Matthew 1:18-2:23

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

²⁰But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

²¹She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

²³“Behold, the virgin will be with child

and will give birth to a son,

and they will call Him Immanuel”

(which means, “God with us”).

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife.

²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

¹After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

²asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

³When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

⁴And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

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

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler

who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared.

⁸And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”

⁹After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was.

¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight.

¹¹On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.

¹³When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”

¹⁴So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt,

¹⁵where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.

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

¹⁸“A voice is heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more.”

¹⁹After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

²⁰“Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”

²¹So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and went to the land of Israel.

²²But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,

²³and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Related Resources from Heartlight

Cross References for Matthew 1:18-2:23

The Berean Standard Bible