Matthew 2

All 23 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod. Around that time, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
2. 2asking, "Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star rise in the east and have come to worship him."
3. 3When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and so was everyone in Jerusalem.
4. 4He called together all the chief priests and scribes and demanded to know where the Christ was supposed to be born.
5. 5They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, because the prophet wrote:
6. 6And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a Governor who will rule my people Israel.
7. 7Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and pressed them for the exact time the star had appeared.
8. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I can go and worship him too."
9. 9After hearing the king, they set out. And there it was — the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped directly over the place where the child was.
10. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with extremely great joy.
11. 11They entered the house and saw the young child with his mother Mary. They fell down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12. 12God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different route.
13. 13After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I bring you word, because Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
14. 14So Joseph got up that very night, took the child and his mother, and left for Egypt.
15. 15They stayed there until Herod died. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
16. 16Then Herod, when he saw that he had been mocked by the wise men, was extremely angry. He sent forth and killed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding region who were two years old and under, according to the time he had carefully inquired of the wise men.
17. 17This fulfilled what the prophet Jeremiah had spoken:
18. 18A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning. Rachel was crying for her children and refused to be comforted, because they are no more.
19. 19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20. 20saying, “Get up, take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, because those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”
21. 21So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and returned to the land of Israel.
22. 22But when he learned that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to settle there. Warned by God in a dream, he headed instead to the region of Galilee,
23. 23where he settled in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: "He will be called a Nazarene."