrologers from the east arrived in Jerusalem, ²asking, “Where is the one born King of the Judeans? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

³When King Herod heard this, he was deeply agitated, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴Gathering all the high priests and the scholars of the people’s Law, he inquired of them where the Anointed One was to be born. ⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written through the prophet:

⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you will come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod, calling the Magi-astrologers in secret, ascertained from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸Sending them to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me, so that I too may come and do him homage.”

⁹After hearing the king, they went on their way. And look! The star they had seen at its rising led them, until it came to a stop over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they were filled with an overflowing, great joy. ¹¹Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they did him homage. Opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another route.

¹³After they had departed, look! An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.” ¹⁴So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and departed for Egypt. ¹⁵He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi-astrologers, he was infuriated. He sent orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its surrounding region who were two years old and under, according to the time he had determined from the Magi-astrologers. ¹⁷Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

¹⁹After Herod had died, look! An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” ²¹So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel. ²²But hearing that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. ²³He went and settled in a town called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”