3.3 KiB
Wise Men Visit the King
Chapter 2
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After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
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saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him."
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When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
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So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
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"In Bethlehem of Judea," they told him, "because this is what was written by the prophet:
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And you, Bethlehem,** in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:** Because out of you will come a ruler** who will shepherd my people Israel.**"
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Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared.
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He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him."
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After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was--the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was.
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When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy.
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Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
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And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
The Flight into Egypt
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After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him."
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So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt.
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He stayed there until Herod's death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.** The Massacre of the Innocents
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Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.
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Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
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A voice was heard in Ramah,** weeping,* and great mourning,* Rachel weeping for her children;** and she refused to be consoled,** because they are no more.** The Return to Nazareth
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After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
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saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead."
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So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel.
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But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling 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.
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Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.