Matthew 2:8-12

2:8 He ¹  sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 2:9 After listening to the king they left, and once again ²  the star they saw when it rose ³  led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 2:10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully. ⁴  2:11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down ⁵  and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, ⁶  and myrrh. ⁷  2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ⁸  they went back by another route to their own country.

Matthew 2:16

2:16 When Herod ⁹  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ¹⁰  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ¹¹  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

² tn Grk “and behold the star.”

³ tn See the note on the word “rose” in 2:2.

³ tn Grk “they rejoiced with very great joy.”

⁴ tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

⁵ sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).

⁶ sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was used in preparing a corpse for burial.

⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

⁶ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

⁷ tn Or “soldiers.”

⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.