Matthew 2:16 - Plain English Version

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.

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he realized that he had been misled by the wise men, was furiously enraged, and he sent and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that territory who were two years old and under, reckoning according to the date which he had investigated diligently and had learned exactly from the wise men.

American Standard Version (1901)

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wise-men.

Common English Bible

¹⁶ When Herod knew the magi had fooled him, he grew very angry. He sent soldiers to kill all the children in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding territory who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had learned from the magi.

Catholic Public Domain Version

¹⁶ Then Herod, seeing that he had been fooled by the Magi, was very angry. And so he sent to kill all the boys who were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years of age and under, according to the time that he had learned by questioning the Magi.

Matthew 2:16 Cross References

Genesis 39:14

Straight away, she shouted to the other work-men, and she said, “Come and see this.” Then those work-men came to her, and she lied to them and said, “You know, my husband brought a man here from the Hebrew tribe. That man doesn’t respect us mob. He wants to make fun of us. He came to me, and he tried to make me sleep with him, like a man sleeps with his wife. But I yelled out really loud.

Genesis 39:17

Later on, Potifar came home, and his wife said the same things to him that she said to those work-men. She lied and said, “That work-man from the Hebrew tribe, the one that you brought here, he came to me, and he tried to sleep with me and make me shamed.

Genesis 49:7

I’m asking God to curse Simeon and Levi, because they are really angry men, and they properly hurt people. So God will split up their tribes, and he will send their people all over the land. He will mix them up with all the other tribes of the Israel nation.”

Matthew 2:1

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.

Matthew 2:17

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

Matthew 2:7

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?”