Jeremiah 31:15-17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 31:10-17

This paragraph is much to the same purport with the last, publishing to the world, as well as to the church, the purposes of God's love concerning his people. This is a word of the Lord which the nations must hear, for it is a prophecy of a work of the Lord which the nations cannot but take notice of. Let them hear the prophecy, that they may the better understand and improve the performance; and let those that hear it themselves declare it to others, declare it in the isles afar off. It will... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 31:15

Thus saith the Lord, a voice was heard in Ramah ,.... Which signifies a high place; hence the Targum paraphrases it, "in the high place of the world;' and so the Vulgate Latin version, "in a high place;' but it is here the proper name of a place, of a city in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:25 ; and this voice heard was not a voice of joy and gladness as before, but of lamentation and bitter weeping ; signifying great sorrow and distress upon some very extraordinary... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 31:16

Thus saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears ,.... Though sorrow on such an occasion may be lawfully indulged, yet it ought to be moderated; and attention should be given to those things which may serve to relieve under it, and especially when they come from the Lord himself; then a stop is to be put to the mournful voice, and wet eyes are to be dried up: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord ; in bearing these children, and bringing them into... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 31:17

And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord ,.... Or, "hope for thy posterity" F18 לאחריתך "posteris tuis", Gataker; "posteritati tuae", Schmidt. ; for their children that had been massacred, that these should rise again, and enjoy a blessed immortality, as the next clause seems to explain and confirm it: that thy children shall come again to their own border : either to the border of the land of Israel, as Joseph, Mary, and Jesus did, Matthew 2:21 ; or rather to the borders... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 31:15

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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 31:16

They 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. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 31:15

Verse 15 Here, in the first place, the Prophet describes the desolation of the land, when deprived of all its inhabitants; and, in the second place, he adds a comfort, — that God would restore the captives from exile, that the land might again be inhabited. But there is here what they call a personification, that is, an imaginary person introduced: for the Prophet raises up Rachel from the grave, and represents her as lamenting. She had been long dead, and her body had been reduced to ashes;... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 31:16

Verse 16 Refrain, he says, thy voice from weeping The word is בכה beke: as he had mentioned this word before in the second place, “lamentation, the weeping of bitterness,” so he now repeats the same here, “Refrain thy voice from weeping,” that is, cease to complain and to bewail the death of thy children, and thine eyes from tears The meaning is, that the lamentation of Rachel would not be perpetual. We have said that a dead woman is introduced, but that this is done for the sake of solemnity... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 31:17

Verse 17 He indeed explains in a few words, but with sufficient plainness, what he had said. We must always bear in mind the order which I have pointed out, — that he first placed before the Jews their calamity, that they might humble themselves before God; and then he gave them the hope of return, that they might feel assured that God would be propitious to them. He now includes both in these few words, there shall be hope in thine end; for they embrace the two clauses, — that the whole... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 31:15

A voice was heard; rather, is heard. It is a participle, indicating the continuance of the action. In Ramah. In the neighbourhood of which town Rachel was buried, according to 1 Samuel 10:2 ("the city" where Samuel and Saul were— 1 Samuel 9:25 —appears to have been Ramah). Rachel weeping for her children. Rachel ("Rahel" is only a Germanizing way of writing the name), being the ancestress of the three tribes, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, is represented as feeling like a mother... read more

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