Jeremiah 31:16-17
“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. Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears... And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.”
King James Version
Rachel weeping for her children, fulfilled at Herod's massacre; the promise of their return from exile pointing to the resurrection.
Fulfillment References
Matthew 2:18 Amos 9:14-15 Revelation 21:4
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalRachel's weeping is turned to hope — 'thy children shall come again to their own border.' Matthew applies Rachel's lament to the slaughter at Bethlehem (Matt. 2:18), set in the very context of the coming of Jesus, the one God in flesh, whose advent secures the true and final restoration and the wiping away of all tears (Rev. 21:4).
JewishThe matriarch Rachel weeps for her exiled children, and God comforts her with the promise of their return; a beloved passage of consolation and ingathering.
CatholicMatthew's citation (2:18) sets Rachel's grief against Herod's massacre; the larger promise of return is read of restoration in Christ.
ProtestantA consolation oracle of Israel's return from exile, applied by Matthew to the Bethlehem context; the children's return unfolds progressively and eschatologically.
AcademicPart of Jeremiah's Book of Consolation; Rachel (buried near Ramah) personifies the bereaved nation; Matthew employs the verse as a typological (pesher) fulfillment around Jesus' infancy.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.