1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehemmap For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. in Judea, in the timetn Grk “in the days.” of King Herod,sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty. wise mensn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40). from the East came to Jerusalemmap For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rosetn Or “in its rising,” referring to the astrological significance of a star in a particular portion of the sky. The term used for the “East” in v. 1 is ἀνατολαί (anatolai, a plural form that is used typically of the rising of the sun), while in vv. 2 and 9 the singular ἀνατολή (anatolh) is used. The singular is typically used of the rising of a star and as such should not normally be translated “in the east” (cf. BDAG 74 s.v. 1: “because of the sg. and the article in contrast to ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, vs. 1, [it is] prob. not a geograph. expr. like the latter, but rather astronomical…likew. vs. 9”). and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herodsn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law,tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader. he asked them where the Christtn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”sn See the note on Christ in 1:16. was to be born.

5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

7 Then Herodsn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared.

8 Hetn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.”

9 After listening to the king they left, and once againtn Grk “and behold the star.” the star they saw when it rosetn See the note on the word “rose” in 2:2. led them until it stopped above the place where the child was.

10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully.tn Grk “they rejoiced with very great joy.”

11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed downtn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.” and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense,sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212). and myrrh.sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.

12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod,sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. they went back by another route to their own country.

13 After they had gone, antn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). angel of the Lordtn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20. appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herodsn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne. is going to look for the child to kill him.”

14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother duringtn The feminine singular genitive noun νυκτός (nuktos, “night”) indicates the time during which the action of the main verb takes place (ExSyn 124). the night, and went to Egypt.

15 He stayed there until Herodsn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.

16 When Herodsn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13. saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent mentn Or “soldiers.” to kill all the children in Bethlehemmap For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

19 After Herodsn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. When Herod the Great died in 4 b.c., his kingdom was divided up among his three sons: Archelaus, who ruled over Judea (where Bethlehem was located, v. 22); Philip, who became tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis (cf. Luke 3:1); and Antipas, who became tetrarch of Galilee. had died, antn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). angel of the Lordtn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20. appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”

21 Sotn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s instructions. he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaussn Archelaus took after his father Herod the Great in terms of cruelty and ruthlessness, so Joseph was afraid to go there. After further direction in a dream, he went instead to Galilee. was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod,sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee.

23 He came to a town called Nazarethsn Nazareth was a very small village in the region of Galilee (Galilee lay north of Samaria and Judea). The town was located about 15 mi (25 km) west of the southern edge of the Sea of Galilee. According to Luke 1:26, Mary was living in Nazareth when the birth of Jesus was announced to her.map For location see Map1-D3; Map2-C2; Map3-D5; Map4-C1; Map5-G3. and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesustn There is no expressed subject of the third person singular verb here; the pronoun “he” is implied. Instead of this pronoun the referent “Jesus” has been supplied in the text to clarify to whom this statement refers. would be called a Nazarene.tn The Greek could be indirect discourse (as in the text), or direct discourse (“he will be called a Nazarene”). Judging by the difficulty of finding OT quotations (as implied in the plural “prophets”) to match the wording here, it appears that the author was using a current expression of scorn that conceptually (but not verbally) found its roots in the OT.