Jeremiah 31:16
in Jeremiah 31This is what the LORD says: “Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come, declares the LORD. Then your children will return from the land of the enemy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
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This verse in Jeremiah 31
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThey shall come again from the land of the enemy - This could not be said of the murdered innocents at Bethlehem; they never came again; but the Jews, who had gone into captivity, did come again from the land of their enemy to their own border.
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.”
This site's exposition
Keep your voice from weeping
Rachel is told to stop weeping, for her children will return. Adam Clarke notes that this could never be said of the infants of Bethlehem, who never came back, and Barnes calls Matthew's use a type. The exiles did come home from the land of the enemy.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 16, 17.) Thus says the Lord: Let your voice be still from weeping, and your eyes from tears: for there is a reward for your work, says the Lord. And the enemies (or of the enemies) will return from the land, and there will be hope for your future, says the Lord: and the children will return to their borders.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, It ought to support us under our troubles that we have reason to hope they will end well. The righteous has hope in his death; that will be the blessed period of his grief and the blessed passage to his joys. " There is hope for thy posterity " (so some read it); "though thou mayest not live to see these glorious days thyself, there is hope that thy posterity shall.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Thus saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thy work--thy parental weeping for thy children [ROSENMULLER]. Thine affliction in the loss of thy children, murdered for Christ's sake, shall not be fruitless to thee, as was the case in thy giving birth to the "child of thy sorrow," Benjamin.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
17 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 |
| מִנְעִ֤י | mini | restrain | H4513 → | 29 times |
| קוֹלֵךְ֙ | kolekh | voice your | H6963 → | 506 times |
| מִבֶּ֔כִי | mibekhi | from weeping | H1065 → | 30 times |
| וְעֵינַ֖יִךְ | veeinayikh | and eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| מִדִּמְעָ֑ה | midimah | from tear[s] | H1832 → | 23 times |
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יֵ֨שׁ | yesh | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| שָׂכָ֤ר | sakhar | [will be] a reward | H7939 → | |
| לִפְעֻלָּתֵךְ֙ | lifulatekh | for work your | H6468 → | |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְשָׁ֖בוּ | veshavu | and they will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אוֹיֵֽב׃ | ʾoyev | [the] enemy | H341 → | 282 times |
כֹּ֣ה׀thus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִנְעִ֤יrestrain
miniH4513 →29 times
קוֹלֵךְ֙voice your
kolekhH6963 →506 times
מִבֶּ֔כִיfrom weeping
mibekhiH1065 →30 times
וְעֵינַ֖יִךְand eyes your
veeinayikhH5869 →887 times
מִדִּמְעָ֑הfrom tear[s]
midimahH1832 →23 times
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
יֵ֨שׁthere
yeshH3426 →140 times
שָׂכָ֤ר[will be] a reward
sakharH7939 →
לִפְעֻלָּתֵךְ֙for work your
lifulatekhH6468 →
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְשָׁ֖בוּand they will return
veshavuH7725 →1056 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
אוֹיֵֽב׃[the] enemy
ʾoyevH341 →282 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
Hebrews 11:6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 8:17
I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me.
- Jeremiah 29:13–14
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9
As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought.…
- Psalms 105:3–4
Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
- Proverbs 8:17
Through
Hebrews 6:10For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- Matthew 10:42
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”
- Hebrews 13:16
Through
Ruth 2:12May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
it leads to
- Psalms 36:7
How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
- Psalms 36:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies24
On this verse
On this chapter
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.