Matthew
2: 1-18
The Visit of the Magi
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in
Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the
Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
3When King Herod heard this he was
disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called
together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the
Christ was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea,"
they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6" 'But 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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly
and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He
sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon
as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
9After they had heard the king, they
went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it
stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw
the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they
saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they
opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they
returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13When they had gone, an angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and
his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search
for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the
child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where
he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through
the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
16When Herod realized that he had been
outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in
Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time
he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through
the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18"A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more."
