Matthew 2:13-23

Easy-to-Read Version

Jesus’ Parents Take Him to Egypt

¹³After the wise men left, an angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “Get up! Take the child with his mother and escape to Egypt. Herod wants to kill the child and will soon start looking for him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to come back.”

¹⁴So Joseph got ready and left for Egypt with the child and the mother. They left during the night. ¹⁵Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This gave full meaning to what the Lord said through the prophet: “I called my son to come out of Egypt.”^[a]

Herod Kills the Baby Boys in Bethlehem

¹⁶Herod saw that the wise men had fooled him, and he was very angry. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and the whole area around Bethlehem. Herod had learned from the wise men the time the baby was born. It was now two years from that time. So he said to kill all the boys who were two years old and younger. ¹⁷This gave full meaning to what God said through the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸“A sound was heard in Ramah—
    bitter crying and great sadness.
Rachel cries for her children,
    and she cannot be comforted,
    because her children are gone.” ^(A)

Joseph and Mary Return From Egypt

¹⁹While Joseph was in Egypt, Herod died. An angel from the Lord came to Joseph in a dream ²⁰and said, “Get up! Take the child with his mother and go to Israel. Those who were trying to kill the child are now dead.”

²¹So Joseph took the child and the mother and went to Israel. ²²But he heard that Archelaus was now king in Judea. Archelaus became king when his father Herod died. So Joseph was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he went away to the area of Galilee. ²³He went to a town called Nazareth and lived there. This gave full meaning to what God said through the prophets. God said the Messiah^[b] would be called a Nazarene.^[c]

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Footnotes

Matthew 2:15 Quote from Hos. 11:1.
Matthew 2:23 the Messiah Literally, “he.” See “Messiah” in the Word List.
Matthew 2:23 Nazarene A person from the city of Nazareth. This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “branch.” So Matthew may be referring to the promise of a “branch” of David’s family. See Isa. 11:1.