Darby Bible
Matthew 2:18
18A voice has been heard in Rama, weeping, and great lamentation: Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Matthew 2:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
- New International Version (NIV)“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."
- New King James Version (NKJV)“A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”
Context of Matthew 2:18
16Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the magi, was greatly enraged; and sent and slew all the boys which [were] in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under, according to the time which he had accurately inquired from the magi. 17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremias the prophet, saying, A voice has been heard in Rama, weeping, and great lamentation: Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. 19But Herod having died, behold, an angel of [the] Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20Arise, take to [thee] the little child and its mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they who sought the life of the little child are dead.
Read all of Matthew 2Matthew 2:18 word by word
φωνὴ ἐν Ῥαμὰ ἠκούσθη, κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὀδυρμὸς πολύς, Ῥαχὴλ κλαίουσα τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν παρακληθῆναι ὅτι οὐκ εἰσίν.¶Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Matthew 2:18
- Jeremiah 31:15Thus saith Jehovah: A voice hath been heard in Ramah, the wail of very bitter weeping, — Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are not.
- Jeremiah 4:31For I hear a voice, as of a woman in travail, anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion: she moaneth, she spreadeth forth her hands, [saying], Woe unto me! for my soul faileth because of murderers.
- Jeremiah 9:17Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come;
- Ezekiel 2:10And he spread it out before me; and it was written within and without; and there were written in it lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
- Revelation 8:13And I saw, and I heard an eagle flying in mid-heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to them that dwell upon the earth, for the remaining voices of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound.
- Genesis 35:16And they journeyed from Bethel. And there was yet a certain distance to come to Ephrath, when Rachel travailed in childbirth; and it went hard with her in her childbearing.
- Genesis 37:30and returned to his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go?
- Genesis 42:36And Jacob their father said to them, Ye have bereaved me of children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin! All these things are against me.
- Job 14:10But a man dieth, and is prostrate; yea, man expireth, and where is he?
Commentaries on Matthew 2:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18In Rama was there a voice heard - These words, quoted from Jeremiah 31:15, were originally spoken concerning the captivity of the ten tribes; but are here elegantly applied to the murder of the innocents at Bethlehem. As if he had said, Bethlehem at this time resembled Rama; for as Rachel might be said to weep over her children, which were slaughtered or gone into captivity; so in Bethlehem, the mothers lamented bitterly their children, because they were…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18In Rama was there a voice heard - Rama was a small town in the tribe of Benjamin. Rachel was the mother of Benjamin, and was buried near to Bethlehem, Genesis 35:16-19. Rama was about 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem, near Bethel, and was some 10 or 12 miles from Bethlehem. The name Rama signifies an eminence, and was given to the town because it was situated on a hill. Rama is commonly supposed to be the same as the Arimarthea of the New Testament the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-18Verses 16-18 Herod killed all the male children, not only in Bethlehem, but in all the villages of that city. Unbridled wrath, armed with an unlawful power, often carries men to absurd cruelties. It was no unrighteous thing with God to permit this; every life is forfeited to his justice as soon as it begins. The diseases and deaths of little children are proofs of original sin. But the murder of these infants was their martyrdom. How early did persecution…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18Ramah was a village near Bethlehem. It is where the patriarch Jacob buried his wife Rachel (Genesis 35:18–20; Jeremiah 31:15–17).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not--These words, as they stand in Jeremiah, undoubtedly relate to the Babylonish captivity. Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, was buried in the neighborhood of Bethlehem (Ge 35:19), where her sepulchre is still shown. She is figuratively represented as rising from the tomb and uttering a…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 2:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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