Passage

Matthew 2.1-11

Book: Matthew · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2. Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3. And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. 5. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet, 6. And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come forth a governor, who shall be shepherd of my people Israel. 7. Then Herod privily called the Wise-men, and learned of them exactly what time the star appeared. 8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search out exactly concerning the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word, that I also may come and worship him. 9. And they, having heard the king, went their way; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11. And they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshipped him; and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh."

"12. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13. Now when they were departed, behold, an 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 tell thee: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." (Matthew 2:1-13, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2. “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” 3. When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born. 5. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet, 6. ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’” 7. Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. 8. He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.” 9. They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was. 10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11. They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

"12. Being warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way. 13. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”" (Matthew 2:1-13, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Now 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, 2. Saying, 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. 3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6. And 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. ^{rule: or, feed} 7. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8. And 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. 9. When 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. 10. When 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. ^{presented: or, offered}"

"12. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13. And 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." (Matthew 2:1-13, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And Jesus having been born in Beth-Lehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, lo, mages from the east came to Jerusalem, 2. saying, 'Where is he who was born king of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and we came to bow to him.' 3. And Herod the king having heard, was stirred, and all Jerusalem with him, 4. and having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring from them where the Christ is born. 5. And they said to him, 'In Beth-Lehem of Judea, for thus it hath been written through the prophet, 6. And thou, Beth-Lehem, the land of Judah, thou art by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for out of thee shall come one leading, who shall feed My people Israel.' 7. Then Herod, privately having called the mages, did inquire exactly from them the time of the appearing star, 8. and having sent them to Beth-Lehem, he said, 'Having gone, inquire ye exactly for the child, and whenever ye may have found, bring me back word, that I also having come may bow to him.' 9. And they, having heard the king, departed, and lo, the star, that they did see in the east, did go before them, till, having come, it stood over where the child was. 10. And having seen the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy, 11. and having come to the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and having fallen down they bowed to him, and having opened their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh,"

"12. and having been divinely warned in a dream not to turn back unto Herod, through another way they withdrew to their own region. 13. And on their having withdrawn, lo, a messenger of the Lord doth appear in a dream to Joseph, saying, 'Having risen, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and be thou there till I may speak to thee, for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.'" (Matthew 2:1-13, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Zeitgeist - Astrotheological Claims

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.