A visita dos sábios
1Jesus nasceu na cidade de Belém na Judeia, durante o reinado de Herodes. Por aquela altura, chegaram a Jerusalém, vindos de terras do Oriente, uns homens sábios 2que inquiriram: “Onde está o rei dos judeus que acaba de nascer? Pois vimos a sua estrela lá no Oriente e viemos para o adorar.”
3O rei Herodes ficou muito preocupado ao ouvir isto e toda a cidade de Jerusalém também. 4Então o rei mandou reunir os principais sacerdotes judaicos e os especialistas na Lei2.4 Trata-se dos escribas que copiavam a Lei de Moisés e que também se dedicavam a interpretá-la. e perguntou-lhes onde haveria de nascer o Cristo.
5“Em Belém”, responderam-lhe, “pois o profeta Miqueias escreveu o seguinte:
6‘Tu, Belém, na terra de Judá,
não és de forma alguma a menor
entre as localidades principais de Judá;
porque sairá de ti um governador
para conduzir o meu povo de Israel.’ ”2.6 Mq 5.2, 4.
7Então Herodes enviou um recado secreto àqueles sábios do Oriente, pedindo que lhe fossem falar; e soube pela boca deles a altura exata em que tinham visto a estrela pela primeira vez. 8“Vão a Belém e procurem cuidadosamente esse menino. Quando o encontrarem, venham dizer-me, para que também possa ir adorá-lo!”
9Terminado o encontro, os sábios retomaram o caminho. A estrela que tinham visto no oriente ia adiante deles, parando sobre o lugar em que estava o menino. 10Ao tornar a ver a estrela, a alegria deles foi grande. 11Entrando na casa onde estavam o bebé e Maria, sua mãe, inclinaram-se diante dele em adoração e seguidamente ofereceram-lhe ouro, incenso e mirra. 12Contudo, quando regressaram à sua terra, não passaram por Jerusalém para informar Herodes, visto que Deus os avisara, por meio de um sonho, de que deveriam voltar por outro caminho.
A fuga para o Egito
13Depois de terem partido, um anjo do Senhor avisou José em sonhos: “Levanta-te e foge para o Egito com o menino e sua mãe, e fica por lá até eu te dizer que voltes, pois o rei Herodes vai procurar matá-lo.” 14Naquela mesma noite José partiu para o Egito com Maria e o menino, 15e ficou lá até à morte do rei Herodes, cumprindo-se assim as palavras do profeta: “Do Egito chamei o meu filho.”2.15 Os 11.1.
16Herodes ficou furioso ao saber que os sábios o tinham enganado. Mandou então soldados a Belém com ordem para matar todas as crianças até aos dois anos de idade, tanto na cidade como nos arredores, visto terem passado dois anos desde que os sábios tinham dito que a estrela lhes aparecera pela primeira vez. 17Este ato deu cumprimento à profecia de Jeremias:
18“Ouve-se em Ramá um clamor,
amargas lamentações e um pranto imenso;
é Raquel chorando pelos seus filhos;
e está absolutamente inconsolável,
porque foram-se definitivamente.”2.18 Jr 31.15.
O regresso a Nazaré
19Quando Herodes morreu, o anjo do Senhor apareceu de novo em sonhos a José, no Egito: 20“Levanta-te e leva outra vez a criança e a sua mãe para Israel, pois já morreram aqueles que procuravam a morte do menino.”
21José voltou então para Israel com Jesus e a mãe. 22Já a caminho, assustou-se ao saber que o novo rei era Arquelau, filho de Herodes. Contudo, num outro sonho, foi avisado de que não se dirigisse para a Judeia, mas seguisse antes para a Galileia. 23Ficou a morar em Nazaré e cumpriu-se, assim, a predição dos profetas acerca do Cristo: “Chamar-se-á nazareno.”
The Wise Men Visit Jesus
1Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea. After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2They asked, “Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose. Now we have come to worship him.”
3When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. 4So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah was going to be born. 5“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied. “This is what the prophet has written. He said,
6“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.
A ruler will come out of you.
He will rule my people Israel like a shepherd.’ ” (Micah 5:2)
7Then Herod secretly called for the Wise Men. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report it to me. Then I can go and worship him too.”
9After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.
Jesus’ Family Escapes to Egypt
13When the Wise Men had left, Joseph had a dream. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to come back. Herod is going to search for the child. He wants to kill him.”
14So Joseph got up. During the night, he left for Egypt with the child and his mother Mary. 15They stayed there until King Herod died. So the words the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true. He had said, “I brought my son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 11:1)
16Herod realized that the Wise Men had tricked him. So he became very angry. He gave orders about Bethlehem and the area around it. He ordered all the boys two years old and under to be killed. This agreed with the time when the Wise Men had seen the star. 17In this way, the words Jeremiah the prophet spoke came true. He had said,
18“A voice is heard in Ramah.
It’s the sound of crying and deep sadness.
Rachel is crying over her children.
She refuses to be comforted,
because they are gone.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
Jesus’ Family Returns to Nazareth
19After Herod died, Joseph had a dream while he was still in Egypt. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to him. 20The angel said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother. Go to the land of Israel. The people who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21So Joseph got up. He took the child and his mother Mary back to the land of Israel. 22But then he heard that Archelaus was king of Judea. Archelaus was ruling in place of his father Herod. This made Joseph afraid to go there. Joseph had been warned in a dream. So he went back to the land of Galilee instead. 23There he lived in a town called Nazareth. So what the prophets had said about Jesus came true. They had said that he would be called a Nazarene.
