KNOWLEDGEABLE MEN FROM THE EAST SEARCHED FOR JESUS (2:1-12)

1At that time King Herod was boss for the people in that country, in Judea. Those people used to call themselves Jews. At that time Mary gave birth to Jesus in the town Bethlehem, in the country Judea. When Jesus was born some foreign (OR strangers) men came from another country, from the east, to look for him. These men were knowledgeable about the stars. Truly they saw a new star in the sky. That particular (star) made them understand that an important boss had appeared for the Jews. They arrived in Jerusalem. They were asking them,

2“Where is the male child, that boss, he will become king for you Jews? We saw his star in the east. When we saw it we knew an important boss has appeared, he has become a really small child. We have come to see (him), to give him gifts.

3As soon as (?) King Herod heard their talk, truly he became upset ('his stomach became bad'). All the people in Jerusalem also became upset.

4Herod gathered together the leaders and the teachers of the Jews. “That important boss, God will send him, where will he be born (OR appear/become visible)?

5They replied to him, “Here he will be born, in the country Judea, in the town Bethlehem. A long time ago one of God's spokesmen wrote a word in a book,

6'People in Bethlehem, your camp is truly small (OR unimportant). God will send a truly important boss, he will be born in your camp. He will become boss for God's people. After that everyone will know about your camp.' In just that way he wrote the word from God.”

7Herod was wanting to learn when Jesus was born. After that he sent a word secretly for the strangers from the east to come. He asked them with deceit also, “When did that star appear?”

8Then he sent them to Bethlehem. “Go to Bethlehem, search carefully for that child. After that return here, tell me where he is. After that I will go to him, I truly will see him, I will give him gifts also.” Truly indeed he lied to them, he wanted to kill the child Jesus.

9After that they kept going to Bethlehem. They saw that one particular star, it was going ahead of them. There it stood still right above the house which had the child.

10When they saw the star they were happy.

11They entered the house. Then they saw the child, his mother Mary was holding him. They knelt down to the child. They gave him gold and two (kinds of ?) gum also, those two smelled very good.

12After that God spoke to them in a dream. He told them not to return to Herod. After that they returned to their own country a different way.

HEROD TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO KILL JESUS (2:13-23)

13In the night Joseph dreamed. An angel from God came to him. He said to him, “Herod will look for the child to kill him. Get up right now. Take the child and his mother, run away to another country, to Egypt. You (pl) remain there. Later I will tell you to return here.” In that way the angel spoke to him.

14Joseph got up from sleep. He took the child, and his mother, they went in the night. They went right to Egypt.

15They were staying in that country while Herod was living.

16Herod was waiting in vain for the men from the east. They did not return to him, they did not send a word to him about that camp in Bethlehem where Jesus was (lit. 'Jesus-having'). Then he became very angry. Previously he had asked the strangers from the east, “When did that star appear?” Now he is thinking to himself, “That star appeared maybe one year ago. I will kill all the children in Bethlehem under two years (lit. 'without two winters'), the ones having two years (winters) also, truly I will kill them all.” Therefore he called his soldiers. “Listen! Go to Bethlehem. There kill all the boys under two years, kill all the ones having two years also. You will not leave one alive.” Those soldiers did that, in accordance with Herod's word.

17After that the people in Bethlehem were really crying for their children. A very long time ago one of God's spokesmen, who-was-it, Jeremiah, spoke a word, “In that country, where-is-it, in Ramah, there someone is crying very loudly. That woman of long ago, Rachel, she is crying, she is really crying for her children. Others took them. She is crying for them continually.” That Jeremiah wrote those words about Rachel in a book. Now in that same way truly those people in Bethlehem were crying hard for their children, like that.

19After that Herod died. In Egypt Joseph saw an angel in a dream, God sent him. He said to him, “That man was wanting to kill Jesus, that one is dead.

20Get up. Take the child, his mother also, you (pl) return to your own country, to Israel.”

21Joseph got up from sleep, returning he took the two of them to their own country, to Israel.

15A very long time ago another of God's spokesmen said, “God took his son from Egypt”. Later, after Jesus returned to his own country, people knew about that word from long ago, Jesus was the one that word talked about.

22When he arrived in Israel Joseph heard a word, a son of Herod, what's-his-name, Archelaus, was boss of the people there, in the country Judea. Because of that Joseph was afraid to stay in that country. God spoke to him in a dream, in accordance with that word he continued northwards, to the country Galilee.

23He became a local inhabitant in the town Nazareth. A long time ago God's spokesmen said about Jesus, “They will say about him, he is an inhabitant of lowly (a derogatory term) Nazareth.”