Bible Time

¹WHEN Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the days of Herod the king, Magi came from the east to Jerusalem. ²And they were saying, Where is the King of the Jews, who has been born? For we have seen his star in the East, so we have come to worship him. ³But when Herod the king heard it, he trembled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴So he gathered together all the high priests and the scribes of the people, and he kept asking them, where the Messiah would be born? ⁵They said, In Bethlehem of Judah, for it is written in the book of the prophet: ⁶Even you, Bethlehem of Judah, you are not insignificant in the eyes of the kings of Judah, from you will come out a king, who will shepherd my people Israel. ⁷Then Herod called the Magi secretly, and he learned from them at what time the star appeared to them. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said to them, Go and ask very carefully concerning the boy, and when you have found him, come back and let me know, so that I may also go and worship him. ⁹When they had heard from the king, they went away; and look, the same star that they had seen in the east was going before them, until it came and stood just above the place where the infant boy was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly. ¹¹And they entered the house, and they saw the infant boy with Mary, his mother; and they threw themselves down and worshiped him; and they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold and frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²And they saw in a dream not to return to Herod, so they departed to their own country by another way.

¹³When they had gone, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said to him, Arise, take the infant boy and his mother, and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is ready to demand the child to destroy him. ¹⁴Then Joseph rose up, took the infant boy and his mother in the night, and escaped to Egypt. ¹⁵And he remained there until the death of Herod, so that what was said from the Lord by the prophet, might be fulfilled, I have called my son from Egypt. ¹⁶When Herod saw that he was insulted by the Magi, he was greatly enraged, so he sent forth and had all the infant boys in Bethlehem and in its suburbs killed, from 2 years old and down, according to the time that he had received from the Magi. ¹⁷Then what was said by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, who said, ¹⁸A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and wailing exceedingly, Rachel weeping for her sons, and she would not be comforted, because they could not be brought back.

¹⁹When King Herod died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. ²⁰And he said to him, Arise, take the boy and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the boy's life are dead. ²¹So Joseph rose up, took the boy and his mother, and he came to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus had become king over Judaea, in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; and it was revealed to him in a dream to go to the land of Galilee. ²³And he came and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was said by the prophet, might be fulfilled, He will be called a Nazarene.