1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea, during the time of King Herod, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,
2“Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3When King Herod heard this, he was upset, and so was everyone in Jerusalem.
4He called together all the chief priests and the religious scholars of the people and asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because this is what the prophet wrote:
6‘You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for from you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7Then Herod secretly called the wise men and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too may go and worship him.”
9After listening to the king, they left. And the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10When they saw the star, they were filled with overwhelming joy.
11They went into the house and saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12They were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different route.
13After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to leave, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt.
15He stayed there until Herod died. This happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16When Herod realized the wise men had tricked him, he became furious. He sent soldiers to kill all the male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding area who were two years old or younger, based on the information he had received from the wise men.
17This fulfilled what the prophet Jeremiah had said:
18“A sound was heard in Ramah, crying, weeping, and great sorrow. Rachel was crying for her children and could not be comforted, because they were gone.”
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said,
20“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21So he got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.
22But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the region of Galilee,
23and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”