Passage

Matthew 2.16

Book: Matthew · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"14. And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt; 15. and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call my son."

"16. Then 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."

"17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 18. A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she would not be comforted, because they are not." (Matthew 2:14-18, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"14. He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt, 15. and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”"

"16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men."

"17. Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, 18. “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn’t be comforted, because they are no more.”" (Matthew 2:14-18, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"14. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15. And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son."

"16. Then 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."

"17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 18. In 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." (Matthew 2:14-18, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"14. And he, having risen, took the child and his mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, 15. and he was there till the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I did call My Son.'"

"16. Then Herod, having seen that he was deceived by the mages, was very wroth, and having sent forth, he slew all the male children in Beth-Lehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under, according to the time that he inquired exactly from the mages."

"17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 18. 'A voice in Ramah was heard, lamentation and weeping and much mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she would not be comforted because they are not.'" (Matthew 2:14-18, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Matthew (traditionally) the tax-collector-apostle / narrator + Jesus's direct teaching
Audience: Jewish-Christian audience (heavy OT-fulfillment emphasis)
Location: first-century Palestine (events); possibly Antioch (composition)
Time period: events c. 4 BC, AD 30/33; composed c. AD 60-80

Theological reading

Key words

G3956 - pas, pas (Strong's G3956). Also appears in: Matthew 1, Matthew 2.1-6, Matthew 4.23.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.