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11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down[a] and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense,[b] and myrrh.[c] 12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod,[d] they went back by another route to their own country.

The Escape to Egypt

13 After they had gone, an[e] angel of the Lord[f] 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[g] is going to look for the child to kill him.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 2:11 tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
  2. Matthew 2:11 sn Frankincense refers to the aromatic resin of certain trees, used as a sweet-smelling incense (L&N 6.212).
  3. Matthew 2:11 sn Myrrh consisted of the aromatic resin of certain shrubs (L&N 6.208). It was widely used in the ancient Near East by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans as perfume, as incense, and for medicinal purposes (W. Michaelis, TDNT 7:457). It was also used in preparing a corpse for burial (cf. John 19:39).
  4. Matthew 2:12 sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.
  5. Matthew 2:13 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).
  6. Matthew 2:13 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.
  7. Matthew 2:13 sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.