And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Parallel translations
- WEB and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
- BSB and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
- NKJV And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
- NASB and came and settled in a city called Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
- NLT So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The family settles in Nazareth, fulfilling that he would be called a Nazarene. Jesus' humble hometown was part of God's plan.
Overview
Matthew sees Jesus' upbringing in lowly Nazareth as fulfilling the prophets, likely capturing the theme of the Messiah's humble, even despised, origins rather than a single verse. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" later reflects this lowliness. God's chosen King grows up unnoticed in an obscure town, fitting the pattern of a humble servant-Savior.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Judg 13:5For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
- John 1:45–46Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
- Mark 1:24Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
- John 18:5They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
- Acts 24:5For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
- Matt 26:71And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
- John 19:19And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Luke 2:39And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
- Matt 1:22Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
- John 18:7Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
- Luke 1:26And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
- Amos 2:10–12Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
- Acts 2:22Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
- Num 6:13And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
- 1 Sam 1:11And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
- Isa 53:1–2Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
- Ps 69:9–10For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
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On the genealogy and the name Immanuel.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 2:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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