10 The adversary H6862 hath spread out H6566 his hand H3027 upon all her pleasant things: H4261 for she hath seen H7200 that the heathen H1471 entered H935 into her sanctuary, H4720 whom thou didst command H6680 that they should not enter H935 into thy congregation. H6951
We are confounded, H954 because we have heard H8085 reproach: H2781 shame H3639 hath covered H3680 our faces: H6440 for strangers H2114 are come H935 into the sanctuaries H4720 of the LORD'S H3068 house. H1004
An Ammonite H5984 or Moabite H4125 shall not enter H935 into the congregation H6951 of the LORD; H3068 even to their tenth H6224 generation H1755 shall they not enter H935 into the congregation H6951 of the LORD H3068 for H5704 ever: H5769
Jerusalem H3389 remembered H2142 in the days H3117 of her affliction H6040 and of her miseries H4788 all her pleasant things H4262 that she had in the days H3117 of old, H6924 when her people H5971 fell H5307 into the hand H3027 of the enemy, H6862 and none did help H5826 her: the adversaries H6862 saw H7200 her, and did mock H7832 at her sabbaths. H4868
Thy holy H6944 cities H5892 are a wilderness, H4057 Zion H6726 is a wilderness, H4057 Jerusalem H3389 a desolation. H8077 Our holy H6944 and our beautiful H8597 house, H1004 where our fathers H1 praised H1984 thee, is burned up H8316 with fire: H784 and all our pleasant things H4261 are laid waste. H2723
Thine enemies H6887 roar H7580 in the midst H7130 of thy congregations; H4150 they set up H7760 their ensigns H226 for signs. H226 A man was famous H3045 according as he had lifted up H935 H4605 axes H7134 upon the thick H5442 trees. H6086 But now they break down H1986 the carved work H6603 thereof at once H3162 with axes H3781 and hammers. H3597 They have cast H7971 fire H784 into thy sanctuary, H4720 they have defiled H2490 by casting down the dwelling place H4908 of thy name H8034 to the ground. H776 They said H559 in their hearts, H3820 Let us destroy H3238 them together: H3162 they have burned up H8313 all the synagogues H4150 of God H410 in the land. H776
On that day H3117 they read H7121 in the book H5612 of Moses H4872 in the audience H241 of the people; H5971 and therein was found H4672 written, H3789 that the Ammonite H5984 and the Moabite H4125 should not come H935 into the congregation H6951 of God H430 for H5704 ever; H5769
And he said H559 unto them, Defile H2930 the house, H1004 and fill H4390 the courts H2691 with the slain: H2491 go ye forth. H3318 And they went forth, H3318 and slew H5221 in the city. H5892
But G1161 when G3752 ye shall see G1492 the abomination G946 of desolation, G2050 spoken G4483 of by G5259 Daniel G1158 the prophet, G4396 standing G2476 G2476 where G3699 it ought G1163 not, G3756 (let him that readeth G314 understand,) G3539 then G5119 let them G5343 that be in G1722 Judaea G2449 flee G5343 to G1519 the mountains: G3735
In that ye have brought H935 into my sanctuary strangers, H1121 H5236 uncircumcised H6189 in heart, H3820 and uncircumcised H6189 in flesh, H1320 to be in my sanctuary, H4720 to pollute H2490 it, even my house, H1004 when ye offer H7126 my bread, H3899 the fat H2459 and the blood, H1818 and they have broken H6565 my covenant H1285 because H413 of all your abominations. H8441
[[A Psalm H4210 of Asaph.]] H623 O God, H430 the heathen H1471 are come H935 into thine inheritance; H5159 thy holy H6944 temple H1964 have they defiled; H2930 they have laid H7760 Jerusalem H3389 on heaps. H5856 The dead bodies H5038 of thy servants H5650 have they given H5414 to be meat H3978 unto the fowls H5775 of the heaven, H8064 the flesh H1320 of thy saints H2623 unto the beasts H2416 of the earth. H776 Their blood H1818 have they shed H8210 like water H4325 round about H5439 Jerusalem; H3389 and there was none to bury H6912 them. We are become a reproach H2781 to our neighbours, H7934 a scorn H3933 and derision H7047 to them that are round about H5439 us. How long, LORD? H3068 wilt thou be angry H599 for ever? H5331 shall thy jealousy H7068 burn H1197 like fire? H784 Pour out H8210 thy wrath H2534 upon the heathen H1471 that have not known H3045 thee, and upon the kingdoms H4467 that have not called H7121 upon thy name. H8034 For they have devoured H398 Jacob, H3290 and laid waste H8074 his dwelling place. H5116
My face H6440 will I turn H5437 also from them, and they shall pollute H2490 my secret H6845 place: for the robbers H6530 shall enter H935 into it, and defile H2490 it.
Also the pillars H5982 of brass H5178 that were in the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and the bases, H4350 and the brasen H5178 sea H3220 that was in the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 the Chaldeans H3778 brake, H7665 and carried H5375 all the brass H5178 of them to Babylon. H894 The caldrons H5518 also, and the shovels, H3257 and the snuffers, H4212 and the bowls, H4219 and the spoons, H3709 and all the vessels H3627 of brass H5178 wherewith they ministered, H8334 took they away. H3947 And the basons, H5592 and the firepans, H4289 and the bowls, H4219 and the caldrons, H5518 and the candlesticks, H4501 and the spoons, H3709 and the cups; H4518 that which was of gold H2091 in gold, H2091 and that which was of silver H3701 in silver, H3701 took H3947 the captain H7227 of the guard H2876 away. H3947 The two H8147 pillars, H5982 one H259 sea, H3220 and twelve H8147 H6240 brasen H5178 bulls H1241 that were under the bases, H4350 which king H4428 Solomon H8010 had made H6213 in the house H1004 of the LORD: H3068 the brass H5178 of all these vessels H3627 was without weight. H4948
And burned H8313 the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and the king's H4428 house; H1004 and all the houses H1004 of Jerusalem, H3389 and all the houses H1004 of the great H1419 men, burned H8313 he with fire: H784
Moreover I will deliver H5414 all the strength H2633 of this city, H5892 and all the labours H3018 thereof, and all the precious things H3366 thereof, and all the treasures H214 of the kings H4428 of Judah H3063 will I give H5414 into the hand H3027 of their enemies, H341 which shall spoil H962 them, and take H3947 them, and carry H935 them to Babylon. H894
The people H5971 of thy holiness H6944 have possessed H3423 it but a little while: H4705 our adversaries H6862 have trodden down H947 thy sanctuary. H4720
Therefore my people H5971 are gone into captivity, H1540 because they have no knowledge: H1847 and their honourable H3519 men H4962 are famished, H7458 and their multitude H1995 dried up H6704 with thirst. H6772 Therefore hell H7585 hath enlarged H7337 herself, H5315 and opened H6473 her mouth H6310 without measure: H2706 and their glory, H1926 and their multitude, H1995 and their pomp, H7588 and he that rejoiceth, H5938 shall descend H3381 into it.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Lamentations 1
Commentary on Lamentations 1 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 1
La 1:1-22.
Aleph.
1. how is she … widow! she that was great, &c.—English Version is according to the accents. But the members of each sentence are better balanced in antithesis, thus, "how is she that was great among the nations become as a widow! (how) she who was princess among the provinces (that is, she who ruled over the surrounding provinces from the Nile to the Euphrates, Ge 15:18; 1Ki 4:21; 2Ch 9:26; Ezr 4:20) become tributary!" [Maurer].
sit—on the ground; the posture of mourners (La 2:10; Ezr 9:3). The coin struck on the taking of Jerusalem by Titus, representing Judea as a female sitting solitary under a palm tree, with the inscription, Judæa Capta, singularly corresponds to the image here; the language therefore must be prophetical of her state subsequent to Titus, as well as referring retrospectively to her Babylonian captivity.
Beth.
2. in the night—even in the night, the period of rest and oblivion of griefs (Job 7:3).
lovers … friends—the heathen states allied to Judah, and their idols. The idols whom she "loved" (Jer 2:20-25) could not comfort her. Her former allies would not: nay, some "treacherously" joined her enemies against her (2Ki 24:2, 7; Ps 137:7).
Gimel.
3. (Jer 52:27).
because of great servitude—that is, in a state "of great servitude," endured from the Chaldeans. "Because" is made by Vatablus indicative of the cause of her captivity; namely, her having "afflicted" and unjustly brought into "servitude" the manumitted bond-servants (Jer 34:8-22). Maurer explains it, "Judah has left her land (not literally 'gone into captivity') because of the yoke imposed on it by Nebuchadnezzar."
no rest—(De 28:64, 65).
overtook her between … straits—image from robbers, who in the East intercept travellers at the narrow passes in hilly regions.
Daleth.
4. feasts—the passover, pentecost (or the feast of weeks), and the feast of tabernacles.
gates—once the place of concourse.
He.
5. the chief—rule her (De 28:43, 44).
adversaries … prosper; for the Lord—All the foes' attempts would have failed, had not God delivered His people into their hands (Jer 30:15).
Vau.
6. beauty … departed—her temple, throne, and priesthood.
harts that find no pasture—an animal timid and fleet, especially when seeking and not able to "find pasture."
Zain.
7. remembered—rather, "remembers," now, in her afflicted state. In the days of her prosperity she did not appreciate, as she ought, the favors of God to her. Now, awakening out of her past lethargy, she feels from what high privileges she has fallen.
when her people fell, &c.—that is, after which days of prosperity "her people fell."
mock at her sabbaths—The heathen used to mock at the Jews' Sabbath, as showing their idleness, and term them Sabbatarians [Martial, 4.4]. Now, said they ironically, ye may keep a continuous Sabbath. So God appointed the length of the captivity (seventy years) to be exactly that of the sum of the Sabbaths in the four hundred ninety years in which the land was denied its Sabbaths (Le 26:33-35). Maurer translates it "ruin." But English Version better expresses the point of their "mocking," namely, their involuntary "Sabbaths," that is, the cessation of all national movements. A fourth line is added in this stanza, whereas in all the others there are but three. So in La 2:19.
Cheth.
8. (1Ki 8:46).
is removed—as a woman separated from the congregation of God for legal impurity, which is a type of moral impurity. So La 1:17; Le 12:2; 15:19, &c.
her nakedness—They have treated her as contumeliously as courtesans from whom their clothes are stripped.
turneth backward—as modest women do from shame, that is, she is cast down from all hope of restoration [Calvin].
Teth.
9. Continuation of the image in La 1:8. Her ignominy and misery cannot be concealed but are apparent to all, as if a woman were suffering under such a flow as to reach the end of her skirts.
remembereth not … last end—(De 32:29; Isa 47:7). She forgot how fatal must be the end of her iniquity. Or, as the words following imply: She, in despair, cannot lift herself up to lay hold of God's promises as to her "latter end" [Calvin].
wonderfully—Hebrew, "wonders," that is, with amazing dejection.
O Lord, behold—Judah here breaks in, speaking for herself.
for the enemy hath magnified himself—What might seem ground for despair, the elated insulting of the enemy, is rather ground for good hope.
Jod.
10. for—surely she hath seen, &c.
heathen … command … not enter … congregation—for instance, the Ammonites and Moabites (De 23:3; Ne 13:1, 2). If the heathen, as such, were not allowed to enter the sanctuary for worship, much less were they allowed to enter in order to rob and destroy.
Caph.
11. (Jer 37:21; 38:9; 52:6).
given … pleasant things for meat—(2Ki 6:25; Job 2:4).
relieve … soul—literally, "to cause the soul or life to return."
for I am become vile—Her sins and consequent sorrows are made the plea in craving God's mercy. Compare the like plea in Ps 25:11.
Lamed.
12. The pathetic appeal of Jerusalem, not only to her neighbors, but even to the strangers "passing by," as her sorrow is such as should excite the compassion even of those unconnected with her. She here prefigures Christ, whom the language is prophetically made to suit, more than Jerusalem. Compare Israel, that is, Messiah, Isa 49:3. Compare with "pass by," Mt 27:39; Mr 15:29. As to Jerusalem, Da 9:12. M AURER, from the Arabic idiom, translates, "do not go off on your way," that is, stop, whoever ye are that pass by. English Version is simpler.
Mem.
13. bones—a fire which not only consumes the skin and flesh, but penetrates even to my "bones" (that is, my vital powers).
prevaileth against—not as Rosenmuller, "He (Jehovah) hath broken them"; a sense not in the Hebrew.
net—(Eze 12:13); image from hunting wild beasts. He has so entangled me in His judgments that I cannot escape.
turned me back—so that I cannot go forward and get free from His meshes.
Nun.
14. yoke … is bound by his hand—(De 28:48). Metaphor from husbandmen, who, after they have bound the yoke to the neck of oxen, hold the rein firmly twisted round the hand. Thus the translation will be, "in His hand." Or else, "the yoke of my transgressions" (that is, of punishment for my transgressions) is held so fast fixed on me "by" God, that there is no loosening of it; thus English Version, "by His hand."
wreathed—My sins are like the withes entwined about the neck to fasten the yoke to.
into their hands, from whom—into the hands of those, from whom, &c. Maurer translates, "before whom I am not able to stand."
Samech.
15. trodden, &c.—Maurer, from Syriac root, translates, "cast away"; so 2Ki 23:27. But Ps 119:118, supports English Version.
in … midst of me—They fell not on the battlefield, but in the heart of the city; a sign of the divine wrath.
assembly—the collected forces of Babylon; a very different "assembly" from the solemn ones which once met at Jerusalem on the great feasts. The Hebrew means, literally, such a solemn "assembly" or feast (compare La 2:22).
trodden … virgin … in a wine-press—hath forced her blood to burst forth, as the red wine from the grapes trodden in the press (Isa 63:3; Re 14:19, 20; 19:15).
Ain.
16. (Jer 13:17; 14:17). Jerusalem is the speaker.
mine eye, mine eye—so La 4:18, "our end … our end"; repetition for emphasis.
Pe.
17. Like a woman in labor-throes (Jer 4:31).
menstruous woman—held unclean, and shunned by all; separated from her husband and from the temple (compare La 1:8; Le 14:19, &c.).
Tzaddi.
18. The sure sign of repentance; justifying God, condemning herself (Ne 9:33; Ps 51:4; Da 9:7-14).
his commandment—literally, "mouth"; His word in the mouth of the prophets.
Koph.
19. lovers—(La 1:2; Jer 30:14).
elders—in dignity, not merely age.
sought … meat—Their dignity did not exempt them from having to go and seek bread (La 1:11).
Resh.
20. bowels … troubled—(Job 30:27; Isa 16:11; Jer 4:19; 31:20). Extreme mental distress affects the bowels and the whole internal frame.
heart … turned—(Ho 11:8); is agitated or fluttered.
abroad … sword … at home … as death—(De 32:25; Eze 7:15). The "as" does not modify, but intensifies. "Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home as it were death itself" (personified), in the form of famine and pestilence (2Ki 25:3; Jer 14:18; 52:6). So Hab 2:5, "as death" [Michaelis].
Schin.
21. they are glad that thou hast done it—because they thought that therefore Judah is irretrievably ruined (Jer 40:3).
the day … called—(but) thou wilt bring on them the day of calamity which thou hast announced, namely, by the prophets (Jer 50:1-46; 48:27).
like … me—in calamities (Ps 137:8, 9; Jer 51:25, &c.).
Tau.
22. Such prayers against foes are lawful, if the foe be an enemy of God, and if our concern be not for our own personal feeling, but for the glory of God and the welfare of His people.
come before thee—so Re 16:19, "Babylon came in remembrance before God" (compare Ps 109:15).