1 Depois que Jesus nasceu em Belém da Judéia, nos dias do rei Herodes, magos vindos do Oriente chegaram a Jerusalém2 e perguntaram: "Onde está o recém-nascido rei dos judeus? Vimos a sua estrela no Oriente e viemos adorá-lo".3 Quando o rei Herodes ouviu isso, ficou perturbado, e com ele toda a Jerusalém.4 Tendo reunido todos os chefes dos sacerdotes do povo e os mestres da lei, perguntou-lhes onde deveria nascer o Cristo.5 E eles responderam: "Em Belém da Judéia; pois assim escreveu o profeta:6 ‘Mas tu, Belém, da terra de Judá, de forma alguma és a menor entre as principais cidades de Judá; pois de ti virá o líder que, como pastor, conduzirá Israel, o meu povo’ ".7 Então Herodes chamou os magos secretamente e informou-se com eles a respeito do tempo exato em que a estrela tinha aparecido.8 Enviou-os a Belém e disse: "Vão informar-se com exatidão sobre o menino. Logo que o encontrarem, avisem-me, para que eu também vá adorá-lo".9 Depois de ouvirem o rei, eles seguiram o seu caminho, e a estrela que tinham visto no Oriente foi adiante deles, até que finalmente parou sobre o lugar onde estava o menino.10 Quando tornaram a ver a estrela, encheram-se de júbilo.11 Ao entrarem na casa, viram o menino com Maria, sua mãe, e, prostrando-se, o adoraram. Então abriram os seus tesouros e lhe deram presentes: ouro, incenso e mirra.12 E, tendo sido advertidos em sonho para não voltarem a Herodes, retornaram a sua terra por outro caminho.13 Depois que partiram, um anjo do Senhor apareceu a José em sonho e disse-lhe: "Levante-se, tome o menino e sua mãe, e fuja para o Egito. Fique lá até que eu lhe diga, pois Herodes vai procurar o menino para matá-lo".14 Então ele se levantou, tomou o menino e sua mãe durante a noite, e partiu para o Egito,15 onde ficou até a morte de Herodes. E assim se cumpriu o que o Senhor tinha dito pelo profeta: "Do Egito chamei o meu filho".16 Quando Herodes percebeu que havia sido enganado pelos magos, ficou furioso e ordenou que matassem todos os meninos de dois anos para baixo, em Belém e nas proximidades, de acordo com a informação que havia obtido dos magos.17 Então se cumpriu o que fora dito pelo profeta Jeremias:18 "Ouviu-se uma voz em Ramá, choro e grande lamentação; é Raquel que chora por seus filhos e recusa ser consolada, porque já não existem".19 Depois que Herodes morreu, um anjo do Senhor apareceu em sonho a José, no Egito,20 e disse: "Levante-se, tome o menino e sua mãe, e vá para a terra de Israel, pois estão mortos os que procuravam tirar a vida do menino".21 Ele se levantou, tomou o menino e sua mãe, e foi para a terra de Israel.22 Mas, ao ouvir que Arquelau estava reinando na Judéia em lugar de seu pai Herodes, teve medo de ir para lá. Tendo sido avisado em sonho, retirou-se para a região da Galiléia23 e foi viver numa cidade chamada Nazaré. Assim cumpriu-se o que fora dito pelos profetas: Ele será chamado Nazareno.

1 AFTER Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, in Judaea, in the days of Herod the King, wise men from the East arrived at Jerusalem,2 saying, "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East and have come to do homage to him."3 When King Herod heard it, he was disturbed, and so was all Jerusalem.4 Then he called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.5 They said to him, "In Bethlehem, in Juda. For so it was written by the prophet,6 'And thou, Bethlehem, land of Judah, art by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for from thee will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.' "7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and learned from them exactly the time of the star's appearance,8 and as he sent them to Bethlehem he said, "Go and make careful inquiries about the child, and when you have found him bring me word, so that I too may come and do homage to him."9 After hearing the king, they journeyed on, and the star which they had seen in the East went before them until it came and stood over where the child was.10 When they saw the star, they were very joyful.11 They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and presented to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.12 After this they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so went by another mad back to their own country.13 After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, "Rise up, and take the child and his mother and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you, for Herod will search for the child in order to kill him."14 So Joseph rose up, and took the child and his mother in the night and went away to Egypt,15 and was there until the death of Herod, in order that the word of the Lord spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called my Son."16 Then Herod, seeing that he had been outwitted by the wise men, became furious, and sent out and killed all the boy babies two years old and under in Bethlehem and all its neighborhood, guided by the date which he had carefully learned from the wise men.17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet when he said,18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and bitter lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted because they are not."19 But after Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt20 and said, "Arise, and take the child and his mother and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead who sought the child's life."21 So he arose, and took the child and his mother and came into the land of Israel.22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judaea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being directed in a dream he went away to the region of Galilee23 and settled in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazarene."