Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

World English Bible · Public Domain

Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

  • TYNDALE Tyndale New Testament (1534)

    When Iesus was borne at Bethleem in Iury in the tyme of Herode the kynge. Beholde there came wyse me from the eest to Ierusalem saynge:

  • GNV Geneva Bible (1599)

    When Jesus then was borne at Bethleem in Iudea, in the dayes of Herod the King, beholde, there came Wisemen from the East to Hierusalem,

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Examined in Scripture Analysis

Science (1)

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Contradictions (3)

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Cross-references (20)

Passages linked to Matthew 2:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.

  • Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
  • John 7:42 Hasn’t the Scripture said that the Christ comes of the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
  • Luke 2:4-7 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant. While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.
  • Psalms 72:9-12 Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper.
  • Luke 2:11 For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
  • Isaiah 11:10 It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.
  • Genesis 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
  • Isaiah 60:1-22 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together. They come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in arms. Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you. The wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. All from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh. All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar; and I will beautify my glorious house. “Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the islands will wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. “Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you: for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive. For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted. “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet. They will call you Yahweh’s City, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one passed through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. You will also drink the milk of the nations, and will nurse from royal breasts. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. For bronze I will bring gold; for iron I will bring silver; for wood, bronze, and for stones, iron. I will also make peace your governor, and righteousness your ruler. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor desolation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun will be no more your light by day; nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you, but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will not go down any more, nor will your moon withdraw itself; for Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will end. Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. The little one will become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. I, Yahweh, will do this quickly in its time.”
  • Haggai 2:6-9 For this is what Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations. The precious things of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says Yahweh of Armies. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says Yahweh of Armies. ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says Yahweh of Armies; ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ says Yahweh of Armies.”
  • Genesis 25:6 but Abraham gave gifts to the sons of Abraham’s concubines. While he still lived, he sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward, to the east country.
  • Daniel 9:24-25 “Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. “Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times.
  • Matthew 2:5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,
  • 1 Kings 4:30 Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
  • Matthew 1:25 and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.
  • Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
  • Luke 2:15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
  • Matthew 2:3 When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
  • Matthew 2:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
  • Genesis 10:30 Their dwelling extended from Mesha, as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.
  • Job 1:3 His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east.

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

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Explain this verse (31 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For there was another in the tribe of Zebulun.

For there was another in the tribe of Zebulun.

Wise and learned men: It is a Persian word which they use in good part.

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Christ a poor child, laid down in a crib, and nothing set by of his own people, receiveth notwithstanding a noble witness of his divinity from heaven, and of his kingly estate of strangers: which his own also unwittingly allow of, although they do not acknowledge him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, was of…
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, 1. The place of our Lord’s birth,…
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain It was a mark of humiliation put upon the…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Bethlehem of Judea - There was another Bethlehem in…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Wise men come from the east to worship Christ,…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Mat 2:1. Now when Jesus was born — It…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain When Jesus was born - See the full account…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain King Herod the Great, surnamed Ascalonite, was a foreigner,…
John Nelson Darby 1862 · Public Domain Matthew Chapter 2
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Matthew 2 (Luke 2)
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain § 13. — COMING OF THE MAGI, Mat_2:1-10.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain Ch. Mat_2:1-12. The Visit of the Magi. Recorded by…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) In the days of Herod the king.—The death…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain JESUS THE CHRIST BY HIS EARLY HISTORY answering to…
John A. Broadus 1886 · Public Domain Mat 2:1-12.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Wise men from the East.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain Chapter 2
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 1. When Jesus was born. Though the home of…
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Mat_2:1. Born.—The birth of Jesus has been assigned to…
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain Mat 2:1-12. “Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of…
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain Mat 2:1-2
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain Subdivision 2. (Mat 2:1-23.)
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain The Wise Men
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [XIII. Magi Visit…
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Herod the king
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 2. The King Worshipped by Gentiles;
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Wise Men from the East.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:1-2 Attentiveness to the star indicates that the wise…

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