31:15 The Lord says,
“A sound is heard in Ramah, 3
a sound of crying in bitter grief.
It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted, because her children are gone.” 4
31:16 The Lord says to her, 5
“Stop crying! Do not shed any more tears! 6
For your heartfelt repentance 7 will be rewarded.
Your children will return from the land of the enemy.
I, the Lord, affirm it! 8
20:15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she 12 thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.”
20:1 Now very early on the first day of the week, 13 while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene 14 came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. 15
1:1 From Paul, 16 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1:1 From Paul, 17 an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1 sn This group probably includes outside or even professional mourners, not just family, because a large group seems to be present.
2 tn Grk “beating the breasts” (in mourning); see L&N 52.1.
3 sn Ramah is a town in Benjamin approximately five miles (8 km) north of Jerusalem. It was on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem. Traditionally, Rachel’s tomb was located near there at a place called Zelzah (1 Sam 10:2). Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin and was very concerned about having children because she was barren (Gen 30:1-2) and went to great lengths to have them (Gen 30:3, 14-15, 22-24). She was the grandmother of Ephraim and Manasseh which were two of the major tribes in northern Israel. Here Rachel is viewed metaphorically as weeping for her “children,” the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, who had been carried away into captivity in 722
4 tn Or “gone into exile” (cf. v. 16), though some English versions take this as meaning “dead” (e.g., NCV, CEV, NLT), presumably in light of Matt 2:18.
5 tn The words “to her” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “Refrain your voice from crying and your eyes from tears.”
7 tn Heb “your work.” Contextually her “work” refers to her weeping and refusing to be comforted, that is, signs of genuine repentance (v. 15).
8 tn Heb “Oracle of the
9 tn The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here.
10 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions. This occurs again in v. 15.
11 tn Grk “She said to them.”
12 tn Grk “that one” (referring to Mary Magdalene).
13 sn The first day of the week would be early Sunday morning. The Sabbath (and in this year the Passover) would have lasted from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday. Sunday would thus mark the first day of the following week.
14 sn John does not mention that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by any of the other women who had been among Jesus’ followers. The synoptic accounts all mention other women who accompanied her (although Mary Magdalene is always mentioned first). Why John does not mention the other women is not clear, but Mary probably becomes the focus of the author’s attention because it was she who came and found Peter and the beloved disciple and informed them of the empty tomb (20:2). Mary’s use of the plural in v. 2 indicates there were others present, in indirect agreement with the synoptic accounts.
15 tn Grk “from the tomb.”
16 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
17 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
18 tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.