21 They have heard that I have sighed, There is no comforter for me, All my enemies have heard of my calamity, They have rejoiced that Thou hast done `it', Thou hast brought in the day Thou hast called, And they are like to me.
A sin hath Jerusalem sinned, Therefore impure she hath become, All who honoured her have esteemed her lightly, For they have seen her nakedness, Yea, she herself hath sighed and turneth backward.
Clapped hands at thee have all passing by the way, They have hissed -- and they shake the head At the daughter of Jerusalem: `Is this the city of which they said: The perfection of beauty, a joy to all the land?'
For these I am weeping, My eye, my eye, is running down with waters, For, far from me hath been a comforter, Refreshing my soul, My sons have been desolate, For mighty hath been an enemy.
Because thou rejoicest, because thou exultest, O spoilers of Mine inheritance, Because thou increasest as a heifer `at' the tender grass, And dost cry aloud as bulls,
And -- in my halting they have rejoiced, And have been gathered together, Gathered against me were the smiters, And I have not known, They have rent, and they have not ceased;
The ways of Zion are mourning, Without any coming at the appointed time, All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted -- and she hath bitterness.
Joy and rejoice, O daughter of Edom, Dwelling in the land of Uz, Even unto thee pass over doth a cup, Thou art drunk, and makest thyself naked. Completed `is' thy iniquity, daughter of Zion, He doth not add to remove thee, He hath inspected thy iniquity, O daughter of Edom, He hath removed `thee' because of thy sins!
And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, `Son of man, set thy face unto the sons of Ammon, and prophesy against them; and thou hast said to the sons of Ammon: Hear ye a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy saying, Aha, to My sanctuary, Because it hath been polluted, And unto the ground of Israel, Because it hath been desolate, And unto the house of Judah, Because they have gone into a removal: Therefore, lo, I am giving thee to sons of the east for a possession, And they set their towers in thee, And have placed in thee their tabernacles. They eat thy fruit, and they drink thy milk, And I have given Rabbah for a habitation of camels, And the sons of Ammon for the crouching of a flock, And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah. For thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy clapping the hand, And of thy stamping with the foot, And thou rejoicest with all thy despite in soul Against the ground of Israel, Therefore, lo, I -- I have stretched out My hand against thee, And have given thee for a portion to nations, And I have cut thee off from the peoples, And caused thee to perish from the lands; I destroy thee, and thou hast known that I `am' Jehovah. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of the saying of Moab and Seir: Lo, as all the nations `is' the house of Judah; Therefore, lo, I am opening the shoulder of Moab -- From the cities -- from his cities -- from his frontier, The beauty of the land, Beth-Jeshimoth, Baal-Meon, and Kiriathaim, To the sons of the east, with the sons of Ammon, And I have given it for a possession, So that the sons of Ammon are not remembered among nations. And in Moab I do judgments, And they have known that I `am' Jehovah. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of the doings of Edom, In taking vengeance on the house of Judah, Yea, they are very guilty, And they have taken vengeance on them. Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have stretched out My hand against Edom, And I have cut off from it man and beast, And given it up -- a waste, from Teman even to Dedan, By sword they do fall. And I have given My vengeance on Edom, By the hand of My people Israel, And they have done in Edom, According to My anger, and according to My fury, And they have known My vengeance, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of the doings of the Philistines in vengeance, And they take vengeance with despite in soul, To destroy -- the enmity age-during! Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am stretching out My hand against the Philistines, And I have cut off the Cherethim, And destroyed the remnant of the haven of the sea, And done upon them great vengeance with furious reproofs, And they have known that I `am' Jehovah, In My giving out My vengeance on them!
Render to her as also she did render to you, and double to her doubles according to her works; in the cup that she did mingle mingle to her double.
Wo `to' him who is giving drink to his neighbour, Pouring out thy bottle, and also making drunk, In order to look on their nakedness. Thou hast been filled -- shame without honour, Drink thou also, and be uncircumcised, Turn round unto thee doth the cup of the right hand of Jehovah, And shameful spewing `is' on thine honour. For violence `to' Lebanon doth cover thee, And spoil of beasts doth affright them, Because of man's blood, and of violence `to' the land, `To' the city, and `to' all dwelling in it.
The indignation of Jehovah I do bear, For I have sinned against Him, Till that He doth plead my cause, And hath executed my judgment, He doth bring me forth to the light, I look on His righteousness. And see doth mine enemy, And cover her doth shame, Who saith unto me, `Where `is' Jehovah thy God?' Mine eyes do look on her, Now she is for a treading-place, As mire of the out-places.
And -- thou dost not look on the day of thy brother, On the day of his alienation, Nor dost thou rejoice over sons of Judah, In the day of their destruction, Nor make great thy mouth in a day of distress. Nor come into a gate of My people in a day of their calamity, Nor look, even thou, on its misfortune in a day of its calamity, Nor send forth against its force in a day of its calamity,
Words of Amos -- who hath been among herdsmen of Tekoa -- that he hath seen concerning Israel, in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the shaking; and he saith: Jehovah from Zion doth roar, And from Jerusalem giveth forth His voice, And mourned have pastures of the shepherds, And withered hath the top of Carmel! And thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their threshing Gilead with sharp-pointed irons, And I have sent a fire against the house of Hazael, And it hath consumed the palaces of Ben-Hadad. And I have broken the bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from Bikat-Aven, And a holder of a sceptre from Beth-Eden, And removed have been the people of Aram to Kir, said Jehovah. Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Gaza, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their removing a complete captivity, To deliver up to Edom, And I have sent a fire against the wall of Gaza, And it hath consumed her palaces; And I have cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And a holder of a sceptre from Ashkelon, And have turned back My hand against Ekron, And perished have the remnant of the Philistines, Said the Lord Jehovah. Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Tyre, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their delivering up a complete captivity to Edom, And they remembered not the brotherly covenant, And I have sent a fire against the wall of Tyre, And it hath consumed her palaces. Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of his pursuing with a sword his brother, And he hath destroyed his mercies, And tear perpetually doth his anger, And his wrath -- he hath kept it for ever, And I have sent a fire against Teman, And it hath consumed palaces of Bozrah. Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their ripping up the pregnant ones of Gilead, To enlarge their border, And I have kindled a fire against the wall of Rabbah, And it hath consumed her palaces, With a shout in a day of battle, With a whirlwind in a day of hurricane, And gone hath their king in a removal, He and his heads together, said Jehovah!
Multitudes, multitudes `are' in the valley of decision, For near `is' the day of Jehovah in the valley of decision.
Because that Tyre hath said of Jerusalem: Aha, she hath been broken, the doors of the peoples, She hath turned round unto me, I am filled -- she hath been laid waste,
That which hath been the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations, For Egypt, concerning the force of Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt, that hath been by the river Phrat, in Carchemish, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath smitten, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: `Set ye in array shield and buckler, And draw nigh to battle. Gird the horses, and go up, ye horsemen, And station yourselves with helmets, Polish the javelins, put on the coats of mail. Wherefore have I seen them dismayed -- They are turned backward, And their mighty ones are beaten down, And `to' a refuge they have fled, and not turned the face? Fear `is' round about -- an affirmation of Jehovah. The swift do not flee, nor do the mighty escape, Northward, by the side of the river Phrat, They have stumbled and fallen. Who is this? as a flood he cometh up, As rivers do his waters shake themselves! Egypt, as a flood cometh up, And as rivers the waters shake themselves. And he saith, I go up; I cover the land, I destroy the city and the inhabitants in it. Go up, ye horses; and boast yourselves, ye chariots, And go forth, ye mighty, Cush and Phut handling the shield, And Lud handling -- treading the bow. And that day `is' to the Lord Jehovah of Hosts A day of vengeance, To be avenged of His adversaries, And the sword hath devoured, and been satisfied, And it hath been watered from their blood, For a sacrifice `is' to the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, In the land of the north, by the river Phrat. Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt, In vain thou hast multiplied medicines, Healing there is none for thee. Nations have heard of thy shame, And thy cry hath filled the land, For the mighty on the mighty did stumble, Together they have fallen -- both of them!' The word that Jehovah hath spoken unto Jeremiah the prophet concerning the coming in of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, to smite the land of Egypt: `Declare ye in Egypt, and sound in Migdol, Yea, sound in Noph, and in Tahpanhes say: Station thyself, yea, prepare for thee, For a sword hath devoured around thee, Wherefore hath thy bull been swept away? He hath not stood, because Jehovah thrust him away. He hath multiplied the stumbling, Yea one hath fallen upon his neighbour, And they say: Rise, and we turn back to our people, And unto the land of our birth, Because of the oppressing sword. They have cried there: Pharaoh king of Egypt `is' a desolation, Passed by hath the appointed time. I live -- an affirmation of the King, Jehovah of Hosts `is' His name, Surely as Tabor `is' among mountains, And as Carmel by the sea -- he cometh in, Goods for removal make for thee, O inhabitant, daughter of Egypt, For Noph becometh a desolation, And hath been burnt up, without inhabitant. A heifer very fair `is' Egypt, Rending from the north doth come into her. Even her hired ones in her midst `are' as calves of the stall, For even they have turned, They have fled together, they have not stood, For the day of their calamity hath come on them, The time of their inspection. Its voice as a serpent goeth on, For with a force they go, And with axes they have come in to her, As hewers of trees. They have cut down her forest, An affirmation of Jehovah -- for it is not searched, For they have been more than the grasshopper, And they have no numbering. Ashamed hath been the daughter of Egypt, She hath been given into the hand of the people of the north. Said hath Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am seeing after Amon of No, And after Pharaoh, and after Egypt, And after her gods, and after her kings, And after Pharaoh, and after those trusting in him, And I have given them into the hand of those seeking their life, And into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of his servants, And afterwards it is inhabited, As `in' days of old -- an affirmation of Jehovah. And thou, thou dost not fear, my servant Jacob, Nor `art' thou dismayed, O Israel, For lo, I am saving thee from afar, And thy seed from the land of their captivity, And Jacob hath turned back, And hath been at rest, and been at ease, And there is none disturbing. Thou, thou dost not fear, My servant Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah -- for with thee I `am', For I make an end of all the nations Whither I have driven thee, And of thee I do not make an end, And I have reproved thee in judgment, And do not entirely acquit thee!'
The Lord doth laugh at him, For He hath seen that his day cometh.
When I said, `Lest they rejoice over me, In the slipping of my foot against me they magnified themselves.
Remember, Jehovah, for the sons of Edom, The day of Jerusalem, Those saying, `Rase, rase to its foundation!' O daughter of Babylon, O destroyed one, O the happiness of him who repayeth to thee thy deed, That thou hast done to us. O the happiness of him who doth seize, And hath dashed thy sucklings on the rock!
The burden of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz hath seen: `On a high mountain lift ye up an ensign, Raise the voice to them, wave the hand, And they go in to the openings of nobles. I have given charge to My sanctified ones, Also I have called My mighty ones for Mine anger, Those rejoicing at Mine excellency.' A voice of a multitude in the mountains, A likeness of a numerous people, A voice of noise from the kingdoms of nations who are gathered, Jehovah of Hosts inspecting a host of battle! They are coming in from a land afar off, From the end of the heavens, Jehovah and the instruments of His indignation, To destroy all the land. Howl ye, for near `is' the day of Jehovah, As destruction from the Mighty it cometh. Therefore, all hands do fail, And every heart of man doth melt. And they have been troubled, Pains and pangs they take, As a travailing woman they are pained, A man at his friend they marvel, The appearance of flames -- their faces! Lo, the day of Jehovah doth come, Fierce, with wrath, and heat of anger, To make the land become a desolation, Yea, its sinning ones He destroyeth from it. For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Cause not their light to shine, Darkened hath been the sun in its going out, And the moon causeth not its light to come forth. And I have appointed on the world evil, And on the wicked their iniquity, And have caused to cease the excellency of the proud, And the excellency of the terrible I make low. I make man more rare than fine gold, And a common man than pure gold of Ophir. Therefore the heavens I cause to tremble, And the earth doth shake from its place, In the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts, And in a day of the heat of his anger. And it hath been, as a roe driven away, And as a flock that hath no gatherer, Each unto his people -- they turn, And each unto his land -- they flee.
Come down, and sit on the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, Sit on the earth, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For no more do they cry to thee, `O tender and delicate one.' Take millstones, and grind flour, Remove thy veil, draw up the skirt, Uncover the leg, pass over the floods. Revealed is thy nakedness, yea, seen is thy reproach, Vengeance I take, and I meet not a man. Our redeemer `is' Jehovah of Hosts, His name `is' the Holy One of Israel. Sit silent, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For no more do they cry to thee, `Mistress of kingdoms.' I have been wroth against My people, I have polluted Mine inheritance And I give them into thy hand, Thou hast not appointed for them mercies, On the aged thou hast made thy yoke very heavy, And thou sayest, `To the age I am mistress,' While thou hast not laid these things to thy heart, Thou hast not remembered the latter end of it. And now, hear this, O luxurious one, Who is sitting confidently -- Who is saying in her heart, `I `am', and none else, I sit not a widow, nor know bereavement.' And come in to thee do these two things, In a moment, in one day, childlessness and widowhood, According to their perfection they have come upon thee, In the multitude of thy sorceries, In the exceeding might of thy charms. And thou art confident in thy wickedness, Thou hast said, `There is none seeing me,' Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, It is turning thee back, And thou sayest in thy heart, `I `am', and none else.' And come in on thee hath evil, Thou knowest not its rising, And fall on thee doth mischief, Thou art not able to pacify it, And come on thee suddenly doth desolation, Thou knowest not. Stand, I pray thee, in thy charms, And in the multitude of thy sorceries, In which thou hast laboured from thy youth, It may be thou art able to profit, It may be thou dost terrify! Thou hast been wearied in the multitude of thy counsels, Stand up, I pray thee, and save thee, Let the charmers of the heavens, Those looking on the stars, Those teaching concerning the months, From those things that come on thee! Lo, they have been as stubble! Fire hath burned them, They deliver not themselves from the power of the flame, There is not a coal to warm them, a light to sit before it. So have they been to thee with whom thou hast laboured, Thy merchants from thy youth, Each to his passage they have wandered, Thy saviour is not!
Thus said thy Lord Jehovah, and thy God, He pleadeth `for' his people: `Lo, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling, The goblet, the cup of My fury, Thou dost not add to drink it any more. And I have put it into the hand of those afflicting thee, Who have said to thy soul, Bow down, and we pass over, And thou makest as the earth thy body, And as the street to those passing by!'
`And I take the cup out of the hand of Jehovah, and cause all the nations to drink unto whom Jehovah sent me: Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, And its kings, its heads, To give them to waste, to astonishment, To hissing, and to reviling, as `at' this day. Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, And his heads, and all his people, And all the mixed people, And all the kings of the land of Uz, And all the kings of the land of the Philistines, And Ashkelon, and Gazzah, and Ekron, And the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon, And all the kings of Tyre, And all the kings of Zidon, And the kings of the isle that `is' beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, And all cutting the corners `of the beard', And all the kings of Arabia, And all the kings of the mixed people, Who are dwelling in the wilderness, And all the kings of Zimri, And all the kings of Elam, And all the kings of Media, And all the kings of the north, The near and the far off, one unto another, And all the kingdoms of the earth, That `are' on the face of the ground, And king Sheshach drinketh after them. And thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts God of Israel, Drink ye, yea drink abundantly, And vomit, and fall, and rise not, Because of the sword that I am sending among you. And it hath come to pass, When they refuse to receive the cup out of thy hand to drink, That thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Ye do certainly drink. For lo, in the city over which My name is called, I am beginning to do evil, And ye -- ye are entirely acquitted! Ye are not acquitted, for a sword I am proclaiming, For all inhabitants of the land, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts.
Therefore all consuming thee are consumed, And all thine adversaries -- all of them -- Into captivity do go, And thy spoilers have been for a spoil, And all thy plunderers I give up to plunder.
If I have sharpened the brightness of My sword, And My hand doth lay hold on judgment, I turn back vengeance to Mine adversaries, And to those hating Me -- I repay! I make drunk Mine arrows with blood, And My sword devoureth flesh, From the blood of the pierced and captive, From the head of the freemen of the enemy. Sing ye nations -- `with' his people, For the blood of His servants He avengeth, And vengeance He turneth back on His adversaries, And hath pardoned His land -- His people.'
And was not Israel the derision to thee? Among thieves was he found? For since thy words concerning him, Thou dost bemoan thyself.
Shout against her round about, She hath given forth her hand, Fallen have her foundations, Thrown down have been her walls, For it `is' the vengeance of Jehovah, Be avenged of her, as she did -- do ye to her.
Summon unto Babylon archers, all treading the bow, Encamp against her round about, Let `her' have no escape; Recompense to her according to her work, According to all that she did -- do to her, For unto Jehovah she hath been proud, Unto the Holy One of Israel.
Lo, I `am' against thee, O pride, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, For thy day hath come, the time of thy inspection.
And I have recompensed to Babylon, And to all inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evil that they have done in Zion, Before your eyes -- an affirmation of Jehovah.
All her people are sighing -- seeking bread, They have given their desirable things For food to refresh the body; See, O Jehovah, and behold attentively, For I have been lightly esteemed. `Is it' nothing to you, all ye passing by the way? Look attentively, and see, If there is any pain like my pain, That He is rolling to me? Whom Jehovah hath afflicted In the day of the fierceness of His anger.
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).