The time and place of Christ’s birth. The wise men offer their presents. Christ flees into Egypt. The young children are slain. Christ turns in to Galilee.

2 When Jesus was born at Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ² saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.

³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And he gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ And they said to him, At Bethlehem in Judea. For thus it is written by the prophet: ⁶ And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of you shall come the leader who will govern my people Israel.

⁷ Then Herod privately called the wise men and carefully enquired of them when the star had appeared, ⁸ and sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child. And when you have found him, bring me word so that I may come and worship him also.

⁹ When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were marvellously glad, ¹¹ and went into the house and found the child with Mary his mother, and kneeled down and worshipped him, and opened their treasures and offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And after they were warned by God in a dream that they should not go again to Herod, they returned into their own country another way.

¹³ When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there till I bring you word. For Herod will seek the child to kill him.

¹⁴ Then he arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt, ¹⁵ and was there until the death of Herod, to fulfil that which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, which says, Out of Egypt have I called my Son.

¹⁶ Then Herod, perceiving that the wise men had gotten around him, was exceedingly angry, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all its vicinity – as many as were two years old and under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ¹⁸ On the hills a voice was heard, mourning, weeping, and great lamentation: Rachel weeping for her children. And she would not be comforted, because they were no more.

¹⁹ When Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead who sought the child’s life.

²¹ Then he arose up and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After he was warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee, ²³ and went and dwelt in a village called Nazareth, to fulfil that which was spoken by the prophets: He shall be called a Nazarite.