Lamentations 4:17-20

The People of Jerusalem Lament:

ע (Ayin)

4:17 Our eyes continually failed us

as we looked in vain for help. ¹ 

From our watchtowers we watched

for a nation that could not rescue us.

צ (Tsade)

4:18 Our enemies ²  hunted us down at every step ³ 

so that we could not walk about in our streets.

Our end drew near, our days were numbered, ⁴ 

for our end had come!

ק (Qof)

4:19 Those who pursued us were swifter

than eagles ⁵  in the sky. ⁶ 

They chased us over the mountains;

they ambushed us in the wilderness.

ר (Resh)

4:20 Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king ⁷  –

was caught in their traps, ⁸ 

of whom we thought, ⁹ 

“Under his protection ¹⁰  we will survive among the nations.”

Job 18:8

18:8 For he has been thrown into a net by his feet ¹¹ 

and he wanders into a mesh. ¹² 

Job 19:6

19:6 know ¹³  then that God has wronged me ¹⁴ 

and encircled ¹⁵  me with his net. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 66:11

66:11 You led us into a trap; ¹⁷ 

you caused us to suffer. ¹⁸ 

Ezekiel 12:13

12:13 But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans ¹⁹  (but he will not see it), ²⁰  and there he will die. ²¹ 

Ezekiel 17:20

17:20 I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me.

Ezekiel 32:3

32:3 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘I will throw my net over you ²²  in the assembly of many peoples;

and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

Hosea 7:12

7:12 I will throw my bird net over them while they are flying,

I will bring them down like birds in the sky;

I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together.

[4:17]  ¹ tn Heb “Our eyes failed in vain for help.”

[4:18]  ² tn Heb “they”; this has been specified in the translation as “our enemies” for clarity.

[4:18]  ³ tn Heb “they hunted our steps.”

[4:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “our days were full.”

[4:19]  ⁵ tn The bird referred to here could be one of several species of eagles, but more likely is the griffin-vulture (cf. NEB “vultures”). However, because eagles are more commonly associated with swiftness than vultures in contemporary English, “eagles” was used in the translation.

[4:19]  ⁶ tn Or “in the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[4:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “the anointed one of the Lord.” The term “king” is added in the translation to clarify the referent of the phrase “the Lord’s anointed.”

[4:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “was captured in their pits.”

[4:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “of whom we had said.”

[4:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “under his shadow.” The term צֵל (tsel, “shadow”) is used figuratively here to refer the source of protection from military enemies. In the same way that the shade of a tree gives physical relief and protection from the heat of the sun (e.g., Judg 9:15; Job 40:22; Ps 80:11; Song 2:3; Ezek 17:23; 31:6, 12, 17; Hos 4:13; 14:8; Jon 4:5, 6), a faithful and powerful king can provide “shade” (= protection) from enemies and military attack (Num 14:19; Ps 91:1; Isa 30:2, 3; 49:2; 51:16; Jer 48:45; Lam 4:20).

[18:8]  ¹¹ tn See Ps 25:15.

[18:8]  ¹² tn The word שְׂבָכָה (sÿvakhah) is used in scripture for the lattice window (2 Kgs 1:2). The Arabic cognate means “to be intertwined.” So the term could describe a net, matting, grating, or lattice. Here it would be the netting stretched over a pit.

[19:6]  ¹³ tn The imperative is used here to introduce a solemn affirmation. This verse proves that Job was in no way acknowledging sin in v. 4. Here Job is declaring that God has wronged him, and in so doing, perverted justice.

[19:6]  ¹⁴ tn The Piel of עָוַת (’avat) means “to warp justice” (see 8:3), or here, to do wrong to someone (see Ps 119:78). The statement is chosen to refute the question that Bildad asked in his first speech.

[19:6]  ¹⁵ tn The verb נָקַף (naqaf) means “to turn; to make a circle; to encircle.” It means that God has encircled or engulfed Job with his net.

[19:6]  ¹⁶ tn The word מְצוּדוֹ (mÿtsudo) is usually connected with צוּד (tsud, “to hunt”), and so is taken to mean “a net.” Gordis and Habel, however, interpret it to mean “siegeworks” thrown up around a city – but that would require changing the ד (dalet) to a ר (resh) (cf. NLT, “I am like a city under siege”). The LXX, though, has “bulwark.” Besides, the previous speech used several words for “net.”

[66:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you brought us into a net.” This rare word for “net” also occurs in Ezek 12:13; 13:21; 17:20.

[66:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “you placed suffering on our hips.” The noun מוּעָקָה (mu’aqah, “suffering”) occurs only here in the OT.

[12:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “Babylonians” (NCV, NLT).

[12:13]  ²⁰ sn He will not see it. This prediction was fulfilled in 2 Kgs 25:7 and Jer 52:11, which recount how Zedekiah was blinded before being deported to Babylon.

[12:13]  ²¹ sn There he will die. This was fulfilled when King Zedekiah died in exile (Jer 52:11).

[32:3]  ²² tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).