Matthew 2:16-23

When Herod realized that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated. So he sent soldiers with orders to slaughter every baby boy two years old and younger in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding countryside, based on the time frame he was given from interrogating the wise men. This fulfilled the words of the prophet Jeremiah: I hear the screams of anguish, weeping, and wailing in Ramah. Rachel is weeping uncontrollably for her children. And she refuses to be comforted, because they are dead and gone. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared again to Joseph in a dream while he was still in Egypt, saying, “Go back to the land of Israel and take the child and his mother with you, for those who sought to kill the child are dead.” So he awoke and took Jesus and Mary and returned to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus, Herod’s son, had succeeded him as ruler over all of the territory of Judah, he was afraid to go back. Then he had another dream from God, warning him to avoid that region and instructing him instead to go to the province of Galilee. So he settled his family in the village of Nazareth, fulfilling the prophecy that he would be known as the “Branch.”