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2:1  ·When [After] Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king, some ·wise men [astrologers; magi; C a class of wise men and priests who practiced astrology] from the east came to Jerusalem.
2:2  They asked, “Where is the ·baby who was born to be the king [or newborn king] of the Jews? We saw his star ·in the east [or when it rose] and have come to ·worship him [pay him homage].”
2:3  When King Herod heard this, he was ·troubled [very disturbed; frightened], as were all the people in Jerusalem.
2:4  Herod ·called a meeting of [assembled] all the ·leading [T chief] priests and ·teachers of the law [scribes] and ·asked [inquired of] them where the ·Christ [Messiah] would be born.
2:5  They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. ·The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures [L For so it has been written by the prophet]:
2:6  ‘·But [or And] you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are ·not just an insignificant village in [L by no means least among the rulers/ruling cities of] Judah [Mic. 5:2]. [L For; Because] A ruler will come from you who will ·be like a shepherd for [L shepherd] my people Israel.’”
2:7  Then Herod ·had a secret meeting with [privately summoned] the ·wise men [astrologers; magi; v. 1] and ·learned [inquired] from them the exact time ·they first saw the star [the star appeared].
2:8  He sent the ·wise men [astrologers; magi] to Bethlehem, saying, “·Look [Go and search] carefully for the child. When you find him, ·come tell [report to] me so I can [L go and] ·worship [pay homage to] him too.”
2:9  After the ·wise men [astrologers; magi] ·heard [listened to; had their interview with] the king, they ·left [went on their way; set out]. [L And look] The star that they had seen ·in the east [or when it rose] went ·before [ahead of] them until it ·stopped [stood] above the place where the child was.
2:10  When the ·wise men [astologers; magi] saw the star, they ·were filled with joy [were overjoyed; L rejoiced with exceedingly great joy].
2:11  They ·came to [entered] the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they ·bowed down [knelt; L fell] and ·worshiped [paid homage to] him. They opened their ·gifts [treasure chests; treasures] and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
2:12  ·But God warned the wise men [L Being warned; C the passive verb implies God as subject] in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.
2:13  After they left, an angel of the Lord ·came [appeared] to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and ·escape [flee] to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is ·starting [intending; going] to ·look [search] for the child so he can kill him.”
2:14  So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother.
2:15  And Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This happened to ·bring about [fulfill] what the Lord had said through the prophet: “I called my son out of Egypt [Hos. 11:1; C Jesus fulfills the role of Israel by leading a spiritual Exodus].”
2:16  When Herod saw that the ·wise men [astologers; magi] had ·tricked [outwitted; outsmarted] him, he was furious. So he ·gave an order [or sent soldiers] to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the surrounding area who were two years old or younger. This was ·in keeping with [based on] the time he learned from the ·wise men [astologers; magi].
2:17  ·So [Then] what ·God had said [L was spoken; C the passive verb implies God as subject] through the prophet Jeremiah ·came true [was fulfilled]:
2:18  “A ·voice [cry; sound] was heard in Ramah [C the sending point from which the Jews went into exile to Babylon; Jer. 40:1] ·of painful crying [weeping] and ·deep sadness [great mourning/lamentation]: Rachel ·crying [weeping] for her children. She refused to be comforted, because ·her children are dead [L they are no more; Jer. 31:15].”
2:19  After Herod died, an angel of the Lord ·spoke [appeared] to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt.
2:20  The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, because the people who were ·trying to kill [L seeking the life of] the child are now dead.”
2:21  So Joseph [L got up,] took the child and his mother and ·went [returned] to Israel.
2:22  But he heard that Archelaus [C reigned from 4 bc to ad 6] was now ·king [reigning] in Judea ·since his father Herod had died [L in place of his father Herod]. So Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he ·went [withdrew] to the ·area [region; district] of Galilee,
2:23  to a town called Nazareth, and lived there. And so what ·God had said [was spoken; C the passive verb implies God as subject] through the prophets ·came true [was fulfilled]: “He will be called a Nazarene [C a person from the town of Nazareth; perhaps a reference to Is. 11:1, where the Hebrew word translated “branch” sounds like “Nazarene”].”