New American Standard Bible 2020
Matthew 2:18
18“1A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.”
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 when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.” 19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20“Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life 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
- A voiceφωνήphōnē · voice/sound: voiceG5456
- was heardἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
- in RamahῬαμᾶRhama · RamahG4471
- Weepingκλαυθμόςklauthmos · weepingG2805
- and greatπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
- mourningὀδυρμόςodurmos · mourningG3602
- RachelῬαχήλRhachēl · RachelG4478
- for her childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
- And she refusedοὐou · noG3756
- And she refusedθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
- to be comfortedπαρακαλέωparakaleō · to plead/comfortG3870
- Becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
Cross-references for Matthew 2:18
- Jeremiah 31:15This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamenting 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 voice cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child. The voice of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, “Ah, woe to me, for I faint before murderers.”
- Jeremiah 9:17This is what the Lord of armies says: “Consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come; And send for the skillful women, that they may come!
- Ezekiel 2:10When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were songs of mourning, sighing, and woe.
- Revelation 8:13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
- Genesis 35:16Then they journeyed on from Bethel; but when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe difficulties in her labor.
- Genesis 37:30He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?”
- Genesis 42:36And their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons: Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.”
- Job 14:10But a man dies and lies prostrate. A person passes away, 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
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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