Reference: Lamentations
Fausets
Hebrew eechah called from the first word "How," etc., the formula in beginning a lamentation (2Sa 1:19). These "Lamentations" (we get the title from Septuagint, Greek threnoi, Hebrew kinot) or five elegies in the Hebrew Bible stand between Ruth and Ecclesiastes, among the Cherubim, or Hagiographa (holy writings), designated from the principal one, the Psalms," by our Lord (Lu 24:44). No "word of Jehovah "or divine message to the sinful and suffering people occurs in Lamentations. Jeremiah is in it the sufferer, not the prophet and teacher, but a sufferer speaking under the Holy Spirit. Josephus (c. Apion) enumerated the prophetic books as thirteen, reckoning Jeremiah and Lamentations as one book, as Judges and Ruth, Ezra and Nehemiah. Jeremiah wrote "lamentations" on the death of Josiah, and it was made "an ordinance in Israel" that "singing women" should "speak" of that king in lamentation.
So here he writes "lamentations" on the overthrow of the Jewish city and people, as Septuagint expressly state in a prefatory verse, embodying probably much of the language of his original elegy on Josiah (2Ch 35:25), and passing now to the more universal calamity, of which Josiah's sad death was the presage and forerunner. Thus, the words originally applied to Josiah (La 4:20) Jeremiah now applies to the throne of Judah in general, the last representative of which, Zedekiah, had just been blinded and carried to Babylon (compare Jer 39:5-7): "the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the (live securely in spite of the surrounding) pagan." The language, true of good Josiah, is too favorable to apply to Zedekiah personally; it is as royal David's representative, and type of Messiah, and Judah's head, that he is viewed.
The young children fainting for hunger (La 2:6,11-12,20-21; 4:4,9; 2Ki 25:3), the city stormed (La 2:7; 4:12; 2Ch 36:17,19), the priests slain in the sanctuary, the citizens carried captive (La 1:5; 2:9; 2Ki 25:11) with the king and princes, the feasts, sabbaths, and the law no more (La 1:4; 2:6), all point to Jerusalem's capture by Nebuchadnezzar. The subject is the Jerusalem citizens' sufferings throughout the siege, the penalty of national sin. The events probably are included under Manasseh and Josiah (2Ch 33:11; 35:20-25), Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah (2Ch 36:3, etc.). "Every letter is written with a tear, every word is the sound of a broken heart" (Lowth). Terse conciseness marks the style which Jeremiah suits to his theme, whereas he is diffuse in his prophecies.
The elegies are grouped in stanzas, but without artificial arrangement of the thoughts. The five are acrostic, and each elegy divided into 22 stanzas. The first three elegies have stanzas with triplets of lines, excepting elegy La 1:7 and La 2:9 containing four lines each. The 22 stanzas begin severally with the 22 Hebrew letters in alphabetical order. In three instances two letters are transposed: elegy La 2:16-17; 3:46-51; 4:16-17. In the third elegy each line of the three forming every stanza begins with the same letter. The fourth and fifth elegies have their stanzas of two lines each. The fifth elegy has 22 stanzas, but not beginning alphabetically, the earnestness of prayer with which the whole closes breaking through the trammels of form. Its lines are shorter than the rest, which are longer than is usual in Hebrew poems, and contain 12 syllables marked by a caesura about the middle, dividing each line into two not always equal parts.
The alphabetical arrangement suited didactic poems, to be recited or sung by great numbers; Psalm 25; Psalm 34; Psalm 37; Psalm 111; Psalm 112; Psalm 145; especially Psalm 119; Pr 31:31, are examples. It was adopted to help the memory, and is used to string together reflections not closely bound in unity, save by the general reference to a common subject. David's lament over Jonathan and Saul, also that over Abner, are the earliest specimens of sacred elegy (2Sa 1:17-27; 3:33-34). Jeremiah in his prophecies (Jer 9:9,16,19; 7:29) has much of an elegiac character. The author of Lamentations was evidently an eye witness who vividly and intensely realizes the sufferings which he mourns over. This strong feeling, combined with almost entirely uncomplaining (La 3:26-27,33-42) resignation under God's stroke, and with turning to Him that smote Jerusalem, is just what characterizes Jeremiah's acknowledged writings.
The writer's distress for "the virgin daughter of his people" is common to Jeremiah (Jer 14:17; 8:21; 9:1) and Lamentations (La 1:15; 2:13). The same pathos, his "eyes running down with water" (La 1:16; 2:11; 3:48-49) for Zion, appears in both (Jer 13:17), and the same feeling of terror on every side (La 2:22; Jer 6:25; 46:5). What most affects the author of each is the iniquity of her prophets and priests (La 2:14; 4:13; Jer 5:30-31; 14:13-14). His appeal in both is to Jehovah for judgment (La 3:64-66; Jer 11:20); Edom, exulting in Zion's fall, is warned that God's winecup of wrath shall pass away from Zion and be drunk by Edom (La 4:21; Jer 25:15-21; 49:12). As a prophet Jeremiah had foretold Zion's coming doom, and had urged submission to Babylon which was God's instrument, as the only means of mitigating judgment.
But now that the stroke has fallen, so far from exulting at the fulfillment of his predictions on the Jewish rulers who had persecuted him, all other feelings are swallowed up in intense sorrow. To express this in a form suitable for use by his fellow countrymen was a relief by affording vent to his own deep sorrow; at the same time it was edifying to them to have an inspired form for giving legitimate expression to theirs. The first elegy (Lamentations 1) strikes the keynote, the solitude of the city once so full! Her grievous sin is the cause. At one time he speaks of her, then introduces her personified, and uttering the pathetic appeal (antitypically descriptive of her Antitype Messiah), "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold ... if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow," etc. (La 1:12). Justifying the Lord as "righteous," she condemns herself, and looks forward to His one day making her foe like unto her.
The second elegy (Lamentations 2) dwells on the city's destruction, her breach through which like a sea the foe poured in, the famine, the women eating their little children (fulfilling De 28:53), the priest and prophet slain in the sanctuary, the king and princes among the Gentiles, the law no more, the past vanity of the prophets forbearing to discover Zion's iniquity, retributively punished by the present absence of vision from Jehovah (La 2:9,14). The third elegy dwells on his own affliction (La 3:1, etc.), his past derision on the part of all the people; the mercies of the Lord new every morning, his hope; his sanctified conviction that it was good for him to have borne the yoke in youth, and now to wait for Jehovah's salvation. Here he uses language typical of Messiah (La 3:8,14,30,54; Ps 69:22; Isa 1:6).
He also indirectly teaches his fellow countrymen that "searching our ways and turning again to the Lord," instead of complaining against what is the punishment due for sins, is the true way of obtaining deliverance from Him who "doth not afflict willingly the children of men." The fourth elegy recapitulates the woes of Zion, contrasting the past preciousness of Zion's sons, and her pure Nazarites, with the worthlessness of their present estimation. It is "the Lord who hath accomplished His fury" in all this; for the kings of the earth regarded Zion as impregnable, but now recognize that it is because of "uncleanness" the Jews are wanderers. But Edom, now exulting in her fall, shall soon be visited in wrath, while Zion's captivity shall cease.
The fifth elegy (Lamentations 5) is prayer to Jehovah to consider "our reproach," slaves ruling His people, women ravished, young men grinding, children sinking under burdens of wood, "the crown" of the kingdom and priesthood "fallen," and Zion desolate. But one grand source of consolation is Jehovah's eternal rule (La 5:19), which, though suffering His people's affliction for a
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And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the [pressing] misery with which your enemies shall distress you.
David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, And he commanded to teach it, [the lament of] the bow, to the Israelites. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar: read more. Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your high places. How have the mighty fallen!
Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your high places. How have the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, announce it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. read more. O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, or fields with offerings. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, as though he were not anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In their lives and in their deaths they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with [other] delights, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
And the king lamented over Abner and said, Should Abner die as a fool dies? Your hands were not bound or your feet put into fetters; as a man falls before wicked men, so you fell. And all the people wept again over him.
So the Lord brought against them the commanders of the host of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks and in fetters and brought him to Babylon.
After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went out to fight against Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him. But [Neco] sent ambassadors to [Josiah], saying, What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war; and God has commanded me to make haste. Refrain from opposing God, Who is with me, lest He destroy you. read more. Yet Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not heed the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight with him in the valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am severely wounded. So his servants took him out of the chariot and put him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. Jeremiah gave a lament for Josiah, and all the singing men and women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments.
Jeremiah gave a lament for Josiah, and all the singing men and women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments.
Then the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem and fined the land a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
[Why is the light of day given] to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?
If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done You, O You Watcher and Keeper of men? Why have You set me as a mark for You, so that I am a burden to myself [and You]?
Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?
If I lift myself up, You hunt me like a lion and again show Yourself [inflicting] marvelous [trials] upon me.
He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, and He has set darkness upon my paths.
And now I have become their song; yes, I am a byword to them.
Truly God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
Let their own table [with all its abundance and luxury] become a snare to them; and when they are secure in peace [or at their sacrificial feasts, let it become] a trap to them.
But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever; and the fame of Your name endures to all generations.
They shall perish, but You shall remain and endure; yes, all of them shall wear out and become old like a garment. Like clothing You shall change them, and they shall be changed and pass away. But You remain the same, and Your years shall have no end.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates [of the city]!
From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness or health in [the nation's body] -- "but wounds and bruises and fresh and bleeding stripes; they have not been pressed out and closed up or bound up or softened with oil. [No one has troubled to seek a remedy.]
Comfort, comfort My people, says your God.
An appalling and horrible thing [bringing desolation and destruction] has come to pass in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests exercise rule at their own hands and by means of the prophets. And My people love to have it so! But what will you do when the end comes?
Go not out into the field nor walk on the road, for the enemy is armed with the sword; terror is on every side.
Cut off your hair [your crown, O Jerusalem] and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I [Jeremiah] hurt; I go around mourning; dismay has taken hold on me.
Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a reservoir of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord. Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
I will scatter them also among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword among them and after them until I have consumed them.
For a sound of wailing is heard [coming] out of Zion: How we are plundered and ruined! We are greatly confounded and utterly put to shame, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings [our dwellings that have cast us out].
But, O Lord of hosts, Who judges rightly and justly, Who tests the heart and the mind, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have revealed and committed my cause [rolling it upon You].
But if you will not hear and obey, I will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock has been taken captive.
Then said I, Alas, Lord God! Behold, the [false] prophets say to them, You will not see the sword, nor will you have famine; but I [the Lord] will give you assured peace (peace that lasts, the peace of truth) in this place. Then the Lord said to me, The [false] prophets prophesy lies in My name. I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, nor have I spoken to them. They prophesy to you a false or pretended vision, a worthless divination [conjuring or practicing magic, trying to call forth the responses supposed to be given by idols], and the deceit of their own minds.
Therefore [Jeremiah] you shall say to them, Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people has been smitten with a great wound, with a very grievous blow.
For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to me: Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. They shall drink and reel to and fro and be crazed because of the sword that I will send among them. read more. Then I [Jeremiah] took the cup from the Lord's hand and made all the nations drink it to whom the Lord had sent me: [that is,] Jerusalem and the cities of Judah [being most guilty because their privileges were greatest], its kings and princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is to this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, all his people, And all the mixed foreign population; all the kings of the land of Uz; and all the kings of the land of the Philistines and [their cities of] Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; Edom, Moab, and the children of Ammon;
But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the [Syrian] land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence upon him. Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes; also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. read more. Moreover, he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with shackles to take him to Babylon.
Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward, and their mighty warriors are beaten down. They flee in haste and look not back; terror is on every side! says the Lord.
For thus says the Lord: Behold, they [Israel] whose rule was not to drink the cup [of wrath] shall assuredly drink -- "and are you to remain unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink.
She weeps bitterly in the night, and her tears are [constantly] on her cheeks. Among all her lovers (allies) she has no one to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.
The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to the solemn assembly or the appointed feasts. All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh and groan, her maidens are grieved and vexed, and she herself is in bitterness. Her adversaries have become the head; her enemies prosper. For the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her young children have gone into captivity before the enemy.
Jerusalem [earnestly] remembers in the days of her affliction, in the days of her [compulsory] wanderings and her bitterness, all the pleasant and precious things that she had from the days of old. When her people fell into and at the hands of the adversary, and there was none to help her, the enemy [gloated as they] looked at her, and they mocked at her desolations and downfall.
Her filthiness was in and on her skirts; she did not [seriously and earnestly] consider her final end. Therefore she has come down [from throne to slavery] singularly and astonishingly; she has no comforter. O Lord [cries Jerusalem], look at my affliction, for the enemy has magnified himself [in triumph]!
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was dealt out to me, with which the Lord has afflicted me in the day of His fierce anger!
The Lord has made of no account all my [Jerusalem's] mighty men in the midst of me; He has proclaimed a set time against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden as in a winepress the Virgin Daughter of Judah. For these things I weep; my eyes overflow with tears, because a comforter, one who could refresh and restore my soul, is far from me. My children are desolate and perishing, for the enemy has prevailed. read more. Zion stretches forth her hands, but there is no comforter for her. The Lord has commanded concerning and against Jacob that his neighbors should be his adversaries; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them [an object of contempt].
[My foes] have heard that I [Jerusalem] sigh and groan, that I have no comforter [in You]. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad [O Lord] that You have done it. You will bring the day [of Judah's punishment] that you have foretold and proclaimed; [it involves also my foes' punishment] and they will become like me.
[My foes] have heard that I [Jerusalem] sigh and groan, that I have no comforter [in You]. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad [O Lord] that You have done it. You will bring the day [of Judah's punishment] that you have foretold and proclaimed; [it involves also my foes' punishment] and they will become like me.
And He has violently broken down His temple like a booth or hedge of a garden; He has destroyed the place of His appointed assembly. The Lord has caused the solemn appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion and has spurned and rejected in the indignation of His anger the king and the priest.
And He has violently broken down His temple like a booth or hedge of a garden; He has destroyed the place of His appointed assembly. The Lord has caused the solemn appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion and has spurned and rejected in the indignation of His anger the king and the priest. The Lord has scorned, rejected, and cast off His altar; He has abhorred and disowned His sanctuary. He has given into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces [and high buildings]; they have raised a clamor in the house of the Lord as on a day of a solemn appointed feast.
Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are [exiled] among the nations; the law is no more; her prophets also obtain no vision from the Lord.
Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are [exiled] among the nations; the law is no more; her prophets also obtain no vision from the Lord.
Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are [exiled] among the nations; the law is no more; her prophets also obtain no vision from the Lord.
My eyes fail from weeping, my emotions are deeply disturbed, my heart is poured out upon the ground [in grief] because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and nurslings faint in the streets of the city.
My eyes fail from weeping, my emotions are deeply disturbed, my heart is poured out upon the ground [in grief] because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and nurslings faint in the streets of the city. They keep crying to their mothers, Where is corn and wine [food and drink]? as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away on their mothers' bosom. read more. What [example of suffering in the past] is sufficient for me to remind you for your [comfort]? To what shall I liken you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? With what shall I compare you, that I may comfort you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your ruin is as measureless as the sea! Who can heal you? Your prophets have predicted for you falsehood and delusion and foolish things; and they have not exposed your iniquity and guilt to avert your captivity [by causing you to repent]. But they have divined and declared to you false and deceptive prophecies, worthless and misleading.
Your prophets have predicted for you falsehood and delusion and foolish things; and they have not exposed your iniquity and guilt to avert your captivity [by causing you to repent]. But they have divined and declared to you false and deceptive prophecies, worthless and misleading.
All your enemies have opened wide their mouths against you; they scornfully hiss and gnash their teeth. They cry, We have swallowed her up! Certainly this is the day we have looked for; we have it, we see it! The Lord has done what He planned; He has carried out and finished His word which He threatened and decreed in the days of old. He has demolished without pity; He has made the enemy rejoice over you and has exalted the might of your foes.
Behold, O Lord, and consider [carefully] to whom You have done this. Should and shall women eat the fruit of their own bodies, the children whom they have tended and swaddled with their hands? Should and shall priest and prophet be slain in the place set apart [for the worship] of the Lord? The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets; my maidens and my young men have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of Your anger, slaughtering them without pity. read more. You [Lord] called together, as on an appointed feast day of solemn assembly, my terrors (dangers) from every side. And there was not one in the day of God's wrath who escaped or survived; those I have nursed and brought up, my enemy has destroyed.
I am [Jeremiah] the man who has seen affliction under the rod of His wrath.
He walled me in so that I cannot get out; He has weighted down my chain. Even when I cry and shout for help, He shuts out my prayer.
He is to me like a bear lying in wait, and like a lion [hiding] in secret places. He has turned me off my ways and pulled me in pieces; He has made me desolate. read more. He has bent His bow and set me as a mark for the arrow. He has caused the arrows of His quiver to enter into my heart [the seat of my affections and desires]. I have become a derision to all my people, and [the subject of] their singsong all the day.
I have become a derision to all my people, and [the subject of] their singsong all the day.
I have become a derision to all my people, and [the subject of] their singsong all the day. He has filled me with bitterness; He has made me drink to excess and until drunken with wormwood [bitterness]. read more. He has also broken my teeth with gravel (stones); He has covered me with ashes. And You have bereaved my soul and cast it off far from peace; I have forgotten what good and happiness are. And I say, Perished is my strength and my expectation from the Lord. [O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state, the wormwood and the gall. My soul has them continually in remembrance and is bowed down within me. But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation: It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.
It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.
They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.
The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God's word].
The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God's word]. It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord.
It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord.
It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord. It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke [of divine disciplinary dealings] in his youth.
It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke [of divine disciplinary dealings] in his youth.
It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke [of divine disciplinary dealings] in his youth. Let him sit alone uncomplaining and keeping silent [in hope], because [God] has laid [the yoke] upon him [for his benefit].
Let him sit alone uncomplaining and keeping silent [in hope], because [God] has laid [the yoke] upon him [for his benefit]. Let him put his mouth in the dust [in abject recognition of his unworthiness] -- "there may yet be hope.
Let him put his mouth in the dust [in abject recognition of his unworthiness] -- "there may yet be hope. Let him give his cheek to the One Who smites him [even through His human agents]; let him be filled [full] with [men's] reproach [in meekness].
Let him give his cheek to the One Who smites him [even through His human agents]; let him be filled [full] with [men's] reproach [in meekness].
Let him give his cheek to the One Who smites him [even through His human agents]; let him be filled [full] with [men's] reproach [in meekness]. For the Lord will not cast off forever!
For He does not willingly and from His heart afflict or grieve the children of men.
For He does not willingly and from His heart afflict or grieve the children of men. To trample and crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, read more. To turn aside and deprive a man of his rights before the face of the Most High or a superior [acting as God's representative],
To turn aside and deprive a man of his rights before the face of the Most High or a superior [acting as God's representative], To subvert a man in his cause -- "[of these things] the Lord does not approve.
To subvert a man in his cause -- "[of these things] the Lord does not approve. Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, if the Lord has not authorized and commanded it? read more. Is it not out of the mouth of the Most High that evil and good both proceed [adversity and prosperity, physical evil or misfortune and physical good or happiness]? Why does a living man sigh [one who is still in this life's school of discipline]? [And why does] a man complain for the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and our hands [and then with them mount up in prayer] to God in heaven: We have transgressed and rebelled and You have not pardoned.
All our enemies have gaped at us and railed against us. Fear and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction. read more. My eyes overflow with streams of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
My eyes overflow with streams of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. My eyes overflow continually and will not cease
My eyes overflow continually and will not cease Until the Lord looks down and sees from heaven. read more. My eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the maidens [and the daughter-towns] of my city [Jerusalem].
Render to them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. You will give them hardness and blindness of heart; Your curse will be upon them. read more. You will pursue and afflict them in anger and destroy them from under Your heavens, O Lord.
The tongue of the nursing babe cleaves to the roof of its mouth because of thirst; the young children beg for food, but no one gives it to them.
Those who are slain with the sword are more fortunate than those who are the victims of hunger [slain by the famine]; for they [the hungry] pine and ebb away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the inhabitants of the earth, that the oppressor and enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem. [But this happened] because of the sins of her [false] prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed the blood of the just and righteous in the midst of her.
The anger of the Lord has scattered [and divided them among the nations]; He will no longer look after them. They did not respect the persons of the priests; they did not favor the elders. As for us, our eyes yet failed and wasted away in looking for our worthless help. In our watching [on our watchtower] we have watched and waited expectantly for a nation [Egypt or some other one to come to our rescue] that could not save us.
The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord [our king], was taken in their snares -- "he of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations. Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. But the cup [of the wine of God's wrath] also shall pass to you; you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. But the cup [of the wine of God's wrath] also shall pass to you; you shall become drunk and make yourself naked. The punishment of your iniquity will be accomplished and completed, O Daughter of Zion; [the Lord] will no more carry you away or keep you in exile. But He will inspect and punish your iniquity and guilt, O Daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins.
But You, O Lord, remain and reign forever; Your throne endures from generation to [all] generations.
But You, O Lord, remain and reign forever; Your throne endures from generation to [all] generations. Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long? read more. Turn us to Yourself, O Lord, and we shall be turned and restored! Renew our days as of old! -- " Or have You utterly rejected us? Or are You exceedingly angry with us [still]?
Then He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you: everything which is written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.