Lamentations 3:30

3:30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who hits him; ¹ 

let him have his fill of insults.

Lamentations 1:2

ב (Bet)

1:2 She weeps bitterly at night;

tears stream down her cheeks. ² 

She has no one to comfort her

among all her lovers. ³ 

All her friends have betrayed her;

they have become her enemies.

[3:30]  ¹ tn Heb “to the smiter.”

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “her tears are on her cheek.”

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “lovers.” The term “lovers” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis), comparing Jerusalem’s false gods and foreign political alliances to sexually immoral lovers. Hosea uses similar imagery (Hos 2:5, 7, 10, 13). It may also function as a double entendre, first evoking a disconcerting picture of a funeral where the widow has no loved ones present to comfort her. God also does not appear to be present to comfort Jerusalem and will later be called her enemy. The imagery in Lamentations frequently capitalizes on changing the reader’s expectations midstream.