MSB MAT Chapter 2

The Pilgrimage of the Magi

(Micah 5:1–6)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during [the] time of King Herod, Magi from [the] east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 asking,“Where is the [One who] has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east[fn] and have come to worship Him.”

3 

When Herod the king[fn] heard [this], he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, 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.’[fn]”

7 

Then Herod called the Magi secretly [and] learned from them the {exact} time the star had appeared. 8 And sending them to Bethlehem, he said:“Go [and] search carefully for the Child, and when you find [Him], report 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 they had seen in the east went ahead of them until vvv it stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced vvv vvv with great delight. 11 [On] coming to the house, they saw[fn] the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down [and] worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures [and] presented Him with gifts [of] gold and frankincense and myrrh.

12 

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.

13 

The Flight to Egypt

(Hosea 11:1–7)

When [the Magi] had gone, an angel of [the] Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.“Get up!” he said.“Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

14 

So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet“Out of Egypt I called My Son.”[fn]

16 

Weeping and Great Mourning

(Jeremiah 31:1–25)

When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, vvv he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity [who were] two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 

“A voice is heard in Ramah,

lamentation and[fn] weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping [for] her children

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more.”[fn]

19 

The Return to Nazareth

(Luke 2:39–40)

After Herod died, an angel of [the] Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up!” he said.“Take the Child and His mother and go to [the] land of Israel, for those seeking the vvv Child’s life are now dead.”

21 

So [Joseph] got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to [the] land of Israel. 22 But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went [and] lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets:“He will be called a Nazarene.”