- 1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
- 2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
- 3When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
- 4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
- 5And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
- 6And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
- 7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
- 8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
- 9When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
- 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
- 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
- 12And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
- 13And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
- 14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
- 15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
- 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
- 17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
- 18In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
- 19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
- 20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.
- 21And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
- 22But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
- 23And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
KING JAMES VERSION
MATTHEW 2
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Matthew 2 — The wise men worship the young Jesus, and the child is preserved through flight to Egypt and return to Nazareth.
About this illustration
The worship, warning, flight, and return are combined around one night journey. Herod’s violence is acknowledged through the family’s urgency and distant threat rather than graphic suffering; the visitors are not fixed at three.
Scripture basis: Matthew 2:1–23King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchaeological site
Hellenistic through Early Roman periods, including first century AD
Nazareth First-Century Settlement Evidence
Domestic structures, rock-cut storage, pottery, tombs, quarries, and agricultural installations demonstrate that Nazareth was a small Jewish settlement in the late Hellenistic and early Roman periods.
Matthew 2:23 · Luke 1:26–27 · Luke 2:39–51
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchaeological site
Late first century BC
Herodium and Herod’s Mausoleum
Herodium's engineered mountain, palace-fortress, theater, and shattered monumental mausoleum expose Herod the Great's royal self-presentation near Bethlehem, while the excavators' identification of the tomb remains an important scholarly debate rather than an inscriptional certainty.
Matthew 2:1–22 · Luke 1:5
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArtifact
37–4 BC
Coins of Herod the Great
Herod's bronze issues name him as king and encode changing claims through Greek legends, regnal dates, denominations, and royal or cultic symbols, supplying contemporary evidence for his rule while corroborating the Gospel setting rather than its infancy events.
Matthew 2:1–22 · Luke 1:5
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArtifact
4 BC-AD 6
Coins of Herod Archelaus
Bronze coins naming Herod Archelaus as ethnarch provide a contemporary title for the ruler Matthew places over Judea after Herod the Great, while their non-portrait types disclose the visual politics of his brief reign.
Matthew 2:22
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
AD 339 and mid-sixth century
The Constantinian and Justinianic Church of the Nativity
Fourth-century floors, foundations, and a sixth-century rebuilding over Bethlehem's venerated grotto document a continuous monumental Christian commemoration of Jesus' birth, while not establishing that the cave is the historical birthplace.
Matthew 2:1–6 · Luke 2:4–20
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
3rd Century
Papyrus P70: Matthew 11:26–27 in a Greek Witness
P70 joins three third- or early-fourth-century papyrus fragments in Oxford and Florence that preserve portions of Matthew 2–3, 11–12, and 24.
Matthew 2:13–16 · Matthew 2:22–23 · Matthew 3:1
View all 7 archaeology resources
Search all related archaeology →Prophecy Events
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
Numbers 24:15–19A Star and Scepter Rise from Israel
Balaam sees a future star from Jacob and a scepter arising from Israel who will overcome hostile powers.
KingdomstarscepterBalaamDavidic king
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
Hosea 11:1God Calls His Son Out of Egypt
Hosea recalls the exodus with the words, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Prophetic signEgyptexodusSonchildhood
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
Jeremiah 31:15Rachel Weeps for Her Children
Jeremiah portrays Rachel mourning the children of Israel amid exile and loss.
ConflictRachelBethlehemlamentHerod
PROPHECY EVENTFulfilled
Micah 5:2–5The Ruler Born in Bethlehem
Micah names little Bethlehem as the place from which Israel’s ruler would come. Watchman 33 connects the passage with Matthew and Luke’s accounts of Jesus’ birth; the pre-Christian 4Q81 manuscript preserves the Bethlehem text, but archaeology does not identify Jesus’ birthplace.
Prophetic signJesus ChristBethlehemMessianic prophecybirth
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