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OET (OET-LV) And which having_heard from_the king, they_were_gone, and see, the star, which they_saw in the east, was_going_before them until having_come, it_was_stood over where the little_child was.
OET (OET-RV) So when the king had finished speaking, they departed, and the star which they could see in the east went ahead of them and stopped above the place where the child was.
In this section, Matthew showed his readers that:
Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem as scripture predicted (even though he would later move to Nazareth, and people considered him to be a Nazarene).
The Jewish religious teachers who knew the law did not go to worship the king of the Jews. It was the Gentile wise men who worshiped him.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Visit of the Wise Men (NET)
Visitors from the East (GNT)
After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
¶ After they heard the king’s words, they left him.
¶ When the king finished speaking, they left him and started going to Bethlehem.
After they had heard the king: This clause indicates that the king had finished giving instructions to the wise men.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
After they heard the king’s words
When the king finished speaking
they went on their way: The Greek word that the BSB translates as they went on their way simply indicates that the wise men left Herod. It is implied from 2:9b–c that they continued their journey.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
they left Herod and began traveling again
then they left Jerusalem and started going to Bethlehem
and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them
Suddenly, the star appeared. This is the star that they had seen when it first rose. It continued going ahead of them
Then amazingly, the same star again showed itself. This is the star that they had seen rising. This star guided/led them
The Greek of 2:9b begins with a word that is often translated as “behold.” It literally means “look” or “see.” This word focuses attention on what follows and indicates that it is important, unexpected, or amazing. In this passage, the star that the wise men had seen earlier unexpectedly appeared again. See the note at 2:1c and consider how you translated the term there.
the star they had seen in the east: The phrase in the east is the same phrase as in 2:2. You should translate it here as you did there.
There are two ways to interpret this phrase:
It refers to the star rising in the sky. For example:
the star they had seen rising (REB) (NRSV, NJB, GW, NET, REB, ESV)
It refers to the location of the star or the location of the wise men being in the east. For example:
the star which they had seen in the East (RSV) (BSB, RSV, NIV, GNT, NASB, CEV, JBP, KJV, NCV, NLT)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the star they saw when it rose (NET)
the star they had seen rising (NJB)
went ahead of them: The Greek form of the verb that the BSB translates as went ahead indicates that the star continued to move before them as they traveled.
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
kept going ahead of them as they traveled
guided them (NLT)
led them (NET)
until it stood over the place where the Child was.
until it stopped above the place where the child was.
to the place where the young child Jesus was located. Then it stopped above that place.
until it stood over the place where the Child was: The phrase place where the Child was refers to the location of the Child. It may indicate the house (2:11a) or the village. Use a general expression in your language for this phrase.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
until it stopped above the place where the child was
to the place where the child was. Then it stopped above that place.
the Child: The phrase the Child refers to Jesus.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐπορεύθησαν
˱they˲_˓were˒_gone
Matthew implies that they went to Bethlehem. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [went to Bethlehem]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ,metaphor
ἰδοὺ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἱ Δέ ἀκούσαντες τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπορεύθησαν καί ἰδού ὁ ἀστήρ ὅν εἶδον ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ προῆγεν αὐτούς ἕως ἐλθών ἐστάθη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τό παιδίον)
The word behold draws the attention of the audience and asks them to listen carefully. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express behold with a word or phrase that asks the audience to listen, or you could draw the audience’s attention in another way. Alternate translation: [hear me now] or [notice]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ
in the east
Translate this phrase as you did in [2:2](../02/02.md). Alternate translation: [when it rose] or [as it rose in the east]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
προῆγεν αὐτούς ἕως ἐλθὼν ἐστάθη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τὸ παιδίον
˓was˒_going_before them until (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἱ Δέ ἀκούσαντες τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπορεύθησαν καί ἰδού ὁ ἀστήρ ὅν εἶδον ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ προῆγεν αὐτούς ἕως ἐλθών ἐστάθη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τό παιδίον)
Matthew speaks as if the star were a person who could go somewhere and stand there. He means that the star moved in the sky until it was directly above the place where Jesus was staying. We do not know exactly how the star moved or what it looked like. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state directly that the star moved and then stopped. Alternate translation: [was moving in the sky ahead of them until it was above where the young child was. Then it stopped moving]
OET (OET-LV) And which having_heard from_the king, they_were_gone, and see, the star, which they_saw in the east, was_going_before them until having_come, it_was_stood over where the little_child was.
OET (OET-RV) So when the king had finished speaking, they departed, and the star which they could see in the east went ahead of them and stopped above the place where the child was.
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.