Verse Lens · Context pointer
Jeremiah 31:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The prophetic or communal lament introduces or commands “Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall…” at Jeremiah 31:16 as “Rachel's Lament Is Heard without Being Silenced” develops.
Read It With
- Jeremiah 31:15–17
Read Jeremiah 31:16 with 31:15–17. By itself, “Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, imperial horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: A mother-ancestor weeps at Ramah for absent children and receives a promise of return and future hope.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Jeremiah 31:15–17 — Rachel's Lament Is Heard without Being SilencedSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 31:15–17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 31:15–17
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗