Discovery BoxExodus 3:7
Context3:7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen 1 the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 2
Psalms 25:18
Context25:18 See my pain and suffering!
Forgive all my sins! 3
Psalms 119:153
Contextר (Resh)
119:153 See my pain and rescue me!
For I do not forget your law.
Lamentations 1:20
Contextר (Resh)
1:20 Look, O Lord! I am distressed; 4
my stomach is in knots! 5
My heart is pounding 6 inside me.
Yes, I was terribly rebellious! 7
Out in the street the sword bereaves a mother of her children; 8
Inside the house death is present. 9
Lamentations 5:1-22
Context5:1 10 O Lord, reflect on 11 what has happened to us;
consider 12 and look at 13 our disgrace.
5:2 Our inheritance 14 is turned over to strangers;
foreigners now occupy our homes. 15
5:3 We have become fatherless orphans;
our mothers have become widows.
5:4 We must pay money 16 for our own water; 17
we must buy our own wood at a steep price. 18
5:5 We are pursued – they are breathing down our necks; 19
we are weary and have no rest. 20
5:6 We have submitted 21 to Egypt and Assyria
in order to buy food to eat. 22
5:7 Our forefathers 23 sinned and are dead, 24
but we 25 suffer 26 their punishment. 27
there is no one to rescue us from their power. 29
5:9 At the risk 30 of our lives 31 we get our food 32
because robbers lurk 33 in the countryside. 34
5:10 Our skin is hot as an oven
due to a fever from hunger. 35
5:11 They raped 36 women in Zion,
virgins in the towns of Judah.
5:12 Princes were hung by their hands;
elders were mistreated. 37
5:13 The young men perform menial labor; 38
boys stagger from their labor. 39
5:14 The elders are gone from the city gate;
the young men have stopped playing their music.
5:15 Our hearts no longer have any joy; 40
our dancing is turned to mourning.
5:16 The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
5:17 Because of this, our hearts are sick; 41
because of these things, we can hardly see 42 through our tears. 43
5:18 For wild animals 44 are prowling over Mount Zion,
which lies desolate.
5:19 But you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
5:20 Why do you keep on forgetting 45 us?
Why do you forsake us so long?
5:21 Bring us back to yourself, O Lord, so that we may return 46 to you;
renew our life 47 as in days before, 48
5:22 unless 49 you have utterly rejected us 50
and are angry with us beyond measure. 51
[3:7] 1 tn The use of the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense intensifies the statement: I have surely seen – there is no doubt that I have seen and will do something about it.
[3:7] 2 sn Two new words are introduced now to the report of suffering: “affliction” and “pain/suffering.” These add to the dimension of the oppression of God’s people.
[25:18] 3 tn Heb “lift up all my sins.”
[1:20] 4 tn Heb “because I have distress” (כִּי־צַר־לִי, ki-tsar-li).
[1:20] 5 tn Heb “my bowels burn” or “my bowels are in a ferment.” The verb חֳמַרְמָרוּ (khamarmaru) is an unusual form and derived from a debated root: Poalal perfect 3rd person common plural from III חָמַר (khamar, “to be red,” HALOT 330 s.v. III חמר) or Pe`al`al perfect 3rd person common plural from I חָמַר (khamar, “to ferment, boil up,” BDB 330 s.v. I חָמַר). The Poalal stem of this verb occurs only three times in OT: with פָּנִים (panim, “face,” Job 16:16) and מֵעִים (me’im, “bowels,” Lam 1:20; 2:11). The phrase מֵעַי חֳמַרְמָרוּ (me’ay khamarmaru) means “my bowels burned” (HALOT 330 s.v.) or “my bowels are in a ferment,” as a euphemism for lower-intestinal bowel problems (BDB 330 s.v.). This phrase also occurs in later rabbinic literature (m. Sanhedrin 7:2). The present translation, “my stomach is in knots,” is not a literal equivalent to this Hebrew idiom; however, it is an attempt to approximate the equivalent English idiom.
[1:20] 6 tn The participle נֶהְפַּךְ (nehpakh), Niphal participle masculine singular הָפַךְ (hafakh, “to turn over”) functions verbally, referring to progressive present-time action (from the speaker’s viewpoint). The verb הָפַךְ (hafakh) is used here to describe emotional distress (e.g., Ezek 4:8).
[1:20] 7 tn Heb “because I was very rebellious.” The Hebrew uses an emphatic construction in which the root מָרַה (marah, “to rebel”) is repeated: מָרוֹ מָרִיתִי (maro mariti), Qal infinitive absolute from מָרָה (marah) followed by Qal perfect 1st person common singular from מָרָה (marah). When an infinitive absolute is used with a finite verb of the same root, it affirms the verbal idea (e.g., Gen 2:17; 18:10; 22:17; 31:15; 46:4; Num 16:13; 23:11; Judg 4:9; 15:13; 20:39; 1 Sam 2:30; 9:6; 2 Sam 24:24; Isa 6:9; Ezek 16:4). See IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f.
[1:20] 8 tn Heb “in the street the sword bereaves.” The words “a mother of her children” are supplied in the translation as a clarification.
[1:20] 9 tn Heb “in the house it is like death.”
[5:1] 10 sn The speaking voice is now that of a choir singing the community’s lament in the first person plural. The poem is not an alphabetic acrostic like the preceding chapters but has 22 verses, the same as the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
[5:1] 11 tn The basic meaning of זָכַר (zakhar) is “to remember, call to mind” (HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר). Although often used of recollection of past events, זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) can also describe consideration of present situations: “to consider, think about” something present (BDB 270 s.v. 5), hence “reflect on,” the most appropriate nuance here. Verses 1-6 describe the present plight of Jerusalem. The parallel requests הַבֵּיט וּרְאֵה (habbet urÿ’eh, “Look and see!”) have a present-time orientation as well. See also 2:1; 3:19-20.
[5:1] 12 tn Heb “Look!” Although often used in reference to visual perception, נָבַט (navat, “to look”) can also refer to cognitive consideration and mental attention shown to a situation: “to regard” (e.g., 1 Sam 16:7; 2 Kgs 3:14), “to pay attention to, consider” (e.g., Isa 22:8; Isa 51:1, 2).
[5:1] 13 tn Although normally used in reference to visual sight, רָאָה (ra’ah) is often used in reference to cognitive processes and mental observation. See the note on “Consider” at 2:20.
[5:2] 14 tn Heb “Our inheritance”; or “Our inherited possessions/property.” The term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) has a range of meanings: (1) “inheritance,” (2) “portion, share” and (3) “possession, property.” The land of Canaan was given by the
[5:2] 15 tn Heb “our homes [are turned over] to foreigners.”
[5:4] 16 tn Heb “silver.” The term “silver” is a synecdoche of species (= silver) for general (= money).
[5:4] 17 tn Heb “We drink our water for silver.”
[5:4] 18 tn Heb “our wood comes for a price.”
[5:5] 19 tn Heb “We are hard-driven on our necks”
[5:5] 20 sn For the theological allusion that goes beyond physical rest, see, e.g., Deut 12:10; 25:19; Josh 1:13; 11:23; 2 Sam 7:1, 11; 1 Chron 22:18; 2 Chron 14:6-7
[5:6] 21 tn Heb “we have given the hand”; cf. NRSV “We have made a pact.” This is a Semitic idiom meaning “to make a treaty with” someone, placing oneself in a subservient position as vassal. The prophets criticized these treaties.
[5:6] 22 tn Heb “bread.” The term “bread” is a synecdoche of specific (= bread) for the general (= food).
[5:7] 23 tn Heb “fathers,” but here the term also refers to “forefathers,” i.e., more distant ancestors.
[5:7] 24 tn Heb “and are no more.”
[5:7] 25 tc The Kethib is written אֲנַחְנוּ (’anakhnu, “we”) but the Qere reads וַאֲנַחְנוּ (va’anakhnu, “but we”). The Qere is supported by many medieval Hebrew
[5:7] 27 tn Heb “their iniquities.” The noun עָוֹן (’avon) has a broad range of meanings, including: (1) iniquity, (2) guilt of iniquity, and (3) consequence or punishment for iniquity (cause-effect metonymical relation). The context suggests that “punishment for sin” is most appropriate here (e.g., Gen 4:13; 19:15; Exod 28:38, 43; Lev 5:1, 17; 7:18; 10:17; 16:22; 17:16; 19:8; 20:17, 19; 22:16; 26:39, 41, 43; Num 5:31; 14:34; 18:1, 23; 30:15; 1 Sam 25:24; 28:10; 2 Sam 14:9; 2 Kgs 7:9; Job 10:14; Pss 31:11; 69:28; 106:43; Prov 5:22; Isa 5:18; 30:13; 40:2; 53:6, 11; 64:5, 6; Jer 51:6; Lam 4:22; 5:7; Ezek 4:4-6, 17; 7:16; 14:10; 18:19-20; 21:30, 34; 24:23; 32:27; 35:5; 39:23; 44:10, 12).
[5:8] 28 tn Heb “slaves.” While indicating that social structures are awry, the expression “slaves rule over us” might be an idiom for “tyrants rule over us.” This might find its counterpart in the gnomic truth that the most ruthless rulers are made of former slaves: “Under three things the earth quakes, under four it cannot bear up: under a slave when he becomes king” (Prov 30:21-22a).
[5:9] 30 tn Heb “at the cost of our lives.” The preposition ב (bet) here denotes purchase price paid (e.g., Gen 30:16; Exod 34:20; 2 Sam 3:14; 24:24) (BDB 90 s.v. בְּ 3.a). The expression בְּנַפְשֵׁנוּ (bÿnafshenu) means “at the risk of our lives.” Similar expressions include בְנַפְשׁוֹ (bÿnafsho, “at the cost of his life,” 1 Kgs 2:23; Prov 7:23) and בְּנַפְשׁוֹתָם (bÿnafshotam, “at peril of their lives,” 2 Sam 23:17).
[5:9] 31 tn Heb “our soul.” The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a metonymy (= soul) of association (= life) (e.g., Gen 44:30; Exod 21:23; 2 Sam 14:7; Jon 1:14).
[5:9] 32 tn Heb “bread.” The term “bread” is a synecdoche of specific (= bread) for the general (= food).
[5:9] 33 tn Heb “because of the sword.” The term “sword” is a metonymy of instrument (= sword) for the persons who use the instrument (= murderers or marauders).
[5:9] 34 tn Heb “the wilderness.”
[5:10] 35 tn Heb “because of the burning heat of famine.”
[5:12] 37 tn Heb “elders were shown no respect.” The phrase “shown no respect” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression of understatement: to show no respect to elders = to terribly mistreat elders.
[5:13] 38 tn The text is difficult. Word by word the MT has “young men hand mill(?) they take up” Perhaps it means “they take [our] young men for mill grinding,” or perhaps it means “the young men take up [the labor of] mill grinding.” This expression is an example of synecdoche where the mill stands for the labor at the mill and then that labor stands for performing menial physical labor as servants. The surface reading, “young men carry hand mills,” does not portray any great adversity for them. The Vulgate translates as an abusive sexual metaphor (see D. R. Hillers, Lamentations [AB], 99), but this gives no known parallel to the second part of the verse.
[5:13] 39 tc Heb “boys trip over wood.” This phrase makes little sense. The translation adopts D. R. Hillers’ suggestion (Lamentations [AB], 99) of בְּעֶצֶב כָּשָׁלוּ (bÿ’etsev kashalu). Due to letter confusion and haplography the final ב (bet) of בְּעֶצֶב (bÿ’etsev) which looks like the כ (kaf) beginning the next word, was dropped. This verb can have an abstract noun after the preposition ב (bet) meaning “from, due to” rather than “over.”
[5:15] 40 tn Heb “the joy of our heart has ceased.”
[5:17] 41 tn Heb “are faint” or “are sick.” The adjective דַּוָּי (davvay, “faint”) is used in reference to emotional sorrow (e.g., Isa 1:5; Lam 1:22; Jer 8:18). The related adjective דָּוֶה (daveh) means “(physically) sick” and “(emotionally) sad,” while the related verb דָּוָה (davah) means “to be sad.” The cognate Aramaic term means “sorrow,” and the cognate Syriac term refers to “misery.”
[5:17] 42 tn Heb “our eyes are dim.” The physical description of losing sight is metaphorical, perhaps for being blinded by tears or more abstractly for being unable to see (= envision) any hope. The collocation “darkened eyes” is too rare to clarify the nuance.
[5:17] 43 tn The phrase “through our tears” is added in the translation for the sake of clarification.
[5:18] 44 tn Heb “jackals.” The term “jackals” is a synecdoche of species (= jackals) for general (= wild animals).
[5:20] 45 tn The Hebrew verb “forget” often means “to not pay attention to, ignore,” just as the Hebrew “remember” often means “to consider, attend to.”
[5:21] 46 tc The Kethib is וְנָשׁוּב (vÿnashuv, “and we will return,” ו [vav] conjunction + Qal imperfect 1st person common plural from שׁוּב [shuv, “to return”]). The Qere is וְנָשׁוּבָה (vÿnashuvah, “and let us return,” ו [vav] conjunction + Qal cohortative 1st person common plural from שׁוּב [shuv, “to return”]).
[5:21] 47 tn Heb “our days.” The term “days” is a synecdoche of time (= days) for what is experienced within that time span (= life) (e.g., Gen 5:4, 8, 11; 6:3; 9:29; 11:32; 25:7; 47:8, 9; Deut 22:19, 29; 23:7; Josh 24:31; Judg 2:7, 18; 2 Sam 19:35; Job 7:1, 16, 18; Pss 8:9; 39:5, 6; 90:9, 10, 12, 14; 103:15; Prov 31:12; Eccl 2:3; 5:17, 19; 6:3).
[5:22] 49 tn The compound conjunction כִּי אִם (ki ’im) functions to limit the preceding clause: “unless, or…” (e.g., Ruth 3:18; Isa 65:6; Amos 3:7) (BDB 474 s.v. 2.a): “Bring us back to yourself… unless you have utterly rejected us” (as in the present translation) or “Bring us back to yourself…Or have you utterly rejected us?” It is Jeremiah’s plea that the
[5:22] 50 tn Heb “Or have you utterly rejected us?” The construction מָאֹס מְאַסְתָּנוּ (ma’os mÿ’astanu), Qal infinitive absolute + Qal perfect 2nd person masculine singular from מָאַס (ma’as, “to reject”) is emphatic: the root מָאַס (ma’as) is repeated in these two verbal forms for emphasis.
[5:22] 51 tn Heb “Are you exceedingly angry with us?” The construction עַד־מְאֹד (’ad-mÿ’od) means “up to an abundance, to a great degree, exceedingly” (e.g., Gen 27:33, 34; 1 Sam 11:15; 25:36; 2 Sam 2:17; 1 Kgs 1:4; Pss 38:7, 9; 119:8, 43, 51, 107; Isa 64:9, 12; Lam 5:22; Dan 8:8; 11:25). Used in reference to God’s judgment, this phrase denotes total and irrevocable rejection by God and his refusal to forgive the sin and restore the people to a status under his grace and blessings, e.g., “Do not be angry beyond measure (עַד־מְאֹד, ’ad-mÿ’od), O
