Section 2:19–23

Jesus’ family moved from Egypt to Nazareth

In this section, Matthew showed another way that scripture was fulfilled. When Joseph moved Mary and Jesus back to Israel, he intended to live in the district of Judea. But God warned him in a dream not to live there. So he went to the district of Galilee and lived in the town of Nazareth. In that way, the scripture was fulfilled that said that Jesus would be a Nazarene.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The Return from Egypt (Good News Translation)
-or-
The Return to Nazareth (NET Bible)
-or-
Jesus fulfills scripture by living in Nazareth

Paragraph 2:19–21

2:19a

The Greek of 2:19a begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “but.” Here, it functions to introduce the next part of the story. It does not show contrast. The Berean Standard Bible and most English versions do not translate this conjunction here. You should begin this paragraph in a way that is natural in your language.

After Herod died: In some languages, it may be more natural to make the clause Herod died a complete sentence. For example:

One day, Herod died.
-or-
Later, ⌊King⌋ Herod died.

In other languages, it may be more natural to begin 2:19a with some of the information from 2:19b. For example:

While Joseph ⌊and his family⌋ ⌊were still⌋ in Egypt, Herod died.

2:19b

The Greek of 2:19b begins with a word that is often translated as “behold.” It indicates that something unexpected and extraordinary will happen. In this passage, an angel again appeared to Joseph. You should translate this expression in the same way as you did in 2:13b.

an angel of the Lord: This expression also occurred in 2:13. See how you translated it there.

appeared in a dream to Joseph: This clause is the same as the clause in 2:13b.

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