Now after the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem in Judea, in the days of King Herod, astrologers from the east arrived at Jerusalem,

They said, "At Bethlehem in Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:

" 'And you, Bethlehem in Judah's land, You are by no means least important among the leading places of Judah, For from you will come a leader Who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' "

And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said to them, "Go and inquire particularly about the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, so that I may go and do homage to him too."

Then Herod saw that he had been tricked by the astrologers, and he was very angry, and he sent and made away with all the boys in Bethlehem and in all that neighborhood who were two years old or under, for that was the tune he had learned from the astrologers by his inquiries.