3 When King Herod heard about the star and newborn king he started to worry -- and everyone in Jerusalem became terribly uneasy. 4 So Herod assembled all the leaders -- the chief priests -- the religion scholars. And he asked them where the Messiah was supposed to be born. 5 They explained that it would be in the Judean village of Bethlehem,
“For this is what the prophet Micah wrote in Micah 5:2, 6 Hey you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Contrary to public opinion you are not the least of the Judeans -- quite the opposite! You should look for one of your own to become a ruler to shepherd my people Israel.”7 Then Herod arranged for a secret meeting with the magi. From them, he found out when the star first appeared. 8 Then he sent them on to Bethlehem. Pretending that he wanted to join them in honoring the child he said, “Go and do a thorough search for him. And once you’ve found him report back to me so that I can join you in recognizing him.”
9 As instructed they went on their way to Bethlehem. And that star they had seen from their home in the east preceded them until it was positioned over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped -- they were about to burst with joyous excitement. 11 They went into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. The magi fell to their knees and worshipped him. Then they pulled out gifts from their luggage. They gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 The magi were warned in a dream to not return to Herod, and they snuck out of the territory and back to their own country on back roads.
