Matthew 2:3–6
It was not the magi’s voice that disturbed Herod, but the rumor among all who knew the law and trusted the prophets’ words. The magi were seeking a king; the Jews were publishing that the Christ had been born.
So he left the magi, called the Jews, and asked where the Christ is born — “the one you are now publishing,” he says, “after hearing the magi.” Even unwilling, the enemies of the truth speak the truth and interpret the whole prophecy — yet in vain, for they did not add what follows.
He calls the magi ambassadors because in a way they came to the king of Israel to make peace between themselves and Israel, so that of the nations and the Jews there might be “one flock, one shepherd.”
And what did that mean — that “his goings forth are from the beginning”? People come from the ends of the inhabited world to see the manger.
Greek
Οὐκοῦν ἀνεκόμισε μὲν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοὺς κορυφαίους καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὴν δόξαν, μεθ' ἧς ἐπιλάμψει τῷ κόσμῳ κατὰ καιρούς, εἶτα κατελθὼν ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους πονηροῦ τε καὶ ἀπηνοῦς πνεύματος ἠλευθέρωσέ τινα. ἀλλ' ἔδει πάντως αὐτὸν τὸ σωτήριον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὑπομεῖναι πάθος καὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀνασχέσθαι σκαιότητος. οὗ δὴ γεγονότος οὐδὲ ἀπεικὸς ἐν θορύβοις ἔσεσθαι τοὺς μαθητὰς κἀκεῖνό που τάχα καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ἐννοεῖν καὶ λέγειν· ὁ τοσούτους νεκροὺς ἀναστήσας ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ θεο πρεπεῖ, ὁ καὶ θαλάσσαις ἐπιτιμῶν καὶ πνεύμασιν, ὁ λόγῳ συντρίβων τὸν σατανᾶν, πῶς ἥλω νυνὶ καὶ τοῖς τῶν φονώντων ἐμπέπτωκε βρόχοις; ἆρα ἠπατήθημεν θεὸν εἶναι νομίζοντες αὐτόν; ἵνα τοίνυν εἰδεῖεν τὸ πάντη τε καὶ πάντως ἐσόμενον, προμηνύει αὐτοῖς τοῦ πάθους τὸ μυ στήριον.
About this text
Catena fragments on Matthew (CPG 5206). Contents follow Matthew chapter and verse. Edition fragment numbers stay in About this text and under each passage.
English follows the named copy-text (Aegean/khazarzar Migne PG 72 extract). Other prints were checked as noted; no silent merge of recensions.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 72 Commentarii in Matthaeum (Aegean Digital Patrologia / khazarzar) (Greek · CPG 5206 catena fragments (290 parsed heads))
- Checked print matia.gr mirror of same Aegean extract (Greek · Byte-identical PDF; integrity check only)
- Checked print Internet Archive PG 72 volume OCR (bim … 1859_72) (Greek (OCR damaged) · Locus confirmation only; not used as reading text)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.