Matthew 2:7-17

7 Then Herod, having secretly called the magi, inquired of them accurately the time of the star that was appearing;

8 and having sent them to Bethlehem, said, Go, search out accurately concerning the child, and when ye shall have found [him] bring me back word, so that *I* also may come and do him homage.

9 And they having heard the king went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them until it came and stood over the place where the little child was.

10 And when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And having come into the house they saw the little child with Mary his mother, and falling down did him homage. And having opened their treasures, they offered to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13 Now, they having departed, behold, an angel of [the] Lord appears in a dream to Joseph, saying, Arise, take to [thee] the little child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee; for Herod will seek the little child to destroy it.

14 And, having arisen, he took to [him] the little child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt.

15 And he was there until the death of Herod, that that might be fulfilled which was spoken by [the] Lord ^[a] through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

16 Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the magi, was greatly enraged; and sent and slew all the boys which [were] in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under, according to the time which he had accurately inquired from the magi.

17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremias the prophet, saying,

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'learned:' so ver. 16.
• [b]. It is evident that the star had not been all the way, but now reappeared: see ver. 10. 'The time' is practically when it appeared; 'how long since?'
• [c]. It signifies an answer after consultation, as ver. 22; hence an oracular or divine answer, not merely warning.
• [d]. See Note, ch. 1.20.
• [e]. Hos. 11.1.