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14 I will lavish choice portions on the priests,
    and my people shall be filled with my blessings—
    oracle of the Lord.

End of Rachel’s Mourning

15     Thus says the Lord:
In Ramah[a] is heard the sound of sobbing,
    bitter weeping!
Rachel mourns for her children,
    she refuses to be consoled
    for her children—they are no more!(A)
16     Thus says the Lord:
Cease your cries of weeping,
    hold back your tears!
There is compensation for your labor—
    oracle of the Lord
    they shall return from the enemy’s land.

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Footnotes

  1. 31:15 Ramah: a village about five miles north of Jerusalem, where one tradition locates Rachel’s tomb (1 Sm 10:2). The wife of Jacob/Israel, Rachel is the matriarchal ancestor of Ephraim, chief among the northern tribes. She personified Israel as a mother whose grief for her lost children is especially poignant because she had to wait a long time to bear them. Mt 2:18 applies this verse to Herod’s slaughter of the innocents.

14 I will satisfy(A) the priests(B) with abundance,
    and my people will be filled with my bounty,(C)
declares the Lord.

15 This is what the Lord says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,(D)
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,(E)
    because they are no more.”(F)

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Restrain your voice from weeping
    and your eyes from tears,(G)
for your work will be rewarded,(H)
declares the Lord.
    “They will return(I) from the land of the enemy.

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