Matthew 2:18

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

16When the wise men did not return to Herod, he was very angry. He knew that they had deceived him. So he sent his men to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem. Kill the boys who live near there too. Kill all the boys who are two years old or younger than that.’ The wise men had told Herod how long ago they had first seen the special star. So he decided to kill the baby boys of that age. 17In this way, these words that God's prophet Jeremiah spoke long ago became true: ‘People heard a sad noise in Ramah. Someone is weeping with a loud voice. It is Rachel and she is weeping for her children. Nobody can help her to stop weeping, because her children are dead.’ 19After Herod died, Joseph had a dream in Egypt. In the dream he saw one of the Lord God's angels. 20The angel said to Joseph, ‘Get up. The people who wanted to kill the child are dead. Take the child and his mother. You can now return with them to Israel.’

Matthew 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• RamaῬαμᾶRhama · RamahG4471
• was thereἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• a voiceφωνήphōnē · voice/sound: voiceG5456
• lamentationθρῆνοςthrēnos · lamentationG2355
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• weepingκλαυθμόςklauthmos · weepingG2805
• greatπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• mourningὀδυρμόςodurmos · mourningG3602
• RachelῬαχήλRhachēl · RachelG4478
• weepingκλαίωklaiō · to weepG2799
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• childrenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• wouldθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• notοὐou · noG3756
• be comfortedπαρακαλέωparakaleō · to plead/comfortG3870
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• they areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510

Cross-references for Matthew 2:18

• Jeremiah 31:15The Lord says, ‘You can hear a sad noise in Ramah. Someone is weeping with a loud voice. It is Rachel, and she is weeping for her children. Nobody can help her to stop weeping, because her children are dead.’
• Jeremiah 4:31I can hear people who are calling out. It sounds like a woman who is giving birth to her first baby. She is calling out with great pain. It is Jerusalem who is crying! She is calling out for help. She says, ‘Help me! I am very weak. These murderers have come to kill me!’
• Jeremiah 9:17The Lord Almighty said this: ‘Think about what is happening! Call the women who weep at funerals. Bring those women who know what to do.’
• Ezekiel 2:10He opened the scroll so that I could see inside it. I saw words that were written on both sides of the scroll. There were sad funeral songs, and words about great trouble that make you weep.
• Revelation 8:13Then I looked up. I saw an eagle that was flying high in the sky above me. I heard it say with a loud voice, ‘Great trouble! Great trouble! Yes, great trouble is coming to the people who live on the earth! Very bad things will happen when the other three angels make a sound with their trumpets!’
• Genesis 35:16Then they left Bethel and they continued to travel. When they were still a long way from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth. She had a lot of pain.
• Genesis 37:30Reuben went back to his brothers. He said to them, ‘The boy is not in the well! What can I do now?’
• Genesis 42:36Their father Jacob said to them, ‘You are taking my children away from me! Joseph is not here any more. Simeon also is not here. Now you want to take Benjamin away from me. Everything that happens is hurting me!’
• Job 14:10But when people lose their strength and they die, that is the end. After they die, where do they go?

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

• Bethlehem
• Children
• Egypt
• Infanticide
• Jesus, the Christ
• Miracles
• Mourning
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Ramah
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Rachel
• Arimathea
• Bethlehem
• Dream
• Flee
• Herod the Great
• Jesus
• Lamentation
• Mary
• Rama

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