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

16Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.” 19When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20“Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child 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 31:15This is what the Lord says: “A cry is heard in Ramah— deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted— for her children are gone.”
• Jeremiah 4:31I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor, the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child. It is beautiful Jerusalem gasping for breath and crying out, “Help! I’m being murdered!”
• Jeremiah 9:17This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Consider all this, and call for the mourners. Send for the women who mourn at funerals.
• Ezekiel 2:10which he unrolled. And I saw that both sides were covered with funeral songs, words of sorrow, and pronouncements of doom.
• Revelation 8:13Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”
• Genesis 35:16Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense.
• Genesis 37:30Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”
• Genesis 42:36Jacob exclaimed, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!”
• Job 14:10“But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they?

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