Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 2:1-12

18 The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. His mother Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage. But before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

19 Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.

20 Joseph had this in mind when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, "Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

21 She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins."

22 All this happened so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true:

23 "The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel," which means "God is with us."

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. He took Mary to be his wife.

25 He did not have marital relations with her before she gave birth to a son. Joseph named the child Jesus.

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea when Herod was king. After Jesus' birth wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem.

2 They asked, "Where is the one who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star rising and have come to worship him."

3 When King Herod and all Jerusalem heard about this, they became disturbed.

4 He called together all the chief priests and scribes and tried to find out from them where the Messiah was supposed to be born.

5 They told him, "In Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this:

6 Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. A leader will come from you. He will shepherd my people Israel."

7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared.

8 As he sent them to Bethlehem, he said, "Go and search carefully for the child. When you have found him, report to me so that I may go and worship him too."

9 After they had heard the king, they started out. The star they had seen rising led them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

10 They were overwhelmed with joy to see the star.

11 When they entered the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary. So they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they left for their country by another road.