Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod. Wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem. They asked where the child born king of the Jews was. They had seen his star in the east, they said, and had come to worship him.
Herod was troubled by this news, and Jerusalem was troubled with him. He assembled the chief priests and scribes, who knew the law, and asked where the Christ was to be born. They answered that it would be Bethlehem in Judea, because a prophet had written of a ruler who would shepherd Israel coming from there.
Herod secretly called the wise men and learned from them when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and told them to search carefully for the child. When they found him, he said, they were to report back so that he too could go and worship him.
The magi set out after hearing the king. The star they had seen went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. They were filled with joy when they saw it. Entering the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary.
They bowed down and worshiped the child. They opened their treasures and presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The latter two were fragrant materials. Warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went home to their own country by another route.