Matthew 2
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, during the time of King Herod, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem.
2 They were asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 He gathered all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law among the people and asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They answered him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what was written through the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means the least among the leaders of Judah; for from you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and carefully found out from them when the star had appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and inquire carefully about the child; when you find him, let me know, so that I too may come and worship him.”
9 After hearing the king, they set out; and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 They entered the house, saw the child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another way.
13 After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt; stay there until I tell you, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 He got up, took the child and his mother by night, and left for Egypt.
15 He stayed there until Herod's death, to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 Then Herod, seeing that the magi had tricked him, became furious. He ordered the killing of all the boys in Bethlehem and throughout its surrounding region, two years old and under, according to the time he had carefully learned from the magi.
17 Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning: Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are no more.”
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream in Egypt.
20 He said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life have died.”
21 He got up, took the child and his mother, and entered 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, warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.
23 When he arrived, he went to live in a town called Nazareth, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
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