Y'rmiyahu / Jeremiah 31 is a continuation of the theme of Jewish redemption from exile in the true messianic age (which did not happen in the time of Jesus). It is verse 14, not 15 in Jewish versions. "So says the L-rd: A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, she refuses to be comforted for her children for they are not." Y'rmiayhau / Jeremiah 31:14. Weeping for children is not equal to slaughtering them. Jeremiah is not speaking of children being massacred (murdered). The opposite is true: Rachel is weeping for children who were alive and taken into captivity. "I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will refresh the soul of the priests with fat, and My people-they will be satisfied with My goodness, is the word of the L-rd. So says the L-rd: A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, she refuses to be comforted for her children for they are not. So says the L-rd: Refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your work, says the L-rd, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy." Y'rmiayhau / Jeremiah 31:12 - 15. They shall come back. Not be murdered. Matthew -- and much of the Christian bible -- qutoes T'nach (bible) verses out-of-context. If the innocent Christian doesn't botyher to go and actually read the "proof" text in the bible IN CONTEXT they can easily be misled by selective quoting -- or often misquoting (even reversing text -- see the "Bethlehem" prophecy in Matthew for an example of reversing what the T'nach actually says. Matthew totally reverses Micah, saying ""'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" Compare Micah to Matthew: Micah: “But as for you, Beit Lĕḥĕm–Ĕfratah... you are too small to be among the thousands of Judah (so small you aren't even counted)- Matthew: "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" Matthew is the opposite of the prophet Micah! In the case of Jeremiah prophesying the murder of babies by Herod -- it simply does not exist. The passage speaks of the Jews being sent into exile, not babies being sent to their deaths. Yet another false prophecy -- and this one can be laid at the author of Matthew as it quotes a part of the passage out of context. Y'rmiayhau / Jeremiah 31. is beautiful and we recite parts of this passage on Rosh HaShana (the head of the year). It speaks of Jewish repentance -- singing to G-d and asking His help to redeem our people from exile. G-d will return us from exile in the messianic age. The people will weep from joy and in repentance and G-d will lead us on a straight and smooth road. Jeremiah speaks of the restoration of the Jews to the land of Israel. Matthew 2:18 quotes part of Y'rmiayhau / Jeremiah 31. Again the Christian bible lifts a quote out of context, ignoring the redemption of the Jewish people and the message of hope -- because it does not fit Jesus. The Christian bible takes the words "on high" -- בְּרָמָ֤ה / b'ramah -- and transliterates them rather than translating them in Matthew 2:18 "A voice is heard in Ramah,weeping and great mourning." This appears to be the "connection" between Y'rmiayhau / Jeremiah 31 and Matthew 2:16-18. There was a town named Ramah -- it is mentioned in Shmuel Alef / 1 Samuel 16:13. Matthew speaks of a massacre of innocents -- but Luke does not. Just another inconsistency in the Christian bible! Not only does Luke fail to mention this mass killing of babies: so does every historical source. It simply never happened. Josephus (a Jewish priest and later Roman historian who lived in the 1st century CE) details very minor details of this timeframe -- and discusses Herod's horrors including the murder of his own wife and children, but Josephus never mentions something as major as an order to kill babies. Silence. Luke and the other gospels are likewise silent. The tale of the murder of babies by Herod only appears in Matthew. It may well be that the author was trying to liken Jesus to Moses (the story in Sh'mot / Exodus of Pharaoh murdering male babies). . . . but whether fictional or not the tale is not a fulfillment of Y'rmiayhau / Jeremiah 31:12 - 15. which speaks of the Jews in exile, not the death of anyone.
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