World English Bible · Under Rome
Matthew 2
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Now when was born in of in the days of King , behold, men from the east came to , saying, "Where is he who is born King of the ? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to him." When King heard it, he was troubled, and all with him. Gathering together all the and of the people, he asked them where would be born. They said to him, "In of , for this is written through the , 'You , land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come a governor who shall my people, Israel.'" Then secretly called men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. He sent them to , and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and him." They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them until it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. They came into the house and saw the young child with , his mother, and they fell down and him. Opening their , they offered to him gifts: gold, , and myrrh. Being warned in a not to return to , they went back to their own country another way. Now when they had departed, behold, of appeared to in a , saying, "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into , and stay there until I tell you, for will seek the young child to destroy him." He arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into , and was there until the of , that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by through the , saying, "Out of I called my son." Then , when he saw that he was mocked by men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out and killed all the male children who were in and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from men. 17Then that which was spoken by the was fulfilled, saying, "A voice was heard in , , weeping and great , weeping for her children; she wouldn't be comforted, because they are no more." But when was , behold, of appeared in a to in , saying, "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child's life are ." He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over in the place of his , , he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a , he withdrew into the region of , and came and lived in a city called ; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through that he will be called a Nazarene.
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The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.