Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
Then Herod ... As Deborah, sang of the mother of Sisera, "She looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? Have they not sped?" so Herod wonders that his messengers, with pious zeal, are not hastening with the news that all is ready to receive him as a worshipper. What can be keeping them? Have they missed their way? Has any disaster befallen them? At length his patience is exhausted. He makes his inquiries, and finds they are already far beyond his reach on their way home.
When he saw that he was mocked, [ enepaichthee (G1702 ), 'was trifled with'] of the wise men. No, Herod, thou art not mocked of the wise men, but of a Higher than they. He that sitteth in the heavens doth laugh at thee; the Lord hath thee in derision. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. (Psalms 2:4; Job 5:12-13.) That blessed Babe shall die indeed, but not by thy hand. As He afterward told that son of thine-as cunning and as unscrupulous as thyself-when the Pharisees warned Him to depart, because Herod would seek to kill Him - "Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" (Luke 13:32-33). Bitter satire!
Was exceeding wroth. To be made a fool of is what none like, and proud kings cannot stand. Herod burns with rage, and is like a wild bull in a net.
And sent forth [a band of hired murderers,] and slew all the [male] children, [ pantas (G3956 ) tous (G3588 ) paidas (G3816 )] that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts, [or 'environs,'] thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently [`carefully'] inquired of the wise men. In this ferocious step Herod was like himself-as crafty as cruel. He takes a large sweep, not to miss his mark. He thinks this will surely embrace his victim. And so it had, if He had been there. But He is gone. Heaven and earth shall sooner pass away than thou shalt have that Babe into thy hands. Therefore, Herod, thou must be content to want Him; to fill up the cup of thy bitter mortifications, already full enough-until thou die not less of a broken heart than of a loathsome and excruciating disease. Why, ask sceptics and sceptical critics, is not this massacre, if it really occurred, recorded by Josephus, who is minute enough detailing the cruelties of Herod? To this the answer is not difficult. If we consider how small a town Bethlehem was, it is not likely there would be many male children in it from two years old and under; and when we think of the number of fouler atrocities which Josephus has recorded of him, it is unreasonable to make anything of his silence on this.