Jeremiah 31:15
in Jeremiah 31This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
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This verse in Jeremiah 31
Commentary
13 notes on this verseWhy then need I watch the rising and setting of the stars, at whose rising the fallows should be ploughed up and pierced by the hard plough-shares, and at whose setting the fruitful crop should be cut down by the sickle? One star suffices for me in the place of all others, the bright and morning Star, at Whose rising was sown the seed not of corn but of martyrs; when Rachel wept for her children, and offered in the stead of Christ her children washed in her own tears.
This site's exposition
This is what the LORD says
on Jeremiah 31:15-17
Rachel is heard in Ramah “weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Matthew 2:18 quotes the verse over the children of Bethlehem. In Jeremiah the answer comes at once, “your children will return from the land of the enemy.”
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Ramah belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and the tomb of Rachel is in the hippodrome of Chaphratha on the way to Ephrath. While the prophecy had its fulfillment in the time of Herod the Great, who did away with the babies in the hope …
(Verse 15.) Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in the heights, lamentation, weeping, and mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted over her children, because they are no more. LXX: Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Rama, lamentation, weeping, and mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted, because they are no more. Neither according to the Hebrew, nor according to the Seventy, did Matthew take testimony. For we read in it: Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not (Matthew 2:17-18). From which it is clear that the Evangelists and Apostles did not follow the interpretation of any Hebrew, but rather expressed in their own words, as if Hebrews, what they read in Hebrew. Rachel, the mother of Joseph, when she was coming to Bethlehem, suddenly seized with the pain of childbirth, gave birth to a son, whom the midwife, because she was dying in childbirth, called Benoni, that is, the son of my sorrow. But Jacob the father changed the name and called him Benjamin, that is, the son of his right hand (Gen. XXXV, 18). Therefore, it is questioned how the evangelist Matthew transferred the testimony of the Prophet to the killing of the infants: when it is clearly written about the ten tribes, of which Ephratha was not the leader, and it is by no means in the tribe of Ephraim, but in the tribe of Judah: for it is itself, and Bethlehem with two names. And the names of both correspond. Bethlehem is called the house of bread. Ephrata, which we can call fertility. […]
Herod sought him after his birth. He was to kill all the children in that place. And the prophet revealed this, too, foretelling it long beforehand when he said, "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, mourning and much weeping, of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are not." The Scriptures also predicted that he would come to Egypt when they said, "Out of Egypt I called my son."
Today we are celebrating the feast of all those infants who, the Gospel text tells us, were killed by King Herod, and for this reason our land, the fruitful mother of heavenly soldiers and such great virtues, should rejoice with the greatest exultation. Behold, the …
"Thus says the Lord: A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, sobbing and weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children." In a historical sense this prophecy speaks about sons of Judah and Benjamin living in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Jeremiah later on describes the fulfillment of …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
According to the oracle of Jeremiah, "A voice was heard in Ramah," that is, "on high," "of lamentation and great wailing." This clearly denotes that holy church's mourning, by which it grieves for the violent death of its members, does not, as our enemies foolishly …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thus saith the Lord, a voice was heard in Ramah,....
This is applied by the evangelists to the great mourning that was at Bethlehem for the murder of the infants there by Herod ( Matt. ii. 17-18 ), and this scripture is said to be then fulfilled.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The religious character of the restoration of the ten tribes. Chastisement brought repentance, and with it forgiveness; therefore God decrees their restoration. Jer 31:15 Ramah, mentioned because of its nearness to Jerusalem, from which it was distant about five miles. As the mother of three tribes, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, Rachel is regarded as the mother of the whole ten. This passage is quoted by Matthew (marginal reference) as a type. In Jeremiah it is a poetical figure representing in a dramatic form the miserable condition of the kingdom of Ephraim devastated by the sword of the Assyrians.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God therefore consoles her with the promise of their restoration. Mt 2:17, 18 quotes this as fulfilled in the massacre of the innocents under Herod. "A lesser and a greater event, of different times, may answer to the single sense of one passage of Scripture, until the prophecy is exhausted" [BENGEL].
A voice was heard in Ramah - The Ramah mentioned here, (for there were several towns of this name), was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, about six or seven miles from Jerusalem. Near this place Rachel was buried; who is here, in a beautiful figure of poetry, represented as coming out of her grave, and lamenting bitterly for the loss of her children, none of whom presented themselves to her view, all being slain or gone into exile. St. Matthew, who is ever fond of accommodation, applies these words, Mat 2:17, Mat 2:18, to the massacre of the children at Bethlehem. That is, they were suitable to that occasion, and therefore he so applied them; but they are not a prediction of that event.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֣ה׀ | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| ק֣וֹל | kol | a voice | H6963 → | 506 times |
| בְּרָמָ֤ה | beramah | in Ramah | H7414 → | |
| נִשְׁמָע֙ | nishma' | [is] heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| נְהִי֙ | nehi | a mourning song | H5092 → | 7 times |
| בְּכִ֣י | bekhi | weeping of | H1065 → | 30 times |
| תַמְרוּרִ֔ים | tamrurim | bitterness<es> | H8563 → | |
| רָחֵ֖ל | rachel | Rachel | H7354 → | |
| מְבַכָּ֣ה | mevakah | [is] weeping | H1058 → | 114 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בָּנֶ֑יהָ | baneiha | children her | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מֵאֲנָ֛ה | meanah | she has refused | H3985 → | 41 times |
| לְהִנָּחֵ֥ם | lehinachem | to be comforted | H5162 → | 108 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בָּנֶ֖יהָ | baneiha | children her | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵינֶֽנּוּ׃ ס | ʾeinenu | there not [is] he | H369 → | 789 times |
כֹּ֣ה׀thus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
ק֣וֹלa voice
kolH6963 →506 times
בְּרָמָ֤הin Ramah
beramahH7414 →
נִשְׁמָע֙[is] heard
nishma'H8085 →1159 times
נְהִי֙a mourning song
nehiH5092 →7 times
בְּכִ֣יweeping of
bekhiH1065 →30 times
תַמְרוּרִ֔יםbitterness<es>
tamrurimH8563 →
רָחֵ֖לRachel
rachelH7354 →
מְבַכָּ֣ה[is] weeping
mevakahH1058 →114 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בָּנֶ֑יהָchildren her
baneihaH1121 →4930 times
מֵאֲנָ֛הshe has refused
meanahH3985 →41 times
לְהִנָּחֵ֥םto be comforted
lehinachemH5162 →108 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בָּנֶ֖יהָchildren her
baneihaH1121 →4930 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵינֶֽנּוּ׃ סthere not [is] he
ʾeinenuH369 →789 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 77:2In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:9
My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Genesis 37:35
All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
- Isaiah 26:16
O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
- Hebrews 5:7
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His…
- Isaiah 26:9
Through
Jeremiah 10:20My tent is destroyed, and all its ropes are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one left to pitch my tent or set up my curtains.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:20
Disaster after disaster is proclaimed, for the whole land is laid waste. My tents are destroyed in an instant, my curtains in a moment.
- Jeremiah 4:20
Through
Genesis 37:35All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
it leads to
- Genesis 42:38
But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring…
- Genesis 42:38
Through
Jeremiah 40:1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had released him at Ramah, having found him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem…
it leads to
- Acts 21:13
Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
- Acts 21:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies27
On this verse
On this chapter
- The Major Prophets
- Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism
- The Covenants
- Creation to New Creation
- Ephraim and Manasseh, the two tribes of Joseph
- Generational Curses
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About Jeremiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Letter 44.11; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1:10; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 222:1; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON JEREMIAH 31:15; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Chrysostom, DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE PAGANS 3:7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, ON JEREMIAH 7:31.15.