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¹ WHEN Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the days of Herod the king, there came Magi from the East to Jerusalem.² And they were saying, Where is the King of the Jews, who has been born? For we have seen his star in the East, so we have come to worship him.³ But when Herod the king heard it, he trembled, and all Jerusalem with him.⁴ So he gathered together all the high priests and the scribes of the people, and he kept asking them, where the Christ would be born?⁵ They said, In Bethlehem of Judah, for thus it is written in the book of the prophet:⁶ Even you, Bethlehem of Judah, you are not insignificant in the eyes of the kings of Judah, for from you shall come out a king, who will shepherd my people Israel.⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly, and he learned from them at what time the star appeared to them.⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said to them, Go and enquire very carefully concerning the boy, and when you have found him, come back and let me know, so that I also may go and worship him.

⁹ When they had heard from the king, they went away; and behold, the same star that they had seen in the east was going before them, until it came and stood just above the place where the infant boy was.¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly.¹¹ And they entered the house, and they saw the infant boy with Mary, his mother; and they threw themselves down and worshipped him; and they opened their treasures and offered to him gifts - gold and frankincense, and myrrh.¹² And they saw in a dream not to return to Herod, so they departed to their own country by another way.

¹³ When they had gone, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said to him, Arise, take the infant boy and his mother, and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is ready to demand the child so as to destroy him.¹⁴ Then Joseph rose up, took the infant boy and his mother in the night, and escaped to Egypt.¹⁵ And he remained there until the death of Herod, so that what was said from the Lord by the prophet, might be fulfilled, I have called my son from Egypt.

¹⁶ When Herod saw that he was insulted by the Magi, he was greatly enraged, so he sent forth and had all the infant boys in Bethlehem and in its suburbs killed, from two years old and down, according to the time that he had enquired from the Magi.¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was said by the prophet Jeremiah who said,¹⁸ A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and wailing exceedingly, Rachel weeping for her sons, and she would not be comforted, because they could not be brought back.

¹⁹ When King Herod died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.²⁰ And he said to him, Arise, take the boy and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the boy''s life are dead.²¹ So Joseph rose up, took the boy and his mother, and he came to the land of Israel.²² But when he heard that Archelaus had become king over Judaea, in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there; and it was revealed to him in a dream to go to the land of Galilee.²³ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, so that what was said by the prophet, might be fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazarene.