Rachel

3And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty came to me at a place called Luz, in the land of Canaan. He blessed me there.

4And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

"God said, 'I will give you many children, and they will grow into many peoples. I will give this land to your family after you, to keep for always.'

5And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

"Now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were born here in Egypt before I came. They will count as my own sons, just like Reuben and Simeon.

6And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

"Any children born to you after them will be yours. They will share land under their brothers' names.

7And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.

"When I was coming back from Paddan, your mother Rachel died in Canaan, on the road. We were still a short walk from Ephrath. I buried her there beside that road. Ephrath is the town now called Bethlehem."

11And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:

All the people at the gate and the leaders said, "We saw it. May the LORD make this woman like Rachel and Leah. Those two mothers built up the families of Israel. May you do well in Ephratah and be known in Bethlehem.

12And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.

Long ago Tamar had a son named Pharez, and Judah was his father. May your family grow strong like that family. May the LORD give you children by this young woman."

15Thus 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.

The LORD says this: "A voice is heard in the town of Ramah. There is crying and deep, bitter sadness. Rachel is crying for her children. She will not let anyone comfort her, because her children are gone."

16Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

The LORD says this: "Stop crying. Dry your eyes. Your hard work will be paid back, says the LORD. Your children will come home from the land of the enemy."

17And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

"There is hope for your future, says the LORD. Your children will come back to their own land."

16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Herod saw that the wise men had fooled him. He was very angry. He sent out an order. All the boys in Bethlehem and the towns nearby were killed. Only boys two years old and younger were killed. He picked that age from what the wise men had told him.

17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

So the words of Jeremiah the prophet came true. He had said:

18In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

"A voice was heard in the town of Ramah. There was crying and loud, sad weeping. Rachel was weeping for her children. She would not let anyone comfort her, because they were gone."