Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
Parallel translations
- WEB Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
- KJV Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
- BSB Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
- NKJV Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
- NASB Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Matthew notes that this tragedy fulfilled the words of Jeremiah the prophet. Even the massacre falls within God's foreknowledge.
Overview
Matthew introduces a fulfillment formula to frame the grief of Bethlehem within Scripture. He does not say God caused the evil but that the prophetic word anticipated such sorrow on the way to redemption. God's purposes advance even through scenes of deep human anguish.
Cross-references & the web
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Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Pastoral
On the genealogy and the name Immanuel.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 2:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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