New Living Translation NLT
Wycliffe WYC
1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,
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Therefore when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of king Herod, lo! astrologers [lo! kings, or wise men,] came from the east to Jerusalem,
2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
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and said [saying], Where is he, that is born [the] king of Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and we have come to worship him.
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
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But king Herod heard, and was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
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And he gathered together all the princes of priests, and scribes of the people, and inquired of them, where Christ should be born.
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
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And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Juda; for so it is written by a prophet,
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ”
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And thou, Bethlehem, the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda; for of thee a duke shall go out, that shall govern my people Israel.
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.
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Then Herod called privily the astrologers [the kings], and learned busily of them [busily learned of them] the time of the star that appeared to them.
8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
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And he sent them into Bethlehem, and said, Go ye, and ask ye busily of the child, and when ye have found, tell ye it to me [tell again to me], that I also come, and worship him.
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.
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And when they had heard the king, they went forth [went away]. And lo! the star, that they saw in the east [And lo! the star which they saw in the east], went before them, till it came, and stood above, where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!
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And they saw the star, and joyed with a full great joy.
11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
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And they entered into the house, and found the child with Mary, his mother; and they felled down, and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they offered to him gifts, gold, incense, and myrrh.
12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
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And when they had taken an answer in sleep, that they should not turn again to Herod, they turned again by another way into their [own] country. [+And an answer taken in sleep, that they should not turn again to Herod, they be turned by another way into their own country.]
13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
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And when they were gone [And when they had gone away], lo! the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in sleep, and said [saying], Rise up, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there, till that I say to thee; for it is to come, that Herod seek the child, to destroy him [to lose him].
14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother,
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And Joseph rose [up], and took the child and his mother by night, and went into Egypt,
15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
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and he was there till the death of Herod; that it should be fulfilled, that was said of the Lord by the prophet, saying, From Egypt I have called my son.
16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.
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Then Herod seeing that he was scorned, either deceived, of the astrologers [Then Herod seeing that he was scorned, or deceived, of the kings], was full wroth; and he sent, and slew all the children, that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years age and within, after the time that he had inquired of the astrologers [after the time that he had sought out of the kings].
17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
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Then it was fulfilled, that was said by Jeremy, the prophet, saying,
18 “A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”
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A voice was heard on high, weeping and much wailing, Rachel beweeping her sons, and she would not be comforted, for they be nought [for they be not].
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.
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But when Herod was dead, lo! the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in sleep in Egypt, [Soothly Herod dead, lo! the angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt,]
20 “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
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and said [saying], Rise up, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they that sought the life of the child be dead.
21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother.
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Joseph rose [up], and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee.
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And he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judaea for Herod, his father, and dreaded to go thither. And he was warned in sleep, and went into the parts of Galilee;
23 So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
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and [he] came, and dwelt in a city, that is called Nazareth, that it should be fulfilled, that was said by prophets, For he shall be called a Nazarene.
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Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.