different Hazor was a few miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee). Kedar was an
Syria, and Arpad, 105 miles southwest of modern Aleppo in Northern Syria, were to fall, as well as Damascus, Syria's capital. Nebuchadnezzar conquered them in 605 B.C.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 49:25 famous city . . . my joy. Could be translated, "the city of renown," famous due to its situation in a spacious oasis and its trade, as in Ezek. 27:18.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 49:27 strongholds of Ben-hadad. Here was the place where so many cruel evils against Israel were devised, thus the reason for its overthrow. The name is common among Syrian kings, meaning Son of Hadad, an idol, so it does not refer to the Ben-hadad of 2 Kings 13:3 and Amos 1:4.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 49:28–33 Concerning Kedar . . . Hazor. Cf. Isa. 21:13– 17. These areas in the Arabian desert east of Judah were to be laid waste (as a different Hazor was a few miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee). Kedar was an Ishmaelite tribe (cf. Gen. 25:13; Ezek. 27:21). The conqueror was Nebuchadnezzar in 599/98 B.C. as recounted in an ancient record, the Babylonian Chronicle. It was shortly after this that Babylon seized Jerusalem in 598/97 B.C.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 49:31 no gates or bars. These nomads were out of the way of contending powers in Asia and Africa.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 49:34–39 concerning Elam. As in 25:25, Elam (200 miles east of Babylon and west of the Tigris River) was to be subjugated. Babylon fulfilled this in 596 B.C. Later, Cyrus of Persia conquered Elam and incorporated Elamites into the Persian forces that conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. Its capital, Susa, was the residence of Darius and became the center of the Persian Empire (Neh. 1:1; Dan. 8:2).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 49:34 reign of Zedekiah. Jeremiah speaks of this judgment in 597 B.C.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 49:35 break the bow. Elamites were famous archers (cf. Isa. 22:6).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 49:39 I will restore. As with certain other peoples in this section of nations, God would allow Elamites to return to their homeland. In Acts 2:9, Elamites were among the group present at the Pentecost event. This has eschatological implications as well.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:1 concerning Babylon. The subject of chs. 50 and 51 (cf. Isa. 13:1–14:23; Hab. 2:6–17). Judgment focuses on Media Persia's conquest of Babylon in 539 B.C. The prediction of elements of violent overthrow, which was not the case when Cyrus conquered since there was not even a battle, points to greater fulfillment near the coming of Messiah in glory when events more fully satisfy the description (cf. Rev. 17–18).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:2 idols. First the idols of Babylon are discredited by Jeremiah's using an unusual word for idols, meaning in Hebrew "dung pellets."
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:3 none shall dwell. The far view in the v. 1 note cites this as not yet fulfilled in a sudden way (cf. 51:8). Media Persia came down from the north in 539 B.C. and armies in the years that followed, but only gradually brought the past Babylon to complete desolation (cf. 50:12–13).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:4–10 people of Israel . . . shall come. Jeremiah predicted a return for exiled Israel and Judah (vv. 17–20, as chs. 30–33) as the scattered and penitent people were given opportunity to escape Babylon's doom and return to Jerusalem and to the Lord in an eternal covenant (50:5).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:5 in an everlasting covenant. This is the New Covenant summarized in 31:31.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:11–16 Judgment on Babylon is the vengeance of God (v. 15) for her treatment of his people.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:17–20 This section summarized the divine interpretation of Israel's history: 1) suffering and judgment on her (v. 17); 2) judgment on those who afflicted Israel (v. 18); 3) her return in peace and plenty (v. 19); and 4) the pardon of her iniquity (v. 20) under Messiah.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:21 Merathaim . . . Pekod. This was a dramatic play on words emphasizing cause and effect. The first means "double rebellion" and named a region in southern Babylon near the Persian Gulf; the latter, meaning "punishment," was also in southern Babylon on the east bank of the Tigris River.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:23 hammer of the whole earth. The description was of Babylon's former conquering force, and God's breaking the "hammer" he had once used. The fact that God used Babylon as his executioner was no
commendation of that nation (cf. Hab. 1:6–7).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:28 vengeance for his temple. This refers to their burning the temple in the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. 51:11).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:29 Repay her. God aimed to bless Israel and curse all who curse her (cf. Gen. 12:1–3, Abrahamic Covenant). The judgment on Babylon, as in Hab. 2, was a repayment in view of Babylon's wrongs as God defends Israel's case (Jer. 50:34; 51:36, 56), particularly God's vengeance on her arrogance ("proud one" cf. 50:31–32).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:34 Redeemer. The OT concept of kinsmen redeemer included the protection of a relative's person and property, the avenging of a relative's murder, the purchase of alienated property, and even the marriage of his widow (cf. Lev. 25:25; Num. 35:21; Ruth 4:4).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:35–38 The "sword" is mentioned five times (cf. Ezek. 21).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:40 As when God overthrew Sodom. Cf. 50:1. What befell Sodom (cf. Gen. 19) was sudden and total destruction, not like the Media Persia takeover, but like an example for the future devastation that will overtake the final Babylon (cf. Rev. 17–18).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:41 from the north. Media Persia in 539 B.C.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 50:41–46 Cf. 6:22–24 and 49:19–21. The "lion" is Cyrus.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:1–4 the day of trouble. The coming of the northern invader is in view.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:5 Here is a reminder that God will not utterly forget or destroy his people. Cf. Rom. 11:1–2, 29.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:8 Suddenly . . . fallen. The focus was first on Babylon's sudden fall on one night in 539 B.C. (Dan. 5:30). The far view looks at the destruction of the final Babylon near the second advent when it will be absolutely sudden (Rev. 18).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:11 kings of the Medes. The aggressor was specifically
identified (cf. v. 28) as the leader of the Medes, assisted by Persia (539 B.C.).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:15–19 he who made the earth. God's almighty power and wisdom in creation are evidences of his superiority to all idols (vv. 17–18), who along with their worshipers will all be destroyed by his mighty power (vv. 15–16, 19), as in Babylon's case.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:20–23 You are my hammer. Cyrus of Persia was God's war club. Ten times the phrase "with you" hits with the force of a hammer.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:25 destroying mountain. Though Babylon existed on a plain, this phrase was meant as a portrayal of Babylon's looming greatness and power in devastating nations (cf. also 50:23, and see note there). a burnt mountain. Babylon will be like a volcano that is extinct, never to be rebuilt (51:26).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:27 Here are listed the people north of Babylon who were conquered by the Medes early in the sixth century B.C. They assisted the Medes against Babylon.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:31 to tell the king of Babylon. Couriers brought the report of the city's fall. Since Belshazzar was slain in the city on the night of the fall (Dan. 5:30), reference may be to runners speeding the news to his co-ruler Nabonidus, who was away from Babylon or possibly to Daniel, the third ruler in the kingdom (Dan. 5:29).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:32 The method of capturing the city was to block off the Euphrates River and dry up the river bed under the city wall, then march in. The "fire" was set to frighten and it did.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:39 drunk. The allusion is possibly to Belshazzar's drunken feast, recorded in Dan. 5:1–4 (cf. Jer. 51:57).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:45–50 Again the Lord's people were warned to flee.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:58 labor for nothing. People from many nations enslaved in Babylon had built the wall for nothing.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:59 Seraiah was the quartermaster. This man looked after the comfort of the king. He may have been the brother of Baruch,
Jeremiah's secretary (cf. 32:12).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 51:60–63 This royal official carried the scroll (v. 60) to read (v. 61) in Babylon and then dramatically illustrated the coming destruction.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:1–34 This chapter is almost identical to 2 Kings 24:18– 25:30, and it is a historical supplement detailing Jerusalem's fall (as Jer. 39). It fittingly opens with her last king and his sin (597–586 B.C.). The purpose of this chapter is to show how accurate Jeremiah's prophecies were concerning Jerusalem and Judah.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:1 Jeremiah. A different man from the author (cf. 1:1).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:4–11 See note on 34:1. This narrative rehearses the account of the fall of Jerusalem. So crucial was this event that the OT records it four times (see also 39:1–14; 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36:11–21).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:4 ninth year . . . tenth month. For vv. 4–6, see notes on 34:1 and 39:1–2.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:12 tenth day. The parallel phrase in 2 Kings 25:8 reads "seventh day." Nebuzaradan (v. 12), "captain of the bodyguard," started from Riblah on the seventh day and arrived in Jerusalem on the tenth day. nineteenth year. 586 B.C.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:18–19 they took. The conquerors plundered the magnificent Solomonic temple and took the articles to Babylon. First Kings 6–8 describes these articles. Later, Belshazzar would use some of these at his immoral banquet, gloating over victory he wrongly attributed to his gods (Dan. 5; cf. Dan. 1:2).
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:22 five. Second Kings 25:17 reads "three." There may have been two parts to the capitals, the lower part of two cubits and the upper part, carved ornately, of three cubits. The lower may be omitted in 2 Kings 25:17 as belonging to the shaft of the pillar.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:24–27 Babylon executed some Judean leaders as an act of power, of resentment over the 18-month resistance (cf. 52:4–6), and of intimidation to prevent future plots.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:25 seven. Second Kings 25:19 reads "five."
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:28–30 carried away. The stages of deportation to Babylon are: 1) in 605 B.C. under Jehoiakim, which marked the beginning of the 70 years of exile, 2) in 597 B.C. under Jehoiachin, 3) in 586 B.C. under Zedekiah, and 4) a mopping up campaign in 582–81 B.C. The number may include only males.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:31–34 exile of Jehoiachin. A captive since 597 B.C., he appears here in 561 B.C., after Nebuchadnezzar's death when Evil-merodach ruled Babylon. Though detained, the former king was kindly freed to enjoy previously denied privileges. The Lord did not forget the Davidic line even in exile.
JEREMIAH—NOTE ON 52:31 twenty-fifth. Second Kings 25:27 reads "twentyseventh." Probably the decree was on the twenty-fifth day and carried out on the twenty-seventh.
Lamentations
Lamentations 1 • Lamentations 2 • Lamentations 3 • Lamentations 4 •
Lamentations 5 Introduction to Lamentations
Title Author and Date Background and Setting Historical and Theological Themes Interpretive Challenges Outline Footnotes Study Notes
Introduction to Lamentations
Title
"Lamentations" was derived from a translation of the title as found in the Latin Vulgate (Vulgate) translation of the Greek OT, the Septuagint (lxx), and conveys the idea of "loud cries." The Hebrew exclamation 'ekah ("How," which expresses "dismay"), used in 1:1; 2:1; 4:1, gives the book its Hebrew title. However, the rabbis began early to call the book "loud cries" or "lamentations" (cf. Jer. 7:29). No other entire OT book contains only laments, as does this distressful dirge, marking the funeral of the once beautiful city of Jerusalem (cf. Lam. 2:15). This book keeps alive the memory of that fall and teaches all believers how to deal with suffering.
Author and Date
The author of Lamentations is not named within the book, but there are internal and historical indications that it was Jeremiah. The lxx introduces Lam. 1:1, "And it came to pass, after Israel had been carried away captive . . . Jeremiah sat weeping [cf. 3:48–49, etc.] . . . lamented . . . and said . . . ." God had told Jeremiah to have Judah lament (Jer. 7:29), and Jeremiah also wrote laments for Josiah (2 Chron. 35:25).
Jeremiah wrote Lamentations as an eyewitness (cf. Lam. 1:13–15; 2:6, 9; 4:1– 12), possibly with Baruch's secretarial help (cf. Jer. 36:4; 45:1), during or soon after Jerusalem's fall in 586 B.C. It was mid-July when the city fell and midAugust when the temple was burned. Likely, Jeremiah saw the destruction of walls, towers, homes, palace, and temple; he wrote while the event remained painfully fresh in his memory, but before his forced departure to Egypt c. 583
B.C. (cf. Jer. 43:1–7). The language used in Lamentations closely parallels that used by Jeremiah in his much larger prophetic book (cf. Lam. 1:2 with Jer. 30:14; Lam. 1:15 with Jer. 8:21; Lam. 1:6 and 2:11 with Jer. 9:1, 18; Lam. 2:22 with Jer. 6:25; Lam. 4:21 with Jer. 49:12).
Background and Setting
The prophetic seeds of Jerusalem's destruction were sown through Joshua 800 years in advance (Josh. 23:15–16). Now, for over 40 years, Jeremiah had prophesied of coming judgment and been scorned by the people for preaching doom (c. 645–605 B.C.). When that judgment came on the disbelieving people from Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army, Jeremiah still responded with great sorrow and compassion toward his suffering and obstinate people. Lamentations relates closely to the book of Jeremiah, describing the anguish over Jerusalem's receiving God's judgment for unrepentant sins. In the book that bears his name, Jeremiah had predicted the calamity in Jer. 1–29. In Lamentations, he concentrates in more detail on the bitter suffering and heartbreak that was felt over Jerusalem's devastation (cf. Ps. 46:4–5). So critical was Jerusalem's destruction, that the facts are recorded in four separate OT chapters: 2 Kings 25; Jer. 39:1–11; 52; and 2 Chron. 36:11–21.
All 154 verses have been recognized by the Jews as a part of their sacred canon. Along with Ruth, Esther, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes, Lamentations is included among the OT books of the Megilloth, or "five scrolls," which were read in the synagogue on special occasions. Lamentations is read on the ninth of Ab (July/August) to remember the date of Jerusalem's destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. Interestingly, this same date later marked the destruction of Herod's temple by the Romans in A.D. 70.
Historical and Theological Themes
The chief focus of Lamentations is on God's judgment in response to Judah's sin. This theme can be traced throughout the book (1:5, 8, 18, 20; 3:42; 4:6, 13, 22; 5:16). A second theme that surfaces is the hope found in God's compassion (as in 3:22–24, 31–33; cf. Ps. 30:3–5). Though the book deals with disgrace, it turns to God's great faithfulness (Lam. 3:22–25) and closes with grace as Jeremiah moves from lamentation to consolation (5:19–22).
God's sovereign judgment represents a third current in the book. His holiness was so offended by Judah's sin that he ultimately brought the destructive calamity. Babylon was chosen to be his human instrument of wrath (1:5, 12, 15; 2:1, 17; 3:37–38; cf. Jer. 50:23). Jeremiah mentions Babylon more than 150 times from Jer. 20:4 to 52:34, but in Lamentations he never once explicitly names Babylon or its king, Nebuchadnezzar. Only the Lord is identified as the One who dealt with Judah's sin.
Fourth, because the sweeping judgment seemed to be the end of every hope of Israel's salvation and the fulfillment of God's promises (cf. Lam. 3:18), much of the book appears in the mode of prayer: 1) 1:11, which represents a wailing confession of sin (cf. 1:18); 2) 3:8, with its anguish when God "shuts out my prayer" (cf. 3:43–54; Jer. 7:16); 3) Lam. 3:55–59, where Jeremiah cries to God for relief, or 3:60–66, where he seeks for recompense to the enemies (which Jer. 50–51 guarantees); and 4) Lam. 5:1–22, with its appeal to heaven for restored mercy (which Jer. 30–33 assures), based on the confidence that God is faithful (Lam. 3:23).
A fifth feature relates to Christ. Jeremiah's tears (3:48–49) compare with Jesus' weeping over the same city of Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37–39; Luke 19:41–44). Though God was the judge and executioner, it was a grief to him to bring this destruction. The statement "In all their affliction he [God] was afflicted" (Isa. 63:9) was true in principle. God will one day wipe away all tears (Isa. 25:8; Rev. 7:17; 21:4) when sin shall be no more.
A sixth theme is an implied warning to all who read this book. If God did not hesitate to judge his beloved people (Deut. 32:10), what will he do to the nations of the world who reject his word?
Interpretive Challenges
Certain details pose initial difficulties. Among them are: 1) imprecatory prayers for judgment on other sinners (1:21–22; 3:64–66); 2) the reason for God shutting out prayer (3:8); and 3) the necessity of judgment that is so severe (cf. 1:1, 14; 3:8).
Outline
In the first four chapters, each verse begins in an acrostic pattern, i.e., using the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet in sequence. Chapters 1; 2; and 4 have 22 verses corresponding to 22 letters, while ch. 3 employs each letter for three consecutive verses until there are 22 trios, or 66 verses. Chapter 5 is not written alphabetically, although it simulates the pattern in that it has 22 verses. An acrostic order, such as in Ps. 119 (where all 22 Hebrew letters are used in series of eight verses each), was used to aid memorization. The structure of the book ascends and descends from the great confession in Lam. 3:22–24, "great is your
faithfulness," which is the literary center of the book.
I. The First Lament: Jerusalem's Devastation (1:1–22)
A. Jeremiah's Sorrow (1:1–11)
B. Jerusalem's Sorrow (1:12–22) II. The Second Lament: The Lord's Anger Explained (2:1–22)
A. The Lord's Perspective (2:1–10)
B. A Human Perspective (2:11–19) C. Jeremiah's Prayer (2:20–22) III. The Third Lament: Jeremiah's Griefs Expressed (3:1–66)
A. His Distress (3:1–20)
B. His Hope (3:21–38) C. His Counsel/Prayer (3:39–66) IV. The Fourth Lament: God's Wrath Detailed (4:1–22)
A. For Jerusalem (4:1–20)
B. For Edom (4:21–22) V. The Fifth Lament: The Remnant's Prayers (5:1–22)
A. To Be Remembered by the Lord (5:1–18)
B. To Be Restored by the Lord (5:19–22)
Lamentations
How Lonely Sits the City
LAMENTATIONS 1 ‡†How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. 2†She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her
enemies. 3†Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations,
but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress. [1] 4†The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate;
her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, [2]
and she herself suffers bitterly. 5†Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away, captives before the foe. 6From the daughter of Zion all her majesty has departed. Her princes have become like deer
that find no pasture; they fled without strength
before the pursuer. 7Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help
her, her foes gloated over her;
they mocked at her downfall. 8†Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans
and turns her face away. 9†Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; [3] therefore her fall is terrible;
she has no comforter. "O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!" 10†The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; for she has seen the nations
enter her sanctuary, those whom you forbade
to enter your congregation. 11†All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. "Look, O LORD, and see, for I am despised." 12†"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. 13†"From on high he sent fire; into my bones [4] he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned,
faint all the day long. 14†"My transgressions were bound [5] into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail; the Lord gave me into the hands
of those whom I cannot withstand. 15†"The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me
to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. 16"For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me,
one to revive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
for the enemy has prevailed." 17†Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his
foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them. 18†"The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men
have gone into captivity. 19"I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and elders
perished in the city, while they sought food
to revive their strength. 20"Look, O LORD, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me,
because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves;
in the house it is like death. 21‡"They heard [6] my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done
it. You have brought [7] the day you announced; now let them be as I am. 22†"Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me
because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many,
and my heart is faint."
The Lord Has Destroyed Without Pity
LAMENTATIONS 2 †How the Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion
under a cloud! He has cast down from heaven to earth the splendor of Israel; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger. 2†The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down
the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has brought down to the
ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers. 3He has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel; he has withdrawn from them his right hand in the face of the enemy; he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around. 4He has bent his bow like an enemy, with his right hand set like a foe; and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes in the tent of the daughter of Zion; he has poured out his fury like fire. 5The Lord has become like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel; he has swallowed up all its palaces; he has laid in ruins its strongholds, and
he has multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. 6‡‡He has laid waste his booth like a garden, laid in ruins his meeting place; the LORD has made Zion forget festival and Sabbath, and in his fierce indignation has spurned king and priest. 7†The Lord has scorned his altar, disowned his sanctuary; he has delivered into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they raised a clamor in the house of the LORD
as on the day of festival. 8The LORD determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out the measuring line; he did not restrain his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to lament; they languished together. 9Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars; her king and princes are among the nations; the law is no more, and her prophets find
no vision from the LORD. 10The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground. 11‡My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the
daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city. 12They cry to their mothers, "Where is bread and wine?" as they faint like a wounded man
in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out
on their mothers' bosom. 13What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is vast as the sea; who can heal you? 14†Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles
that are false and misleading. 15All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty,
the joy of all the earth?" 16All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry: "We have swallowed her! Ah, this is the day we longed for; now we have it; we see it!" 17†The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago;
he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes. 18†Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest,
your eyes no respite! 19"Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint for hunger
at the head of every street." 20†Look, O LORD, and see! With whom have you dealt thus? Should women eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? 21†In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men
have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity. 22You summoned as if to a festival day my terrors on every side, and on the day of the anger of the LORD
no one escaped or survived; those whom I held and raised
my enemy destroyed.
Great Is Your Faithfulness
LAMENTATIONS 3 ‡I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his
wrath; 2he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. 4He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; 5he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; 6he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago. 7He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy; 8†though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; 9he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked. 10He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding; 11he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate; 12he bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow. 13He drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver; 14I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long. 15He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood. 16†He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; 17my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness [1] is; 18so I say, "My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD." 19Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 21‡†But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22‡†The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; [2] his mercies never come to an end; 23†they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." 25The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. 26It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 27†It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. 28Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; 29†let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope; 30†let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with
insults. 31For the Lord will not cast off forever, 32but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 33‡for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. 34To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, 35to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High, 36to subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve. 37Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? 38†Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? 39Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? 40‡Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! 41Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: 42†"We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven. 43"You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; 44you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. 45You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples. 46"All our enemies open their mouths against us; 47panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction; 48‡my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49"My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite, 50until the LORD from heaven looks down and sees; 51my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city. 52‡"I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause; 53they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me; 54water closed over my head; I said, 'I am lost.' 55"I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; 56you heard my plea, 'Do not close your ear to my cry for help!' 57You came near when I called on you; you said, 'Do not fear!' 58†"You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life. 59You have seen the wrong done to me, O LORD; judge my cause. 60You have seen all their vengeance, all their plots against me. 61"You have heard their taunts, O LORD, all their plots against me. 62The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long.
63Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts. 64‡"You will repay them, [3] O LORD, according to the work of their hands. 65You will give them [4] dullness of heart; your curse will be [5] on them. 66You will pursue them [6] in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, O LORD." [7]
The Holy Stones Lie Scattered
LAMENTATIONS 4 †How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is
changed! The holy stones lie scattered
at the head of every street. 2The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter's hands! 3†Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the
wilderness. 4The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them. 5Those who once feasted on delicacies perish in the streets; those who were brought up in purple embrace ash heaps. 6†For the chastisement [1] of the daughter of my people has been greater than the punishment [2] of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands were wrung for her. [3] 7‡Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than coral, the beauty of their form [4] was
like sapphire. [5] 8Now their face is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as wood. 9Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field. 10†The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations. 12The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous. 14They wandered, blind, through the streets; they were so defiled with blood that no one was able to touch
their garments. 15†"Away! Unclean!" people cried at them. "Away! Away! Do not touch!" So they became fugitives and wanderers; people said among the nations,
"They shall stay with us no longer." 16†The LORD himself [6] has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders. 17Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched
for a nation which could not save. 18They dogged our steps so that we could not walk in our streets; our end drew near; our days were numbered, for our end had come. 19Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles in the heavens; they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness. 20†The breath of our nostrils, the LORD's anointed, was captured in their pits, of whom we said, "Under his shadow we shall live among the nations." 21‡Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip
yourself bare. 22The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished; he will keep you in exile no longer; [7] but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish; he will uncover your
sins.
Restore Us to Yourself, O LORD
LAMENTATIONS 5 †Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; look, and see
our disgrace! 2Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners. 3We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows. 4We must pay for the water we drink; the wood we get must be bought. 5Our pursuers are at our necks; [1] we are weary; we are given no rest. 6†We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to get bread enough. 7†Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities. 8‡Slaves rule over us; there is none to deliver us from their hand. 9We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness. 10Our skin is hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine. 11Women are raped in Zion, young women in the towns of Judah. 12Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders. 13Young men are compelled to grind at the mill, and boys stagger under loads of wood. 14The old men have left the city gate, the young men their music. 15The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning. 16†The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned! 17For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim, 18for Mount Zion which lies desolate; jackals prowl over it. 19†But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. 20Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days? 21‡†Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old— 22unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.
Footnotes
Footnotes for Lamentations, Chapter 1
[1] 1:3 Or in the narrow passes
[2] 1:4 Septuagint, Old Latin dragged away
[3] 1:9 Or end
[4] 1:13 Septuagint; Hebrew bones and
[5] 1:14 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [6] 1:21 Septuagint, Syriac
Hear
[7] 1:21 Syriac Bring
Footnotes for Lamentations, Chapter 3
[1] 3:17 Hebrew good
[2] 3:22 Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Because of the steadfast love of the LORD, we
are not cut off
[3] 3:64 Or Repay them
[4] 3:65 Or Give them
[5] 3:65 Or place your curse
[6] 3:66 Or Pursue them
[7] 3:66 Syriac (compare Septuagint, Vulgate); Hebrew the heavens of the LORD
Footnotes for Lamentations, Chapter 4
[1] 4:6 Or iniquity
[2] 4:6 Or sin
[3] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [4] 4:7 The meaning of the
Hebrew is uncertain [5] 4:7 Hebrew lapis lazuli
[6] 4:16 Hebrew The face of the LORD
[7] 4:22 Or he will not exile you again
Footnotes for Lamentations, Chapter 5
[1] 5:5 Symmachus With a yoke on our necks