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Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 and asked, “Where is He who has been born 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 disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he brought together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, and asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “for this is what was written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, O 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 My people Israel ’ . ”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. When you have found him, report back to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star that they had seen in the east went ahead of them, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they knelt down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrhh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
13 When they had gone, 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, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him.” 14 So Joseph got up, took the child and His mother during the night, and left for Egypt, 15 and he stayed there until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the wise men, he was filled with rage. He gave orders to kill all the male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding area who were two years old or under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the wise men. 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;
she refused to be comforted
because they are no more.”
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 and said, “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 Then Joseph got up, 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 withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 Then 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.”