Passage

Matthew 2.6

Book: Matthew · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"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." (Matthew 2:4-8, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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.”" (Matthew 2:4-8, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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." (Matthew 2:4-8, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"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.'" (Matthew 2:4-8, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Matthew (traditionally) the tax-collector-apostle / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
Audience: Jewish-Christian audience (heavy OT-fulfillment emphasis)
Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Antioch (composition)
Time period: events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

Theological reading

Key words

No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)

Quoted in

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.