Lamentations 5:1-7

The People of Jerusalem Pray:

5:1 ¹ O Lord, reflect on ²  what has happened to us;

consider ³  and look at ⁴  our disgrace.

5:2 Our inheritance ⁵  is turned over to strangers;

foreigners now occupy our homes. ⁶ 

5:3 We have become fatherless orphans;

our mothers have become widows.

5:4 We must pay money ⁷  for our own water; ⁸ 

we must buy our own wood at a steep price. ⁹ 

5:5 We are pursued – they are breathing down our necks; ¹⁰ 

we are weary and have no rest. ¹¹ 

5:6 We have submitted ¹²  to Egypt and Assyria

in order to buy food to eat. ¹³ 

5:7 Our forefathers ¹⁴  sinned and are dead, ¹⁵ 

but we ¹⁶  suffer ¹⁷  their punishment. ¹⁸ 

[5:1]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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 Lord to Israel as its inheritance (Deut 4:21; 15:4; 19:10; 20:16; 21:23; 24:4; 25:19; 26:1; Josh 20:6) and distributed among the tribes, clans and families (Num 16:14; 36:2; Deut 29:7; Josh 11:23; 13:6; 14:3, 13; 17:4, 6, 14; 19:49; 23:4; Judg 18:1; Ezek 45:1; 47:22, 29). Through the family, the family provided an inheritance (property) to its children with the first-born receiving pride of position (Gen 31:14; Num 27:7-11; 36:3, 8; 1 Kgs 21:3, 4; Job 42:15; Prov 19:14; Ezek 46:16). Here, the parallelism between “our inheritance” and “our homes” would allow for the specific referent of the phrase “our inheritance” to be (1) land or (2) material possessions, or given the nature of the poetry in Lamentations, to carry both meanings at the same time.

[5:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “our homes [are turned over] to foreigners.”

[5:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “silver.” The term “silver” is a synecdoche of species (= silver) for general (= money).

[5:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “We drink our water for silver.”

[5:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “our wood comes for a price.”

[5:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “We are hard-driven on our necks”

[5:5]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “bread.” The term “bread” is a synecdoche of specific (= bread) for the general (= food).

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “fathers,” but here the term also refers to “forefathers,” i.e., more distant ancestors.

[5:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and are no more.”

[5:7]  ¹⁶ 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 mss, as well as most of the ancient versions (Aramaic Targum, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate). The ו (vav) prefixed to וַאֲנַחְנוּ (va’anakhnu) functions either in a disjunctive sense (“but”) or resultant sense (“so”).

[5:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “so we bear.”

[5:7]  ¹⁸ 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).