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Texts -- Lamentations 1:1-20 (NET)

Context
The Prophet Speaks:
1:1 א (Alef)Alas ! The city once full of people now sits all alone ! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow ! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer ! 1:2 ב(Bet) She weeps bitterly at night ; tears stream down her cheeks . She has no one to comfort her among all her lovers . All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies . 1:3 ג(Gimel) Judah has departed into exile under affliction and harsh oppression . She lives among the nations ; she has found no resting place . All who pursued her overtook her in narrow straits . 1:4 ד(Dalet) The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels to the festivals . All her city gates are deserted ; her priests groan . Her virgins grieve ; she is in bitter anguish ! 1:5 ה(He) Her foes subjugated her; her enemies are at ease . For the Lord afflicted her because of her many acts of rebellion . Her children went away captive before the enemy . 1:6 ו(Vav) All of Daughter Zion’s splendor has departed . Her leaders became like deer ; they found no pasture , so they were too exhausted to escape from the hunter . 1:7 ז(Zayin) Jerusalem remembers , when she became a poor homeless person, all her treasures that she owned in days of old . When her people fell into an enemy’s grip , none of her allies came to her rescue. Her enemies gloated over her; they sneered at her downfall . 1:8 ח(Khet) Jerusalem committed terrible sin ; therefore she became an object of scorn . All who admired her have despised her because they have seen her nakedness . She groans aloud and turns away in shame . 1:9 ט(Tet) Her menstrual flow has soiled her clothing ; she did not consider the consequences of her sin. Her demise was astonishing , and there was no one to comfort her. She cried, “Look , O Lord , on my affliction because my enemy boasts !” 1:10 י(Yod) An enemy grabbed all her valuables . Indeed she watched in horror as Gentiles invaded her holy temple – those whom you had commanded : “They must not enter your assembly place.”
Jerusalem Speaks:
1:11 כ(Kaf) All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread . They exchanged their valuables for just enough food to stay alive . “Look , O Lord ! Consider that I have become worthless !” 1:12 ל(Lamed) Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by on the road ? Look and see ! Is there any pain like mine? The Lord has afflicted me, he has inflicted it on me when he burned with anger . 1:13 מ(Mem) He sent down fire into my bones , and it overcame them. He spread out a trapper’s net for my feet ; he made me turn back . He has made me desolate ; I am faint all day long. 1:14 נ(Nun) My sins are bound around my neck like a yoke ; they are fastened together by his hand . He has placed his yoke on my neck ; he has sapped my strength . The Lord has handed me over to those whom I cannot resist . 1:15 ס(Samek) He rounded up all my mighty ones ; The Lord did this in my midst . He summoned an assembly against me to shatter my young men . The Lord has stomped like grapes the virgin daughter , Judah . 1:16 ע(Ayin) I weep because of these things; my eyes flow with tears . For there is no one in sight who can comfort me or encourage me. My children are desolated because an enemy has prevailed .
The Prophet Speaks:
1:17 פ (Pe ) Zion spread out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob; his neighbors have become his enemies . Jerusalem has become like filthy garbage in their
Jerusalem Speaks:
1:18 צ (Tsade) The Lord is right to judge me ! Yes, I rebelled against his commands . Please listen , all you nations, and look at my suffering! My young women and men have gone into 1:19 ק(Qof) I called for my lovers , but they had deceived me. My priests and my elders perished in the city . Truly they had searched for food to keep themselves alive . 1:20 ר(Resh) Look , O Lord ! I am distressed ; my stomach is in knots ! My heart is pounding inside me. Yes , I was terribly rebellious ! Out in the street the sword bereaves a mother of her children ; Inside the house death is present.

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Poetry

    [ebd] has been well defined as "the measured language of emotion." Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man's relation to God. "Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon, redemption, repentance are the a...
    [nave] POETRY Lam. 1-5. Didactic Moses' song, Deut. 32. The Book of Job, the Proverbs, Solomon's Song, the books of prophecy. See: Psalms, Didactic. Elegy On the death of Saul, 2 Sam. 1:17, 19-27. Of Abner, 2 Sam. 3:33, 34. ...

  • Doubting

    [nave] DOUBTING. Job 4:3-6; Job 9:16-23; Job 30:20, 21 Job 3; 16; 17; 23:15-17. Psa. 22:2; Psa. 31:22; Psa. 42:5, 6; Psa. 49:5; Psa. 73:13-17; Psa. 77:3, 7-9; Prov. 24:10; Isa. 40:27, 28 Isa. 50:2. Isa. 49:14, 15; Jer. 8:18; Jer. ...

  • War

    [nave] WAR Divine approval of, 2 Sam. 22:35. Civil, Judg. 12:1-6; 20; 2 Sam. 2:12-31; 3:1; 20; 1 Kin. 14:30; 16:21; Isa. 19:2; forbidden, 2 Chr. 11:4; averted, Josh. 22:11-34. Enemy harangued by general of opposing side, 2 Kin. 1...

  • Afflictions and Adversities

    [nave] AFFLICTIONS AND ADVERSITIES. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Benefits of; Benefits of, Illustrated; Consolation in; Deliverance from; Design of; Despondency in; Dispe...

  • Church

    [nave] CHURCH, the collective body of believers. Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics Called in the O.T., The Congregation, Ex. 12:3, 6, 19, 47; 16:1, 2, 9, 10, 22; Lev. 4:13, 15; 10:17; 24:14. Called in the N.T., Church, Matt. 16:18; ...

  • Sin

    [nave] SIN. Index of Sub-Topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to, Defining, and Illustrating; Confession of; Consequences of, Entailed Upon Children; Conviction of; Forgiveness of; Fruits of; Kn...

  • Jerusalem

    [nave] JERUSALEM Called Jebus, Josh. 18:28; Judg. 19:10; Zion, 1 Kin. 8:1; Zech. 9:13; City of David, 2 Sam. 5:7; Isa. 22:9; Salem, Gen. 14:18; Psa. 76:2; Ariel, Isa. 29:1; City of God, Psa. 46:4; City of the Great King, Psa. 48:2;...

  • WRITING

    [smith] There is no account in the Bible of the origin of writing. That the Egyptians in the time of Joseph were acquainted with writing of a certain kind there is evidence to prove, but there is nothing to show that up to this perio...

  • Captivity

    [nave] CAPTIVITY Of the Israelites foretold, Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:36; of the ten tribes, 2 Kin. 17:6, 23, 24; 18:9-12. Of Judah in Babylon, prophecy of, Isa. 39:6; Jer. 13:19; 20:4; 25:2-11; 32:28, etc.; fulfilled, 2 Kin. 24:11-16...

  • Yoke

    [ebd] (1.) Fitted on the neck of oxen for the purpose of binding to them the traces by which they might draw the plough, etc. (Num. 19:2; Deut. 21:3). It was a curved piece of wood called 'ol. (2.) In Jer. 27:2; 28:10, 12 the word...
    [nave] YOKE. Figurative Lev. 26:13; Isa. 9:4; 10:27; Jer. 2:20; 5:5; 28:2, 4, 10; 30:8; Lam. 1:14; 3:27; Matt. 11:29, 30; Acts 15:10.

  • Sabbath

    [ebd] (Heb. verb shabbath, meaning "to rest from labour"), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). "The sabbath was made for man," as a day of rest and re...
    [nave] SABBATH Signifying a rest period, Gen. 2:2, 3; Lev. 23; 25; 26:34, 35. Preparations for, Ex. 16:22; Matt. 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31. Religious usages on, Gen. 2:3; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:16, 31; 6:6; 13:10; Acts ...

  • Heathen

    [ebd] (Heb. plural goyum). At first the word goyim denoted generally all the nations of the world (Gen. 18:18; comp. Gal. 3:8). The Jews afterwards became a people distinguished in a marked manner from the other goyim. They were a...
    [nave] HEATHEN Under this head are grouped all who are not embraced under the Abrahamic covenant. Cast out of Canaan, Lev. 18:24, 25; Psa. 44:2; and their land given to Israel, Psa. 78:55; 105:44; 135:12; 136:21, 22; Isa. 54:1-3. ...

  • GHOST

    [ebd] an old Saxon word equivalent to soul or spirit. It is the translation of the Hebrew nephesh_ and the Greek _pneuma, both meaning "breath," "life," "spirit," the "living principle" (Job 11:20; Jer. 15:9; Matt. 27:50; John 19:...
    [isbe] GHOST - gost (nephesh; pneuma) : "Ghost," the middle-English word for "breath," "spirit," appears in the King James Version as the translation of nephesh ("breath," "the breath of life," animal soul or spirit, the vital prin...

  • PULSE

    [smith] (seeds) usually means peas, beans and the seeds that grow in pods. In the Authorized Version it occurs only in (Lamentations 1:12,16) as the translation of words the literal meaning of which is "seeds" of any kind. Probably t...

  • Bowels

    [isbe] BOWELS - bou'-elz (me`ah, plural me`im, rechem, plural rachamim; splagchnion): (1) Literal: The literal meaning of these words is intestines, then the abdomen, the womb (matrix and uterus). As will be seen there is not much ...
    [nave] BOWELS Diseased, 2 Chr. 21:15-20. Judas', gushed out, Acts 1:18. Figurative Of the sensibilities, Gen. 43:30; 1 Kin. 3:26; Job 30:27; Psa. 22:14; Song 5:4; Jer. 4:19; 31:20; Lam. 1:20; Phil. 1:8; 2:1; Col. 3:12; 1 John 3:...

  • Famine

    [nave] FAMINE Pharaoh forewarned of, in dreams, Gen. 41. Described, Deut. 28:53-57; Isa. 5:13; 9:18-21; 17:11; Jer. 5:17; 14:1-6; 48:33; Lam. 1:11, 19; 2:11-22; 4:4-10; Joel 1:17-20. Sent as a judgment, Lev. 26:19-29; Deut. 28:23...

  • FAINT

    [isbe] FAINT - fant (`ayeph, `uph, ya`aph, `alaph, aTaph, dawway, yaghea`, macac, rakhakh, paghar, kahah; ekluo, ekkakeo, kamno): The Hebrew vocabulary for the depressing physical conditions and mental emotions which are rendered i...

  • Nakedness

    [nave] NAKEDNESS Gen. 2:25; 3:7, 10, 11; 9:22, 23; Ex. 20:26; Deut. 28:48; 2 Chr. 28:15; Job 1:21; 22:6; 24:7, 10; 26:6; Eccl. 5:15; Isa. 47:3; 57:8; 58:7; Lam. 1:8; 4:21; Ezek. 16:7, 8, 22, 36, 37, 39; 18:7, 16; 23:10, 18, 29; Hos...

  • Menstruation

    [nave] MENSTRUATION Law relating to, Lev. 15:19-30; 20:18; Ezek. 18:6. Cessation of, in old age, Gen. 18:11. Immunities of women during, Gen. 31:35. Of animals, Jer. 2:24. Uncleaess of, Isa. 30:22. Figurative Isa. 30:22; Lam....

  • Lovers

    [nave] LOVERS. Instances of Isaac for Rebekah, Gen. 24:67. Jacob for Rachel, Gen. 29:20, 30. Shechem for Dinah, Gen. 34:3, 12. Boaz for Ruth, Ruth 2-4. of romance, mistresses, paramours Song 1:13, 14, 16; 2:3, 8, 9, 10, 16, 1...
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Arts

Hymns

(Note: In "active" or "on" condition, the hymns music will be played automatically when mouse hover on a hymns title)
  • Tuhan Melawat UmatNya [KJ.214]
  • [Lam 1:12] All Ye That Pass By
  • [Lam 1:12] My Savior! I Behold Thy Life

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The poet promised to remember Jerusalem forever. He called down imprecations on himself if he ever forgot the city that had been the scene of so much joyful worship in the past. The hand and tongue stand for all action and sp...
  • God now turned the tables on His people and called on them to awake (cf. v. 1). They needed to wake up to the fact that He would comfort them and punish their oppressors (cf. 40:2; Lam. 1-2). The fact that the Babylonian capt...
  • Invasion and war had already overtaken Jerusalem when Jeremiah wrote this lament, but more destruction was to come (v. 9).15:5 The Lord said that no one would have pity on Jerusalem when she had experienced His judgment (cf. ...
  • This book does not identify its writer. The common view that Jeremiah wrote it rests on a preface in the Greek Septuagint, which the Latin Vulgate adopted and elaborated on. The Septuagint version of Lamentations begins, "And...
  • The book consists of five laments (funeral or mourning songs, elegies). All but the third of these describe the Babylonians' destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and its aftermath. Each chapter exhibits its own special qualit...
  • There are two books in the Old Testament that deal primarily with the problem of suffering. Job treats the problem of personalsuffering, and Lamentations deals with the problem of nationalsuffering. Both books present the pro...
  • The church at the beginning of the twenty-first century is very similar to Judah at the beginning of the sixth century B.C. Our times are very similar to Jeremiah's times. We minister in a cultural context that is remarkably ...
  • I. The destruction and misery of Jerusalem (the first lament) ch. 1A. An observer's sorrow over Jerusalem's condition 1:1-11B. Jerusalem's sorrow over her own condition 1:12-22II. The divine punishment of Jerusalem (the secon...
  • This acrostic lament contains a variety of similar statements describing the destruction and misery of Jerusalem. Thus the two section titles that follow describe a slight shift in viewpoint rather than a major division of th...
  • Jeremiah first viewed Jerusalem's destruction as an outsider looking in. Verses 1-7 describe the extent of the desolation and verses 8-11 its cause.1:1 Jeremiah bewailed the abandoned city of Jerusalem that had once been so g...
  • In contrast to the first half of the lament, these verses present the picture of an inside observer looking out. Verses 12-19 record Jerusalem's call to people who had observed her desolation, and verses 20-22 contain her cal...
  • One of the striking features of this lament is its emphasis on God's initiative in bringing destruction on Jerusalem and its people. Jeremiah saw Him as the One ultimately responsible for what had happened because He was angr...
  • As mentioned previously, this lament is an acrostic in triplets; the same succeeding Hebrew consonant begins three verses instead of just one, as in the previous chapters. The verses are about one third as long as most of tho...
  • 3:1 Jeremiah claimed to have seen much affliction because Yahweh had struck Jerusalem in His anger (cf. Job 9:34; 21:9; Ps. 89:32; Isa. 10:5)."The two preceding poems ended with sorrowful complaint. This third poem begins wit...
  • This section of the poem consists of two parallel parts (vv. 1-6, 7-11). The Judahites had become despised (vv. 1-2, 7-8), and both children and adults (everyone) suffered (vv. 3-5, 9-10). This calamity was the result of Yahw...
  • This poem, like the one in chapter 3, contains verses of only two lines each. It is the only non-acrostic chapter in the book, though like chapters 1, 2, and 4, it consists of 22 verses. The doleful qinahmeter is also absent ...
  • Evidently Ezekiel's verbal explanation of this drama came at the very end of the drama, at the time of the real destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was no longer silent then.5:5-6 The Lord explained that the center of the drama...
  • 8:2 Evidently Daniel was in Babylon when he had this vision, but what he saw, including himself, was in Susa (Shushan, AV; cf. Ezek. 8:3; 40:1).293Daniel probably knew where he was in his vision because he had visited Susa. I...
  • Joel called on four different entities to mourn the results of the locust invasion: drunkards (vv. 5-7), the land (vv. 8-10), farmers (vv. 11-12), and priests (v. 13). In each section there is a call to mourn followed by reas...
  • v. 11 God cited one specific instance of Edom's violence against her brother, but as I explained in the introduction, which instance is unclear. Edom's treachery against Judah had taken place on a particular "day"in the past....
  • This final section of the book is also in the form of a lament (cf. vv. 1-7). While Micah spoke as an individual, he spoke for the faithful remnant of Israelites in his day. His sentiments would have been theirs. Thus the lam...
  • Jesus continued His instruction to the disciples about His return. He told them a parable designed to encourage them to continue praying while they lived in the interval before His second coming.18:1 The audience for this par...
  • This is the final scene that furnishes background information before the revelation of the seven bowl judgments. Again what John saw was mainly on the earth."The total scene in 14:14-20 closes the section on coming judgment (...
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