1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Judea country. At that time, the big boss over that country was called Herod.

There were some wise men in a country to the east of Judea. They always looked at the stars, and one night they saw a special star in the sky. So they went west to Jerusalem, the city in Judea country. 2 They asked the Jerusalem people, “Where was that baby born that is going to be the big boss over you Jewish people? You see, back in our country, we saw his special star. We saw it come up into the sky, so we came here, to show our respect for him. Where will we find him?”

3 Herod was the big boss over that country, and somebody told him that these wise men were talking about another big boss. Herod got very worried. He thought this other person might fight against him and take over his job. A lot of other people in Jerusalem were worried about it too. 4 So Herod had a meeting with the bosses of the Jewish ceremonies and the Jewish law teachers, and he asked them, “Where will that baby be born? You know, the Christ, the man that God promised to send?”

5 They said, “He will be born in Bethlehem, in Judea country. You see, a long time ago, God told one of his men to write about it. He wrote this in God’s book,

7 So Herod sent for those wise men to come and meet him, but he didn’t tell anyone else about the meeting. He asked them, “When did you first see that star?” 8 So they told him when they first saw it.

Then he said to them, “Go to Bethlehem and look carefully for that boy. After you find him, come and tell me the place where he’s living, so that I can go there too and show respect to him.”

9-10 The wise men listened to Herod, then they started to go to Bethlehem. Then they saw that same star that they saw before, and they were very happy. That star moved through the sky, and they followed it until it stopped right above the house that Joseph and Mary were living in. 11 The wise men went into that house. They saw Jesus with his mother Mary, and they got down on their knees, to show him respect. Then they opened their bags and gave him some presents. They gave him some gold. And they gave him some powder called frankincense, to burn to make a good smell. And they gave him some rubbing medicine called myrrh, that smells good, like perfume.

12 After that, the wise men had a dream. In that dream God told them not to go back to Herod, so they went back to their own country along a different road.

13 After those wise men went away, Joseph had a dream. He heard God’s angel messenger say, “Herod will try to kill the boy, so get up and take Jesus and Mary to Egypt country, and stay there until I tell you to come back.” 14 So Joseph got up right then, in the middle of the night, and he got Mary and Jesus, and they left to go to Egypt. 15 They lived in Egypt until Herod died, and then they came out of Egypt and went back to Israel country. So it happened just like God told one of his men to write in God’s book, a long time ago. He wrote,

16 At the time when Joseph, Mary and Jesus were going to Egypt, Herod waited for those wise men to come back, but they tricked him. They didn’t come back to him. Then he got really angry. He remembered their story about when they first saw the star, so he sent his soldiers to Bethlehem, and he told them to kill all the little boys up to 2 years old. So they killed all the little boys around Bethlehem. Herod wanted to make sure that Jesus was dead.

17 That all happened the way God’s man, Jeremiah, wrote in God’s book, a long time ago. This is what he wrote,

19 Some time later, Herod died. Then, in Egypt, Joseph had another dream. He heard God’s angel messenger say, 20 “Get up and take Mary and Jesus back to Israel country. The people that wanted to kill him are dead now.”

21 So Joseph did what God’s angel messenger told him. He got up, and he got Mary and Jesus, and they started to go back to Israel country. 22 But then somebody told him that Herod’s son Arkelayus was the new big boss over the part of Israel called Judea, and Joseph was too frightened to go there.

Then he had another dream. God told him, “Go to Galilee country.” 23 So he took his family up north to Galilee. He got to the town called Nazareth, and he stayed there. A long time before that, one of God’s men wrote about this, and it is in God’s book. He wrote,

52 Jesus grew up to be a man, and as he got bigger, he became very wise too. God was really happy with him, and so was everyone that knew him.*1 Samuel 2:26; Proverbs 3:4