Matthew · Bible in Basic English
Matthew 2 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Now when the birth of Jesus took place in Beth-lehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
1 Y COMO fué nacido Jesús en Bethlehem de Judea en días del rey Herodes, he aquí unos magos vinieron del oriente á Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is the King of the Jews whose birth has now taken place? We have seen his star in the east and have come to give him worship.
2 Diciendo: ¿Dónde está el Rey de los Judíos, que ha nacido? porque su estrella hemos visto en el oriente, y venimos á adorarle.
3 And when it came to the ears of Herod the king, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
3 Y oyendo esto el rey Herodes, se turbó, y toda Jerusalem con él.
4 And he got together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, questioning them as to where the birth-place of the Christ would be.
4 Y convocados todos los príncipes de los sacerdotes, y los escribas del pueblo, les preguntó dónde había de nacer el Cristo.
5 And they said to him, In Beth-lehem of Judaea; for so it is said in the writings of the prophet,
5 Y ellos le dijeron: En Bethlehem de Judea; porque así está escrito por el profeta:
6 You Beth-lehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the chiefs of Judah: out of you will come a ruler, who will be the keeper of my people Israel.
6 Y tú, Bethlehem, de tierra de Judá, no eres muy pequeña entre los príncipes de Judá; porque de ti saldrá un guiador, que apacentará á mi pueblo Israel.
7 Then Herod sent for the wise men privately, and put questions to them about what time the star had been seen.
7 Entonces Herodes, llamando en secreto á los magos, entendió de ellos diligentemente el tiempo del aparecimiento de la estrella;
8 And he sent them to Beth-lehem and said, Go and make certain where the young child is; and when you have seen him, let me have news of it, so that I may come and give him worship.
8 Y enviándolos á Bethlehem, dijo: Andad allá, y preguntad con diligencia por el niño; y después que le hallareis, hacédmelo saber, para que yo también vaya y le adore.
9 And after hearing the king, they went on their way; and the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the young child was.
9 Y ellos, habiendo oído al rey, se fueron: y he aquí la estrella que habían visto en el oriente, iba delante de ellos, hasta que llegando, se puso sobre donde estaba el niño.
10 And when they saw the star they were full of joy.
10 Y vista la estrella, se regocijaron con muy grande gozo.
11 And they came into the house, and saw the young child with Mary, his mother; and falling down on their faces they gave him worship; and from their store they gave him offerings of gold, perfume, and spices.
11 Y entrando en la casa, vieron al niño con su madre María, y postrándose, le adoraron; y abriendo sus tesoros, le ofrecieron dones, oro é incienso y mirra.
12 And it was made clear to them by God in a dream that they were not to go back to Herod; so they went into their country by another way.
12 Y siendo avisados por revelación en sueños que no volviesen á Herodes, se volvieron á su tierra por otro camino.
13 And when they had gone, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream, saying, Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go into Egypt, and do not go from there till I give you word; for Herod will be searching for the young child to put him to death.
13 Y partidos ellos, he aquí el ángel del Señor aparece en sueños á José, diciendo: Levántate, y toma al niño y á su madre, y huye á Egipto, y estáte allá hasta que yo te lo diga; porque ha de acontecer, que Herodes buscará al niño para matarlo.
14 So he took the young child and his mother by night, and went into Egypt;
14 Y él despertando, tomó al niño y á su madre de noche, y se fué á Egipto;
15 And was there till the death of Herod; so that the word of the Lord through the prophet might come true, Out of Egypt have I sent for my son.
15 Y estuvo allá hasta la muerte de Herodes: para que se cumpliese lo que fué dicho por el Señor, por el profeta que dijo: De Egipto llamé á mi Hijo.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was very angry; and he sent out, and put to death all the male children in Beth-lehem and in all the parts round about it, from two years old and under, acting on the knowledge which he had got with care from the wise men.
16 Herodes entonces, como se vió burlado de los magos, se enojó mucho, y envió, y mató á todos los niños que había en Bethlehem y en todos sus términos, de edad de dos años abajo, conforme al tiempo que había entendido de los magos.
17 Then the word of Jeremiah the prophet came true,
17 Entonces fué cumplido lo que se había dicho por el profeta Jeremías, que dijo:
18 In Ramah there was a sound of weeping and great sorrow, Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted for their loss.
18 Voz fué oída en Ramá, grande lamentación, lloro y gemido: Rachêl que llora sus hijos; y no quiso ser consolada, porque perecieron.
19 But when Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord came in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
19 Mas muerto Herodes, he aquí el ángel del Señor aparece en sueños á José en Egipto,
20 Saying, Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: because they who were attempting to take the young child's life are dead.
20 Diciendo: Levántate, y toma al niño y á su madre, y vete á tierra de Israel; que muertos son los que procuraban la muerte del niño.
21 And he got up, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
21 Entonces él se levantó, y tomó al niño y á su madre, y se vino á tierra de Israel.
22 But when it came to his ears that Archelaus was ruling over Judaea in the place of his father Herod, he was in fear of going there; and God having given him news of the danger in a dream, he went out of the way into the country parts of Galilee.
22 Y oyendo que Archelao reinaba en Judea en lugar de Herodes su padre, temió ir allá: mas amonestado por revelación en sueños, se fué á las partes de Galilea.
23 And he came and was living in a town named Nazareth: so that the word of the prophets might come true, He will be named a Nazarene.
23 Y vino, y habitó en la ciudad que se llama Nazaret: para que se cumpliese lo que fué dicho por los profetas, que había de ser llamado Nazareno.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Archelaus
Reigned in Judea in place of his father Herod, which made Joseph afraid to settle there and led him to withdraw to Galilee.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 2:22
Herod the Great
King of Judea when Jesus was born, who was troubled by the Magi's news of a newborn King of the Jews and had the boys of Bethlehem killed; he is also the king in whose days…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 2:1; Matthew 2:3; Matthew 2:16
Joseph
The carpenter of Nazareth, a just man who became Jesus' legal father.
Cited in the guide: Matt. 1:16-25; 2:13-23; Luke 1:27; 2:1-7
Places
Nazareth
A small agricultural village never named in the Old Testament. Jesus spent his childhood and early life here before beginning his public ministry.
Cited in the guide: Luke 2:39-40; Matthew 2:23; John 1:46
Cross references (22)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Micah 5:2; John 7:42; Luke 2:4–7; Psalm 72:9–12; Luke 2:11
- 2 Numbers 24:17; Jeremiah 23:5; Revelation 22:16; Zechariah 9:9; Isaiah 9:6–7
- 3 Acts 17:6–7; John 11:47–48; Matthew 23:37; Acts 4:2; Matthew 8:29
- 4 Acts 23:9; Matthew 7:29; Acts 6:12; Matthew 21:23; Jeremiah 8:8
- 5 John 7:42; Ruth 1:1; 1 Samuel 16:1; Ruth 2:4; Ruth 4:11
- 6 Ezekiel 34:23–25; Micah 5:2; John 7:42; Isaiah 9:6–7; Genesis 49:10
- 7 1 Samuel 18:21; Psalm 83:3–4; Psalm 55:21; Psalm 64:4–6; Exodus 1:10
- 8 1 Corinthians 3:19–20; Luke 20:20–21; Jeremiah 41:5–7; Proverbs 26:24–25; Proverbs 21:30
- 9 2 Peter 1:19; Matthew 2:2; Proverbs 8:17; Psalm 25:12; Proverbs 2:1–6
- 10 Psalm 105:3; Luke 2:20; Luke 2:10; Romans 15:9–13; Psalm 67:4
- 11 Isaiah 60:6; Psalm 72:10; Luke 2:16; Matthew 2:2; Psalm 95:6
- 12 Matthew 2:22; Matthew 2:19; Matthew 2:13; Matthew 27:19; Matthew 1:20
- 13 Acts 10:7; Acts 12:11; Matthew 2:12; Exodus 1:22; Matthew 1:20
- 14 Acts 26:21; Matthew 2:20–21; Matthew 1:24
- 15 Hosea 11:1; Exodus 4:22; Numbers 24:8; Luke 24:44; Matthew 1:22
- 16 Isaiah 59:7; Proverbs 28:15; Revelation 17:6; Daniel 3:19–20; Proverbs 28:17
- 18 Jeremiah 31:15; Jeremiah 9:17–21; Jeremiah 4:31; Genesis 35:16–20; Ezekiel 2:10
- 19 Matthew 1:20; Daniel 8:25; Jeremiah 30:10; Isaiah 51:12; Psalm 139:7
- 20 Exodus 4:19; 1 Kings 12:1–3; Matthew 2:13; 1 Kings 11:21; 1 Kings 11:40
- 21 Genesis 6:22; Hebrews 11:8
- 22 Isaiah 48:17–18; John 7:52; Luke 2:39; Isaiah 30:21; Matthew 2:12–13
- 23 Judges 13:5; John 1:45–46; Mark 1:24; John 18:5; John 19:19
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
We have need of much wakefulness, and many prayers, that we may arrive at the interpretation of the passage now before us, and that we may learn who these wise men were, and whence they came, and how; and at whose persuasion, and what was the star.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… when speaking of the angel, says, "The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in sleep." Of what Lord he does himself interpret: "That it may be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, Out of Egypt have I called my son." "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call …
As wretched Herod feared, and for the Child slew the children. But fearing to lose his kingdom, he deserved not to know the King.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
"Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared:" Attempting to slay that which was born,--an act of extreme idiotcy not of madness only; since what had been said and done was enough to have withholden him from any such attempt.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
When He was about to go into Egypt, that He might overthrow the gods of Egypt made with hands, again an Angel appeareth to Joseph in a dream.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)