The Magi Worship Jesus As God

Jesus never rebuked any Angel or any of His followers for worshiping Him and yet worship of anything or anyone other than God is absolutely forbidden in the Bible.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. — Luke 4:8 KJV

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. — Matthew 4:10 KJV

Formal Equivalence (Word-For-Word)

  • Received Text (Textus Receptus)

    Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. …

    7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. …

    11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 KJV (48.83% / 66.58%)

    –

    Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, [a]wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” …

    7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the [a]wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” …

    11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 NKJV (60.32% / 65.21%)

  • Majority Text

    Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” …

    7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, 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 worship him.” …

    11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 WEB (World English Bible)

  • Critical Text

    Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” …

    7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and carefully determined from them the time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” …

    11 And after coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 LSB (NASB ‘95 61.65% / 67.99%)

    –

    Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[b] and have come to worship him.” …

    7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” …

    11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 ESV (62.36% / 68.74%)

Dynamic Equivalence (Thought-For-Thought)

  • Critical Text

    Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men[a] from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,[b] and we have come to worship him.” …

    7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 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!” …

    11 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. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 NLT (70.08% / 39.90%)

    –

    After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” …

    7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” …

    11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 NIV (67.20% / 53.10%)

    –

    After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time[a] of King Herod,[b] wise men[c] from the East came to Jerusalem 2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[d] and have come to worship him.” …

    7 Then Herod[a] privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 8 He[b] sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” …

    11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down[a] and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense,[b] and myrrh.[c] — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 NET (66.28% / 53.94%)

  • NET Bible Translator Notes

    a. Matthew 2:11 NET tn Grk “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

Messianic Bible translations

  • Critical Text

    Now after Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”[a] …

    7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child. And when you have found Him, bring word back to me so that I may come and worship Him as well.” …

    11 And when they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Miriam; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 TLV (Tree of Life Version, Formal Equivalent)

    –

    After Yeshua was born in Beit-Lechem in the land of Y’hudah during the time when Herod was king, Magi from the east came to Yerushalayim 2 and asked, “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” …

    7 Herod summoned the Magi to meet with him privately and asked them exactly when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Beit-Lechem with these instructions: “Search carefully for the child; and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him.” …

    11 Upon entering the house, they saw the child with his mother Miryam; and they prostrated themselves and worshipped him. Then they opened their bags and presented him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 CJB (Complete Jewish Bible, Dynamic Equivalent)

Highly Idiomatic Translation / Paraphrase

  • Critical Text

    1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory—this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.” …

    7-8 Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.” …

    11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. — Matthew 2:1-2,7-8,11 MSG (The Message)

Conclusion

✔️ The Magi Worshiped Jesus As God, there is ZERO doubt!

🚫 BEWARE: the cultists known as Jehovah Witnesses. They have stripped the correct translation of proskuneo as worship and mutilated it only where it concerns Jesus. Unsurprisingly, they left the proper translation as worship when concerning the devil and demons; this showcases who their true master is.