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OET (OET-LV) Then Haʸrōdaʸs, having_seen that he_was_mocked by the wise_men, was_enraged exceedingly and having_sent_out, he_killed all the boys which in Baʸthleʼem/(Bēyt-leḩem) and in all the regions of_it from two_year and lower, according_to the time which he_ascertained from the wise_men.
OET (OET-RV) When King Herod realised that he’d been tricked by the watchers of signs, he got very angry and gave orders that all the sons in Bethlehem and its districts that were two years old and younger be killed, because that was the period that he’d found out from the watchers of signs.
In this section, Matthew showed another way that scripture was fulfilled. Herod killed the children in and around Bethlehem, and so caused much mourning in that area.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Killing of the children (CEV)
Herod Kills the Baby Boys (NCV)
When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi,
¶ But before that, when Herod learned that he had been tricked by the astrologers,
¶ Soon after Joseph began the journey to Egypt with the child and his mother, King Herod found out that the men who studied the stars had outsmarted him.
When: The storyline resumes here. The narrative jumps back to the time soon after Joseph, Mary, and Jesus began their journey to Egypt (2:14). You may want to do one of the following:
Indicate here that the narrative returns to an earlier time. For example:
Soon after Joseph began the journey to Egypt with the child and his mother,…
Indicate in 2:14 that Joseph began the journey and indicate that 2:15 temporarily jumps forward in time.
Herod saw: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as saw indicates that Herod knew that the wise men had deceived him.
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
realized (NIV)
found out (CEV)
knew/understood
that he had been outwitted by the Magi: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as outwitted also means “deceived.” The wise men outwitted Herod in the sense that they did not follow his command to return to him and tell him about the child (2:8). God warned them not to go back to Herod. So they did not participate in Herod’s evil plan to kill the child. This word does not indicate that, from the beginning, the wise men intended to “deceive” Herod in an evil way.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
that the wise men were more clever than he thought
that the Magi were not going to return
This verb is passive.
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
As a passive verb. For example:
he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men (RSV)
he saw that he had been deceived by the Magi
As an active verb. For example:
Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him (NCV)
he was filled with rage.
he became very angry.
Then he became enraged.
he was filled with rage: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as he was filled with rage means that Herod “became very angry.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
he became enraged
he was very angry (CEV)
Sending orders, he put to death all the boys
So he ordered his men to kill all the boys
So he sent his soldiers to kill all the young boys
Sending orders, he put to death all the boys: It is implied that Herod sent his soldiers to kill all the boys. In some languages, it will be natural to include this implied information. For example:
he gave orders to his soldiers/men to kill all the boys
all the boys: Herod was only concerned about male children who were two years old and younger. You should use a term appropriate for that age group. For example:
baby boys
young boys
in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under,
in Bethlehem and the surrounding area who were two years old or younger.
who were up to two years old in Bethlehem and villages nearby.
in Bethlehem and its vicinity: The phrase its vicinity refers to the villages and settlements near Bethlehem.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
in and around Bethlehem (NRSV)
in Bethlehem and in the area near it
in the town of Bethlehem and its surrounding communities/towns
who were two years old and under: The phrase two years old and under includes boys from two years old all the way down to newborns.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
two years old and younger (GNT)
newborns up to two years old
according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
This was based on the date that he had learned from the astrologers.
He estimated/calculated this age from the time that these men told him that they had first seen the star.
according to the time he had learned from the Magi: The clause according to the time he had learned from the Magi indicates that Herod calculated how old the child would have been based on the date that the wise men gave him. The wise men probably first saw the star less than two years before. But Herod wanted to make sure that his soldiers killed Jesus. So he told them to kill boys as old as two years.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
This was based on what he had learned from the wise men. (CEV)
He calculated this age from the time that the astrologers had first seen the star.
He estimated this age based on the wise men’s words.
It may be more natural in your language to have 2:16e before 2:16c. For example:
and 16ecounting from the time he had learned from the wise men, 16che gave orders to kill all the boys 16din Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under
The soldiers did as Herod ordered. It may be more natural in your language to include that implied information at the end of 2:16:
…And they did so.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἰδὼν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε Ἡρῴδης ἰδών ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπό τῶν μάγων ἐθυμώθη λίαν καί ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τούς παῖδας τούς ἐν Βηθλέεμ καί ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπό διετοῦς καί κατωτέρω κατά τόν χρόνον ὅν ἠκρίβωσεν παρά τῶν μάγων)
Here, Matthew speaks of knowing as if it were seeing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [having learned] or [having known]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων
˱he˲_˓was˒_mocked (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε Ἡρῴδης ἰδών ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπό τῶν μάγων ἐθυμώθη λίαν καί ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τούς παῖδας τούς ἐν Βηθλέεμ καί ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπό διετοῦς καί κατωτέρω κατά τόν χρόνον ὅν ἠκρίβωσεν παρά τῶν μάγων)
Matthew implies that Herod realized that the learned men were not going to visit him and tell him where Jesus was. That is why he felt mocked. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [he had been mocked by the learned men, who were not going to return] or [the learned men had deceived him by not coming back to him]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων
˱he˲_˓was˒_mocked (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε Ἡρῴδης ἰδών ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπό τῶν μάγων ἐθυμώθη λίαν καί ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τούς παῖδας τούς ἐν Βηθλέεμ καί ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπό διετοῦς καί κατωτέρω κατά τόν χρόνον ὅν ἠκρίβωσεν παρά τῶν μάγων)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [the learned men had mocked him]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἀποστείλας, ἀνεῖλεν
˓having˒_sent_out ˱he˲_killed
Matthew implies that Herod sent other people to kill the children. He did not kill the children himself. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [he sent forth his soldiers to kill]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε Ἡρῴδης ἰδών ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπό τῶν μάγων ἐθυμώθη λίαν καί ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τούς παῖδας τούς ἐν Βηθλέεμ καί ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπό διετοῦς καί κατωτέρω κατά τόν χρόνον ὅν ἠκρίβωσεν παρά τῶν μάγων)
Here, the phrase from two years and under identifies children that are two years old or younger than two years old. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase in your language. Alternate translation: [from those who were just born to those who were two years old] or [those who were younger than three years old]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἠκρίβωσεν παρὰ τῶν μάγων
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε Ἡρῴδης ἰδών ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπό τῶν μάγων ἐθυμώθη λίαν καί ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τούς παῖδας τούς ἐν Βηθλέεμ καί ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπό διετοῦς καί κατωτέρω κατά τόν χρόνον ὅν ἠκρίβωσεν παρά τῶν μάγων)
Matthew implies that Herod decided what ages of baby boys to have killed based on when the learned men first saw the star. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [basing this decision on the time of the star’s appearance that he had determined exactly from the learned men]
OET (OET-LV) Then Haʸrōdaʸs, having_seen that he_was_mocked by the wise_men, was_enraged exceedingly and having_sent_out, he_killed all the boys which in Baʸthleʼem/(Bēyt-leḩem) and in all the regions of_it from two_year and lower, according_to the time which he_ascertained from the wise_men.
OET (OET-RV) When King Herod realised that he’d been tricked by the watchers of signs, he got very angry and gave orders that all the sons in Bethlehem and its districts that were two years old and younger be killed, because that was the period that he’d found out from the watchers of signs.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.