The Visit of the Wise Men
1 Now Luke 2:4-7after Jesus was born in Luke 2:15;John 7:42Bethlehem of Judea Luke 1:5in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men2:1 Greek magi; also verses 7, 16 from [Gen. 25:6;1 Kgs. 4:30]the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is he who has been born ch. 27:11,37;Jer. 23:5;30:9;Zech. 9:9king of the Jews? For we saw [Num. 24:17;Rev. 22:16] his star when it rose2:2 Or in the east; also verse 9 and have come to See ch. 8:2worship him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where See ch. 1:17the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 Cited from Mic. 5:2"‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will Ezek. 34:23;John 21:15-17;[2 Sam. 5:2;Rev. 7:17]shepherd my people Israel.’"
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, [1 Sam. 9:7;Ps. 72:10] they offered him gifts, Isa. 60:6gold and Rev. 18:13frankincense and Ex. 30:23;Ps. 45:8;John 19:39myrrh. 12 And ver. 22;[ver. 13, 19] being warned [ch. 27:19;Gen. 20:6;31:11;Num. 12:6;Job 33:15]in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The Flight to Egypt
13 Now when they had departed, behold, ver. 19;ch. 1:20;[ver. 12, 22]an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. See ch. 1:22This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Cited from Hos. 11:1"Out of Egypt I called my son."
Herod Kills the Children
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 ch. 27:9;[ch. 1:22]Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 Cited from Jer. 31:15"A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they Gen. 42:13,36;Lam. 5:7are no more."
The Return to Nazareth
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for [Ex. 4:19]those who sought the child’s life are dead." 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and See ver. 12being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called ch. 4:13;Mark 1:9;Luke 1:26;2:39;4:16;John 1:45Nazareth, See ch. 1:22so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.