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Texts -- Lamentations 1:16-22 (NET)

Context
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. 1:21 ש(Sin/Shin) They have heard that I groan , yet there is no one to comfort me . All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have brought it about. Bring about the day of judgment that you promised so that they may end up like me ! 1:22 ת(Tav) Let all their wickedness come before you; afflict them just as you have afflicted me because of all my acts of rebellion . For my groans are many , and my heart is sick with sorrow .

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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...
  • 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 ...
  • 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...
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