Escape from Herod1Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of king Herod. Wise men came to Jerusalem from the east asking:2"Where has the King of the Jews been born? We followed a star from the east and have come to worship Him."3This disturbed king Herod and those in authority in Jerusalem.4So Herod called together the chief priests and teachers of the law, asking them where the Messiah, the Christ, was to be born.5-6"In Bethlehem in Judea," they told him, "for the prophets predicted, 'You Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the least in importance among the places of Judah; for from you will come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.'"7Then Herod contacted the wise men secretly to find out when exactly the star had appeared to them.8He then sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions: "Go and search carefully for the Child. When you find Him, report to me so that I also may come and worship Him."9They went as the king ordered, following the star they had seen in the east until it reached the place where the Child lay.10They were overjoyed to have the star to guide them.11When they entered the house they saw the Child with Mary, His mother; and they bowed before Him in worship. Then they presented the gifts they had brought – gold, incense and myrrh.12However, they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so they made their way back to their own country by another route.13After their departure, one of the Lord's angels appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying: "Go, escape immediately to Egypt taking the Child and His mother with you. Stay there until I tell you it is safe to return, for Herod will search for the Child with the intention of killing Him."14When he awoke, Joseph, the Child and Mary left for Egypt during the night.15They stayed there until Herod's death, fulfilling what was predicted by the prophet: "I called My Son out of Egypt."16Herod was furious when he realised he had been outsmarted by the wise men and ordered that all boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or less were to be killed, estimating the time from the information he received from the wise men.17-18And so what the prophet Jeremiah wrote was fulfilled, 'In Ramah a sound of weeping and great mourning is heard. Rachel is weeping for her children and refuses to be comforted because they have been taken from her.'19-20After Herod's death, the Lord's angel appeared again in a dream to Joseph, saying: "Go, take the Child and His mother and return to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to take the Child's life are themselves dead."21-22So in obedience Joseph returned to Israel with Jesus and Mary. But on hearing that Archelaus was now reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, for he had again been forewarned in a dream.23So they went instead to Galilee where they set up home in a small town called Nazareth. This fulfilled another prophecy: 'He will be called a Nazarene.'
Scripture quoted by permission. The passage above is taken from THE TRUTH VERSION. Copyright © 2009 by Colin Urquhart. All rights reserved worldwide. (The Truth New Testament)