Matthew 2:17
What does Matthew 2:17 mean?
A plain-English look at Matthew 2:17 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Matthew 2:17 means
Matthew connects Herod's horrific massacre of the children in Bethlehem to a fulfillment of the prophet Jeremiah's words. This tragic event, though an act of evil, was still within God's sovereign plan to demonstrate the true nature of the world that Christ entered. Matthew emphasizes how even profound suffering, like that endured by these innocent families, was foretold and points to the depth of the spiritual conflict surrounding the Messiah's arrival and the reality of human sin.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
KJV
King James Version · 1611Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Then the word of Jeremiah the prophet came true,
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying:
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremias the prophet, saying,
Context
This verse functions as an explicit declaration that the horrifying massacre just described fulfills an Old Testament prophecy. It provides the framework for understanding the profound sorrow of the event within God's prophetic plan, directly followed by the quotation of Jeremiah's lament in the next verse. This connection serves to deepen the theological significance of Herod's evil act.
v.16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wise-men.
v.17This passage
v.18A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she would not be comforted, because they are not.
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