Jesus was born at Bethlehem, in Juda, in the days of king Herod. And thereupon certain wise men came out of the east to Jerusalem,

who asked, Where is he that has been born, the king of the Jews? We have seen his star out in the east, and we have come to worship him.

King Herod was troubled when he heard it, and all Jerusalem with him;

so that he assembled all the chief priests and learned men among the people, and enquired of them where it was that Christ would be born.

And they told him, At Bethlehem in Juda; so it has been written by the prophet:

And thou, Bethlehem, of the land of Juda, art far from the least among the princes of Juda, for out of thee will arise a leader who is to be the shepherd of my people Israel.✻

Then, summoning the wise men in secret, Herod questioned them closely upon the time of the star’s appearing.

And he sent them on their way to Bethlehem, saying to them, Go and enquire carefully for the child, and when you have found him, bring me back word, so that I too may come and worship him.

They obeyed the king, and went on their journey; and all at once the star which they had seen in the east was there going before them, till at last it stood still over the place where the child was.

They, when they saw the star, were glad beyond measure;

and so, going into the dwelling, they found the child there, with his mother Mary, and fell down to worship him; and, opening their store of treasures, they offered him gifts, of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Afterwards, because they had received a warning in a dream forbidding them to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by a different way.

As soon as they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said, Rise up, take with thee the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt; there remain, until I give thee word. For Herod will soon be making search for the child, to destroy him.

He rose up, therefore, while it was still night, and took the child and his mother with him, and withdrew into Egypt, where he remained until the death of Herod,

in fulfilment of the word which the Lord spoke by his prophet, I called my son out of Egypt.✻

Meanwhile, when he found that the wise men had played him false, Herod was angry beyond measure; he sent and made away with all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its neighbourhood, of two years old and less, reckoning the time by the careful enquiry which he had made of the wise men.

It was then that the word spoken by the prophet Jeremy was fulfilled:

A voice was heard in Rama, lamentation and great mourning; it was Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because none is left.✻

But as soon as Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Egypt in a dream,

and said: Rise up, take with thee the child and his mother, and return to the land of Israel; for those who sought the child’s life are dead.

So he arose, and took the child and his mother with him, and came into the land of Israel.

But, when he heard that Archelaus was king in Judaea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to return there; and so, receiving a warning in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee;

where he came to live in a town called Nazareth, in fulfilment of what was said by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.✻