Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Lamentations 4:2-22 (NET)

Context
4:2 ב(Bet) The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold – Alas !– but now they are treated like broken clay pots , made by a potter . 4:3 ג(Gimel) Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast , but my people are cruel , like ostriches in the desert . 4:4 ד(Dalet) The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst ; little children beg for bread , but no one gives them even a morsel. 4:5 ה(He) Those who once feasted on delicacies are now starving to death in the streets . Those who grew up wearing expensive clothes are now dying amid garbage . 4:6 ו(Vav) The punishment of my people exceeded that of of Sodom , which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her. 4:7 ז(Zayin) Her consecrated ones were brighter than snow , whiter than milk ; their bodies more ruddy than corals , their hair like lapis lazuli . 4:8 ח(Khet) Now their appearance is darker than soot ; they are not recognized in the streets . Their skin has shriveled on their bones ; it is dried up , like tree bark. 4:9 ט(Tet) Those who died by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger , those who waste away , struck down from lack of food . 4:10 י(Yod) The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children , who became their food , when my people were destroyed . 4:11 כ(Kaf) The Lord fully vented his wrath ; he poured out his fierce anger . He started a fire in Zion ; it consumed her foundations . 4:12 ל(Lamed) Neither the kings of the earth nor the people of the lands ever thought that enemy or foe would enter the gates of Jerusalem . 4:13 מ(Mem) But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests , who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous . 4:14 נ(Nun) They wander blindly through the streets , defiled by the blood they shed, while no one dares to touch their garments . 4:15 ס(Samek) People cry to them, “Turn away ! You are unclean ! Turn away ! Turn away ! Don’t touch us!” So they have fled and wander about; but the nations say , “They may not stay here any longer .” 4:16 פ(Pe) The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. They did not honor the priests ; they did not show favor to the elders .
The People of Jerusalem Lament:
4:17 ע (Ayin) Our eyes continually failed us as we looked in vain for help. From our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not rescue 4:18 צ(Tsade) Our enemies hunted us down at every step so that we could not walk about in our streets . Our end drew near , our days were numbered , for our end had come ! 4:19 ק(Qof) Those who pursued us were swifter than eagles in the sky . They chased us over the mountains ; they ambushed us in the wilderness . 4:20 ר(Resh) Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king – was caught in their traps , of whom we thought , “Under his protection we will survive among the nations .”
The Prophet Speaks:
4:21 ש (Sin/Shin) Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom , who reside in the land of Uz . But the cup of judgment will pass to you also ; you will get drunk and take off your clothes . 4:22 ת(Tav) O people of Zion , your punishment will come to an end ; he will not prolong your exile . But, O people of Edom , he will punish your sin and reveal your offenses !

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

more

Questions

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • This record emphasizes the supernatural character of the victories David was able to enjoy because God fought for him by using various men in his army."The lists of heroes and heroic exploits that frame the poetic centre-piec...
  • Uz (1:1) was probably southeast of the Dead Sea (cf. vv. 3, 14, 19; 42:12).15Some scholars place it in Bashan south of Damascus, but the writer of Lamentations (probably Jeremiah) associated the land of Uz with Edom (Lam. 4:2...
  • God next called His people to prepare to receive the salvation that He would provide for them. They would have to lay hold of it by faith for it to benefit them.52:1 God called Israel to awake and to be strong (in the strengt...
  • This message to the people involved another symbolic act (cf. 13:1-11). This incident may have occurred between 609 and 605 B.C.19:1 Yahweh told Jeremiah to take some of Judah's elders and senior priests and to go and purchas...
  • 25:15 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to take from His hand, figuratively, a cup of His wrath and to cause all the nations to whom the Lord would send him to drink from it. The cup is a common figure for the wrath of God in Scri...
  • 31:15 The Lord described the Israelite mothers, under the figure of Rachel, weeping for their children who had died because of the Assyrian invasion.404Rachel was the mother of Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, and ...
  • The Edomites lived to the southeast of Judah, south of Moab. The Zered River was their northern border, the Gulf of Aqabah (about 100 miles to the south) the southern, the Arabah the western, and the desert the eastern border...
  • This is one of four accounts of the fall of Jerusalem in the Old Testament (cf. 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36:11-21; Jer. 39:1-14). The repetition underlines the importance of the event.52:1 Zedekiah (Mattaniah, 2 Kings 24:17) was ...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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 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...
  • 4:12 The overthrow of Jerusalem had surprised the leaders and people of other nations. Invaders had forced their way into it in the past (cf. 1 Kings 14:25-28; 2 Kings 14:13-14; 2 Chron. 21:16-17), but the citizens had rebuil...
  • 4:21 The Edomites, kinsmen of the Judahites, were rejoicing over Judah's destruction (cf. Ps. 137:7; Jer. 49:7-22; Ezek. 25:12-14; 35), but the same fate was sure to overtake them (Deut. 30:7). They would have to drink the cu...
  • 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...
  • 16:44-47 Other people would quote the proverb, "Like mother, like daughter,"in regard to Jerusalem. She was like her Hittite "mother"who was also idolatrous and selfish. And she was like her older (larger) sister, Samaria, an...
  • 23:11-13 Oholibah observed her sister's behavior and fate, but she did not learn from them. As many historians have observed, the one thing we learn from history is that most people do not learn from history. Oholibah became ...
  • 25:12 The Edomites had taken vengeance on the Judahites rather than helping them (cf. 36:1-7; Gen. 25:30; 27:41-46; 32:4; Lam. 4:21-22; Amos 1:11-12).25:13 For this reason the Lord promised to send judgment on them. He would ...
  • What follows in this chapter is another oracle against a foreign nation (cf. chs. 25-32). What is it doing here? Evidently the writer included this oracle here because it promises to desolate an enemy of Israel that wanted to...
  • Since we do not know who the writer was, other than that his name was Obadiah, it is very difficult to date this book and to determine where it came from."This shortest book in the Old Testament, consisting of only twenty-one...
  • Since Obadiah's concern was Jerusalem, and since it seems likely that he lived in Judah, the original audience that received his prophecy may also have been the residents of Judah.Obadiah wrote to announce coming divine judgm...
  • "Obadiah's discussion nicely interweaves the themes of divine intervention and human instrumentality."21v. 8 The repetition of "declares the Lord"(cf. v. 4) reemphasizes Yahweh's initiative in this judgment. "That day"points ...
  • 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....
  • Though God had not responded to the prophet's questions previously, He did eventually, and Habakkuk recorded His answer. The form of this revelation is an oracle.1:5 The Lord told Habakkuk and his people (plural "you"in Hebre...
  • 2:15 God would judge Babylon because the Babylonians had deceived their neighbor nations with the result that they were able to take advantage of them. The Babylonians had behaved like a man who gets a woman drunk so she will...
  • 3:16 Habakkuk trembled all over as he awaited the day of Babylon's invasion of Judah, the day of her distress. He could do nothing but wait patiently for the Babylonians to grow stronger and for judgment to come on Israel. It...
Back to Commentary Page


created in 0.07 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA