Matius 2:12-16

2:12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, ¹  they went back by another route to their own country.

The Escape to Egypt

2:13 After they had gone, an ²  angel of the Lord ³  appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod ⁴  is going to look for the child to kill him.” 2:14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during ⁵  the night, and went to Egypt. 2:15 He stayed there until Herod ⁶  died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” ⁷ 

2:16 When Herod ⁸  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ⁹  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ¹⁰  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

[2:12]  ¹ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:13]  ² tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:13]  ³ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

[2:13]  ⁴ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.

[2:14]  ⁵ tn The feminine singular genitive noun νυκτός (nuktos, “night”) indicates the time during which the action of the main verb takes place (ExSyn 124).

[2:15]  ⁶ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:15]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.

[2:16]  ⁸ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

[2:16]  ⁹ tn Or “soldiers.”

[2:16]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.