New English Translation
Matthew 2:18
18“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone.”
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 Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men. 17Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone.” 19After Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking 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
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, “A sound is heard in Ramah, a sound of crying in bitter grief. It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are gone.”
- Jeremiah 4:31In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
- Jeremiah 9:17The Lord who rules over all told me to say to this people, “Take note of what I say. Call for the women who mourn for the dead! Summon those who are the most skilled at it!”
- Ezekiel 2:10He unrolled it before me, and it had writing on the front and back; written on it were laments, mourning, and woe.
- Revelation 8:13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying directly overhead, proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!”
- Genesis 35:16They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, Rachel went into labor – and her labor was hard.
- Genesis 37:30returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?”
- Genesis 42:36Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. And now you want to take Benjamin! Everything is against me.”
- Job 14:10But man dies and is powerless; he expires – 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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