1 Kad Jēzus bija piedzimis Betlēmē Jūdu zemē ķēniņa Hēroda laikā, redzi, gudri viri no austrumu zemes atnāca uz Jeruzālemi un sacija:
2 „Kur ir jaunpiedzimušais jūdu ķēniņš? Jo mēs viņa zvaigzni redzējām austrumu zemē un atnācām viņu pielūgt.“
3 Kad ķēniņš Hērods to dzirdēja, tad viņš izbijās un visa Jeruzāleme līdzarviņu.
4 Un saaicinājis visus tautas augstos priesterus un rakstu mācītājus, viņš izzināja no tiem, kur Kristum būs piedzimt.
5 Un tie viņam sacīja: „Betlēmē jūdu zemē; jo tā raksta pravietis:
6 Un tu, Betlēme, jūdu zemē, tu nebūt neesi mazākā starp Jūdas ciltskungiem; jo no tevis nāks valdnieks, kas ganīs manu Israēla tautu.“
7 Tad Hērods paslepen saaicināja gudros, sīki izjautāja tiem par zvaigznes atspīdēšanas laiku.
8 Un viņš tos sūtīja uz Betlēmi un sacīja: „Eita un ievāciet rūpīgi ziņas par to bērnu, un kad jūs viņu atradīsit, tad paziņojiet to man, ka ir es aizeju un viņu pielūdzu.“
9 To no ķēniņa dzirdējuši, tie aizgāja. Un redzi, zvaigzne, ko tie bija redzējuši austrumu zemē, gāja tiem pa priekšu un nostājās pār namu, kuj-ā bija bērns.
10 Un zvaigzni ieraudzījuši, tie priecājās ar varen lielu prieku.
11 Un namā iegājuši, tie ieraudzīja bērnu līdz ar Mariju, viņa māti, un tie nometās ceļos un viņu pielūdza. Tad tie atvēra savas mantas un dāvāja viņam zeltu, vīrāku un mirres.
12 Un sapnī saņēmuši norādījumu pie Hēroda neatgriezties, tie aizgāja pa citu ceļu uz savu zemi.
13 Bet kad tie bija aizgājuši, redzi, tā Kunga eņģelis parādījās Jāzepam sapnī un sacīja: „Celies, ņem bērnu un viņa māti un bēdz uz Ēģipti un paliec tur, kamēr es tev to teikšu, jo Hērods meklē bērnu nokaut.“
14 Tad viņš cēlās, ņēma bērnu un viņa māti naktī un bēga uz Ēģipti.
15 Un palika tur līdz Hēroda nāvei, lai piepildītos tā Kunga vārds, runāts ar pravieša muti: „No Ēģiptes es savu dēlu esmu aicinājis.“
16 Kad Hērods redzēja, ka gudrie viņu piekrāpuši, tad viņš ļoti apskaitās, aizsūtīja un lika apkaut visus bērnus Betlēmē un visā viņas apkārtnē divi gadi vecus un jaunākus pēc tā laika, ko viņš no gudrajiem bija izzinājis.
17 Tad piepildījās pravieša Jeremija runātie vārdi:
18 „Brēkšana bija dzirdama Ramā, daudz raudu un vaimanu; Rachele apraud savus bērnus un nav iepriecināma, jo viņu vairs nav.“
19 Kad Hērods bija miris, redzi, tā Kunga eņģelis parādījās sapnī Jāzepam Ēģiptē un sacīja:
20 „Celies, ņem bērnu un viņa māti un ej uz Israēla zemi, jo tie ir miruši, kas tīkoja pēc bērna dzīvības.“
21 Un viņš cēlās, ņēma bērnu un viņa māti un nonāca Israēla zemē.
22 Bet kad viņš dzirdēja, ka Jūdejā valdīja Archelavs sava tēva Hēroda vietā, tad viņš baidījās turp noiet; un sapnī saņēmis norādījumu, viņš atgriezās Galilejas robežās.
23 Un turp nonācis, viņš apmetās pilsētā ar vārdu Nacarete, lai piepildītos praviešu vārdi, kas sacījuši: „Viņu sauks par Nacarieti.“
The Wise Men
1 When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. 4 Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”
5 They told him, “He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,
6 ‘Bethlehem in the land
of Judea,
you are very important
among the towns of Judea.
From your town
will come a leader,
who will be like a shepherd
for my people Israel.’ ”
7 Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. 8 He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I also want to go and worship him.”
9 The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 They were thrilled and excited to see the star.
11 When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. 12 Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.
The Escape to Egypt
13 After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.”
14 That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt, 15 where they stayed until Herod died. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”
The Killing of the Children
16 When Herod found out that the wise men from the east had tricked him, he was very angry. He gave orders for his men to kill all the boys who lived in or near Bethlehem and were two years old and younger. This was based on what he had learned from the wise men.
17 So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet Jeremiah had said,
18 “In Ramah a voice was heard
crying and weeping loudly.
Rachel was mourning
for her children,
and she refused
to be comforted,
because they were dead.”
The Return from Egypt
19 After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph while he was still in Egypt. 20 The angel said, “Get up and take the child and his mother back to Israel. The people who wanted to kill him are now dead.”
21 Joseph got up and left with them for Israel. 22 But when he heard that Herod's son Archelaus was now ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there. Then in a dream he was told to go to Galilee, 23 and they went to live there in the town of Nazareth. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “He will be called a Nazarene.”
