Matthew 2 | New International Reader’s Version

New International Reader’s Version

The wise men visit Jesus

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea. After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, ‘Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose. Now we have come to worship him.’ 3 When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. 4 So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah was going to be born. 5 ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied. ‘This is what the prophet has written. He said, 6 ‘ “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah. A ruler will come out of you. He will rule my people Israel like a shepherd.” ’ (Mic 5:2) 7 Then Herod secretly called for the Wise Men. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report it to me. Then I can go and worship him too.’ 9 After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.

Jesus’ family escapes to Egypt

13 When the Wise Men had left, Joseph had a dream. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. ‘Get up!’ the angel said. ‘Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to come back. Herod is going to search for the child. He wants to kill him.’ 14 So Joseph got up. During the night, he left for Egypt with the child and his mother Mary. 15 They stayed there until King Herod died. So the words the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true. He had said, ‘I brought my son out of Egypt.’ (Ho 11:1) 16 Herod realised that the Wise Men had tricked him. So he became very angry. He gave orders about Bethlehem and the area around it. He ordered all the boys two years old and under to be killed. This agreed with the time when the Wise Men had seen the star. 17 In this way, the words Jeremiah the prophet spoke came true. He had said, 18 ‘A voice is heard in Ramah. It’s the sound of crying and deep sadness. Rachel is crying over her children. She refuses to be comforted, because they are gone.’ (Jer 31:15)

Jesus’ family returns to Nazareth

19 After Herod died, Joseph had a dream while he was still in Egypt. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to him. 20 The angel said, ‘Get up! Take the child and his mother. Go to the land of Israel. The people who were trying to kill the child are dead.’ 21 So Joseph got up. He took the child and his mother Mary back to the land of Israel. 22 But then he heard that Archelaus was king of Judea. Archelaus was ruling in place of his father Herod. This made Joseph afraid to go there. Joseph had been warned in a dream. So he went back to the land of Galilee instead. 23 There he lived in a town called Nazareth. So what the prophets had said about Jesus came true. They had said that he would be called a Nazarene.

Nuova Riveduta 2006

from Società Biblica di Ginevra

Arrivo dei magi

1 Gesù era nato in Betlemme di Giudea, all’epoca del re Erode^[1]. Dei magi^[2] d’Oriente arrivarono a Gerusalemme, dicendo: 2 «Dov’è il re dei Giudei che è nato? Poiché noi abbiamo visto la sua stella in Oriente e siamo venuti per adorarlo». 3 Udito questo, il re Erode fu turbato, e tutta Gerusalemme con lui. 4 Riuniti tutti i capi dei sacerdoti e gli scribi^[3] del popolo, s’informò da loro dove il Cristo doveva nascere. 5 Essi gli dissero: «In Betlemme di Giudea; poiché così è stato scritto per mezzo del profeta: 6 “E tu, Betlemme, terra di Giuda, non sei affatto la minima fra le città principali di Giuda; perché da te uscirà un principe, che pascerà il mio popolo Israele”^[4]». 7 Allora Erode, chiamati di nascosto i magi, s’informò esattamente da loro del tempo in cui la stella era apparsa; 8 e, mandandoli a Betlemme, disse loro: «Andate e chiedete informazioni precise sul bambino e, quando lo avrete trovato, fatemelo sapere, affinché anch’io vada ad adorarlo». 9 Essi dunque, udito il re, partirono; e la stella, che avevano vista in Oriente, andava davanti a loro finché, giunta al luogo dov’era il bambino, vi si fermò sopra. 10 Quando videro la stella, si rallegrarono di grandissima gioia. 11 Entrati nella casa, videro il bambino con Maria, sua madre; prostratisi, lo adorarono e, aperti i loro tesori, gli offrirono dei doni: oro, incenso e mirra. 12 Poi, avvertiti in sogno di non ripassare da Erode, tornarono al loro paese per un’altra via.

Fuga in Egitto

13 Dopo che furono partiti, un angelo del Signore apparve in sogno a Giuseppe e gli disse: «Àlzati, prendi il bambino e sua madre, fuggi in Egitto e restaci finché io non te lo dico; perché Erode sta per cercare il bambino per farlo morire». 14 Egli dunque si alzò, prese di notte il bambino e sua madre, e si ritirò in Egitto. 15 Là rimase fino alla morte di Erode, affinché si adempisse quello che fu detto dal Signore per mezzo del profeta: «Fuori d’Egitto chiamai mio figlio»^[5].

Erode fa uccidere i bambini innocenti

16 Allora Erode, vedendosi beffato dai magi, si adirò moltissimo, e mandò a uccidere tutti i maschi che erano in Betlemme e in tutto il suo territorio dall’età di due anni in giù, secondo il tempo del quale si era esattamente informato dai magi. 17 Allora si adempì quello che era stato detto per bocca del profeta Geremia: 18 «Un grido si è udito in Rama, un pianto e un lamento grande: Rachele piange i suoi figli e rifiuta di essere consolata, perché non sono più»^[6].

Giuseppe ritorna dall’Egitto e si stabilisce a Nazaret

19 Dopo la morte di Erode, un angelo del Signore apparve in sogno a Giuseppe, in Egitto, e gli disse: 20 «Àlzati, prendi il bambino e sua madre, e va’ nel paese d’Israele; perché sono morti coloro che cercavano di uccidere il bambino». 21 Egli, alzatosi, prese il bambino e sua madre, e rientrò nel paese d’Israele. 22 Ma, udito che in Giudea regnava Archelao^[7] al posto di Erode, suo padre, ebbe paura di andare là; e, avvertito in sogno, si ritirò nella regione della Galilea 23 e venne ad abitare in una città detta Nazaret, affinché si adempisse quello che era stato detto dai profeti, che egli sarebbe stato chiamato Nazareno.