Wise men come to worship Jesus
1 Jesus was born in a town called Bethlehem, in Judea. King Herod ruled Judea at that time. After Jesus was born, some wise men came to Jerusalem from a country in the east. 2 When they arrived there, they asked people, ‘Where is the baby who has been born as the king of the Jews? We saw his special star when it first appeared in the sky. So now we have come here to worship him.’
2:1This King Herod was called Herod the Great. He was king in Judea during the years from 37 BC to 4 BC. Judea was a region in the south of Israel.
2:1At this time, Jerusalem was the capital city of Judea. The temple of God was in Jerusalem.
2:2The wise men were important people who studied things that happened in the sky. The Greek word that we translate as ‘star’ could also mean other bright things in the sky, like a comet or a planet.
3 When King Herod heard what the men said, he was very upset. All the people in Jerusalem were afraid too. 4 Then Herod asked all the leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law to meet with him. He asked them, ‘Where will God's Messiah be born?’
2:4God had promised his people that the Messiah would come to rescue them, and to be their king.
5 They replied, ‘The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem in Judea. This is what the prophet wrote about it:
6 “People who live in Bethlehem,
your town is a very important town in Judea.
A person born in your town will become a ruler of my people, Israel.
2:6Jacob was the ancestor of the Israelites and God gave him a new name, Israel. Here God's people are called by the name of Israel. See Genesis 32:27-28; 35:9-10. Israel was also the name for the land that God gave to his people to live in. He will lead my people
like a shepherd who leads his sheep.” ’
7 Then Herod secretly told the wise men to come to meet with him. They told him the time that the star had appeared. 8 Herod sent the men to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Go and look everywhere for this child. When you find him, come back here and tell me where he is. Then I can go and worship him too.’
9-10 After the men had heard the king, they left to go to Bethlehem. They could see the same star that they had seen before. They were very happy when they saw the star. It moved along in front of them. Then it stopped above the place where the child was staying. 11 The men went into the house and they saw the child. He was with Mary, his mother. They went down on their knees in front of the child and they worshipped him. Then they opened their bags. They took out valuable gifts and they gave them to the child. The gifts were gold, incense called frankincense, and also myrrh. 12 After that, God said to them in a dream, ‘Do not go back to see Herod again.’ So the men travelled on a different road to return to their own country.
2:11Gold is a very valuable metal. People would give gold to a king.
