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.”
• 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.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)“A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”

Context of Matthew 2:18

16Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "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." 19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead."

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 31:15Thus says the Lord: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more."
• Jeremiah 4:31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, "Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers."
• Jeremiah 9:17Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come;
• Ezekiel 2:10And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
• Revelation 8:13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!"
• Genesis 35:16Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor.
• Genesis 37:30and returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?"
• Genesis 42:36And Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me."
• Job 14:10But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, 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

• 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