IV. (1) HOW IS THE GOLD... — The chapter, considered as a distinct poem, reproduces in its general character that of Lamentations 1:2, differing from them, however, in tracing more fully the connection between the sufferings and the sins of Judah. The “gold” and the _stones of holiness_ are none ot... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRECIOUS SONS OF ZION... — The adjective is applied not to a special class, priests, nobles, or the like, but to all the _“_sons of Zion” in their ideal character as a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6). They had been “comparable to” (literally, _weighed with_)_, i.e.,_ equal to their weight in,... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN THE SEA MONSTERS... — Better, _jackals._ The Authorised Version is intended apparently to apply to cetaceous mammals; elsewhere (Jeremiah 14:6) the word is rendered “dragons.” “Jackals,” it may be noted, are combined with “owls” or _“_ostriches,” as they are here, in Job 30:29; Isaiah 13:21. A... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY THAT WERE BROUGHT UP... — Literally, _that were carried_ (as children are carried). “Scarlet” as in 2 Samuel 1:24, stands for the shawls or garments of the rich, dyed, as they were, in the Tyrian purple or crimson. Those that had been once wrapped in such shawls now threw themselves, “embracing... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PUNISHMENT OF THE INIQUITY. — Better, _The iniquity of the daughter of my people was greater than the sin of Sodom._ The words in both cases point to guilt rather than its penalty, though, as the context shows, the greatness of the former is inferred from that of the latter. The point of compari... [ Continue Reading ]
HER NAZARITES... — The word has been rendered “princes” by some commentators, on the ground that it means literally those who are “separated” from their brethren (Genesis 49:26; Deuteronomy 33:16), whether by rank or by the vows of consecration. There is no reason, however, for abandoning the render... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR VISAGE IS BLACKER... — We look, as it were, on the two pictures: the bloom and beauty of health, the wan, worn, spectral looks of starvation.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR WANT OF... — The italics indicate the difficulty of the sentence. Literally the clause stands, _from the fruits of the field,_ and it has been explained by some as referring to those that died in battle, _stricken through while yet there were fruits, i.e.,_ not doomed to perish slowly from hunge... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HANDS OF THE PITIFUL WOMEN. — See Note on Lamentations 2:20.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HATH KINDLED A FIRE... — The phrase is partly literal (2 Chronicles 36:19), partly figurative, for the complete destruction of Jerusalem by the wrath of Jehovah.... [ Continue Reading ]
WOULD NOT HAVE BELIEVED. — In. looking to the fact that Jerusalem had been taken by Shishak (1 Kings 14:26), Joash (2 Kings 14:13), the statement seems at first hyperbolical. It has to be remembered, however, that since the latter of these two the city had been strongly fortified by Uzziah, Hezekiah... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT HAVE SHED THE BLOOD OF THE JUST... — The words point to incidents like the death of Zechariah the son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:21); the “innocent blood” shed by Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16); the attempts on Jeremiah’s own life (Jeremiah 26:7); possibly to some unrecorded atrocities during the s... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY HAVE WANDERED... — Literally, _reeled._ The blindness, _i.e.,_ either that of the insatiable lust of blood, or of hopeless despair, or both. (Comp. Deuteronomy 28:28; Jeremiah 23:12; Isaiah 29:10.) The horror of the picture is heightened by the fact that the very garments of the priests were so... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY CRIED UNTO THEM — _i.e.,_ these, as they passed, cried to the blood-stained priests. The cry “unclean” was that uttered by the leper as a warning to those he met (Leviticus 13:45). Here it comes from those whom they meet, and who start back in their fear of defilement. WHEN THEY FLED AWAY. — T... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ANGER OF THE LORD. — Literally, _the face,_ as the symbol of wrath. THEY RESPECTED NOT. — The subject of the verbs has to be supplied. The enemies, or the heathen, or men in general, ceased to feel any reverence for the fugitive priests and elders.... [ Continue Reading ]
AS FOR US... — Better, _Still do our eyes waste away, looking for our vain help._ IN OUR WATCHING. — Better, _upon our watch-tower._ (Comp. Habakkuk 2:1.) The people of Judah are represented as looking out for the approach of an ally, probably Egypt (Jeremiah 37:7), and looking in vain.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY HUNT OUR STEPS. — Better, _They lie in wait._ The words probably point to the posts occupied here and there near the wide places of the city, which led people to avoid them through fear of being attacked. The only cry possible at such a time was that “all was over.”... [ Continue Reading ]
OUR PERSECUTORS. — Better, _Our pursuers,_ the words referring to the Chaldæan enemies rather than to persecutors in the modern sense of the word. The comparison with eagles has a parallel in Deuteronomy 28:49. If we take the second clause as referring to the flight of Zedekiah, mentioned in the nex... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BREATH OF OUR NOSTRILS. — The “breath of life” of Genesis 2:7. The phrase emphasises the ideal character of the king as the centre of the nation’s life. So Seneca (_Clement._ i. 4) speaks of a ruler as the _spiritus vitalis_ of his people. OF WHOM WE SAID. — The words that follow point to the s... [ Continue Reading ]
O DAUGHTER OF EDOM. — The triumph of Edom in the downfall of Zion was, as in Psalms 137, the crowning sorrow of the mourner. But with this sorrow there is a vision of judgment, which is also a vision of hope; the prophet returning to his favourite image of the wine-cup (Jeremiah 25:17). On the “Land... [ Continue Reading ]
IS ACCOMPLISHED. — The mourner shares in the Messianic hopes of Isaiah 40:2, and expresses it nearly in the same words. HE WILL NO MORE CARRY THEE AWAY. — Interpreted by later history, the words take their place in the list of unfulfilled prophecies, for, like all promises, they were dependent upon... [ Continue Reading ]