Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men,
and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.
Then he told them,
“Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child.
And when you find him,
come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
After this interview the wise men went their way.
And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem.
It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star,
they were filled with joy!
They entered the house and saw the child with his mother,
Mary,
and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
When it was time to leave,
they returned to their own country by another route,
for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
