I. (1) HOW DOTH THE CITY... — The poem of twenty-two verses divides itself into two symmetrical halves, (1) Lamentations 1:1, in which the prophet laments over Jerusalem; and (2) Lamentations 1:12, more dramatic in its form, in which the daughter of Zion bewails her own miseries. Each verse is divi... [ Continue Reading ]
SHE WEEPETH SORE IN THE NIGHT. — The intensity of the sorrow is emphasised by the fact that the tears do not cease even in the time which commonly brings rest and repose to mourners. The “lovers” and the “friends” are the nations, Egypt (Jeremiah 2:36), Edomites, Moabites, and others, with which Jud... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE OF AFFLICTION. — The Authorised version suggests the thought that the words refer to the voluntary emigration of those who went to Egypt and other countries (Jeremiah 42:14), to avoid the oppression to which they were subject in their own land. The Hebrew admits, however, of the rendering “f... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WAYS OF ZION DO MOURN. — The words paint what we may call the religious desolation of Jerusalem. The roads leading to it, the “gates” by which it was entered, were no longer thronged with pilgrims and worshippers. “Virgins” are joined with “priests” as taking part in the hymns and rejoicing proc... [ Continue Reading ]
HER ADVERSARIES ARE THE CHIEF. — Literally, _have become the head_ (Deuteronomy 28:13). HER ENEMIES PROSPER. — Better, _are at ease,_ secure from every resistance on her part. “Before the enemy,” driven, _i.e.,_ as slaves are driven.... [ Continue Reading ]
HER PRINCES ARE BECOME LIKE HARTS... — Probably a reference to the flight and capture of Zedekiah (2 Kings 25:5; Jeremiah 39:5), who, with his sons and princes, fell into the hands of the Chaldæans, like fainting and stricken deer.... [ Continue Reading ]
JERUSALEM REMEMBERED. — Better, _remembereth._ The present is contrasted with the past. Still. the “sorrow’s crown of sorrow is remembering happier things.” THAT SHE HAD IN THE DAYS OF OLD. — Better, _which have been since the days of old._ DID MOCK AT HER SABBATHS. — The noun is not found elsewhe... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE SHE IS REMOVED. — The verb is used technically for the separation of a woman under ceremonial defilement; and the daughter of Zion in her sin and shame is compared (as in Lamentations 1:17) to such a woman. The figure is continued with a startling boldness. Like a woman exposed to the gaze... [ Continue Reading ]
HER FILTHINESS. — The picture of pollution is pushed to its most loathsome extreme. The very skirts of the garment are defiled. SHE REMEMBERETH NOT... — Better, _she remembered not._ It was her recklessness as to the future (comp. Deuteronomy 32:29, for the phrase) which brought her down to this “w... [ Continue Reading ]
UPON ALL HER PLEASANT THINGS... — The use of a like phrase in 2 Chronicles 36:10; 2 Chronicles 36:19, of the vessels of the Temple, leads us to think primarily or them; but the word itself has a wider range, and includes all works of art and ornamentation. WHOM THOU DIDST COMMAND. — Stress is laid... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL HER PEOPLE SIGH.... — The words which describe the famine at Jerusalem are in the present tense, either as painting the sufferings of the past with the vividness of the historic present, or because the sufferings still continued even after the capture of the city. The remnant that was left had t... [ Continue Reading ]
IS IT NOTHING TO YOU... — Literally, _Not to you, ye passers by,_ which the Authorised version takes as a question. The LXX. and Vulg., however, seem to have taken the adverb as an interjection: “_O all ye that pass by..._” And some interpreters have taken the negative but not the question, “_Nor to... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM ABOVE... — The words are probably figurative. The judgments that had fallen on Jerusalem were as a fire from heaven, piercing even to “the joints and marrow,” the innermost recesses of life. HE HATH TURNED ME BACK... — The phrase points not to the defeat and flight of battle, but, completing t... [ Continue Reading ]
IS BOUND BY HIS HAND... — The verb is not found elsewhere, but was probably a technical term for the twisting of the thongs by which the yoke was fastened, the “yoke” in this case being the transgressions of Judah, which were as a sore burden too heavy to be borne. HE HATH MADE. — Better, _it hath... [ Continue Reading ]
TRODDEN UNDER FOOT. — Better, _hath made contemptible,_ as those who are weighed in the balance and found wanting. ALL MY MIGHTY MEN... — The adjective is used elsewhere of bulls (Psalms 22:12; Isaiah 34:7), but stands here for the heroes of Judah, who fell, not in open battle, but ignominiously “i... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THESE THINGS... — The unparalleled misery finds vent in a flood of bitterest tears. We note the emphasis of iteration in “mine eye, mine eye.” On “relieve,” see Note on Lamentations 1:11; and on “desolate,” see Note on Lamentations 1:13.... [ Continue Reading ]
ZION SPREADETH FORTH HER HANDS... — The normal attitude of Eastern prayer, or, perhaps, of lamentation and despair. THAT HIS ADVERSARIES... — Better, _that those round about him should be his adversaries,_ the nearest neighbours being the bitterest foes. JERUSALEM IS AS... — The image is the same... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD IS RIGHTEOUS... — An echo from Jeremiah 12:1; 2 Chronicles 12:6. Misery does its work, and issues in repentance. The suffering comes from the all-righteous Judge. It is, perhaps, significant that with this beginning of conversion the name “Jehovah” reappears. ALL PEOPLE... — Better, _all p... [ Continue Reading ]
I CALLED FOR. — Better, _to._ The “lovers,” as in Lamentations 1:2, are the former allies of Judah. MY PRIESTS AND MINE ELDERS. — The pressure of the famine of the besieged city is emphasised by the fact that even these, the honoured guides of the people, had died of hunger. On the phrase that foll... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, O LORD... — Deserted by men, the mourner appeals to Jehovah. “Bowels” and “heart” are used almost as synonymous for the deepest emotions of the soul. The word for “troubled,” elsewhere (Psalms 75:8) used of colour, might, perhaps, be better rendered _inflamed._ AT HOME THERE IS AS DEATH. —... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY ARE GLAD THAT THOU HAST DONE IT... — Historically the words refer to the conduct of nations like the Edomites, as described in Psalms 137:7. THOU WILT BRING THE DAY THAT THOU HAST CALLED. — Better, _proclaimed._ By some commentators the first verb is taken as a perfect, “Thou hast brought,” an... [ Continue Reading ]
LET ALL THEIR WICKEDNESS... — The prayer for a righteous retribution, the first natural prayer of the outraged, reminds us of Psalms 69, 109, 137, yet more strongly of the language of the prophet himself in Jeremiah 18:21. It is something more than a prayer for revenge, and rests on the underlying t... [ Continue Reading ]