This final chapter Lamentations 5 consists of the same number of verses as there are letters in the Hebrew alphabet, but they no longer begin with the letters in regular order. Strict care is shown in the form and arrangement of the poem, each verse being compressed into a very brief compass, consis... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT IS COME UPON US - literally, “what” has happened “to us:” our national disgrace.... [ Continue Reading ]
TURNED - “transferred.” The inheritance was the land of Canaan Leviticus 20:24. ALIENS - Or, “foreigners:” i. e. the Chaldaeans upon their conquest of the country.... [ Continue Reading ]
OUR MOTHERS ARE AS WIDOWS - The particle “as” suggests that the whole verse is metaphorical. Our distress and desolation is comparable only to that of fatherless orphans or wives just bereaved of their husbands.... [ Continue Reading ]
Better as in the margin cometh to us for price. The rendering of the the King James Version spoils the carefully studied rhythm of the original. The bitterness of the complaint lies in this, that it was their own property which they had to buy.... [ Continue Reading ]
OUR NECKS ... - i. e. we were pursued so actively that our enemies seemed to be leaning over our necks ready to seize us. WE LABOR - We were wearied, “there was no rest for us:” being chased incessantly.... [ Continue Reading ]
“To give the hand” means to submit oneself. Absolutely it was Babylon that had just destroyed their national existence, but Jeremiah means that all feelings of patriotism were crushed, and the sole care that remained was the desire for personal preservation. To secure this the people would readily h... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ARE NOT; AND WE ... - Or, they are not; “we have borne their iniquities.” Our fathers who began this national apostasy died before the hour of punishment.... [ Continue Reading ]
SERVANTS - i. e. Slaves. A terrible degradation to a high-spirited Jew.... [ Continue Reading ]
WE GAT - Or, We get “our bread at the peril of our lives.” This verse apparently refers to those who were left in the land, and who in gathering in such fruits as remained, were exposed to incursions of the Bedouin, here called “the sword of the desert.”... [ Continue Reading ]
OUR SKIN ... - Or, is fiery red like an oven because of the fever-blast “of famine.”... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY RAVISHED - They humbled.... [ Continue Reading ]
After the princes had been put to death their bodies were hung up by the hand to expose them to public contumely. Old age, again, no more availed to shield men from shameful treatment than the high rank of the princes. Such treatment of conquered enemies was not uncommon in ancient warfare.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY TOOK THE YOUNG MEN TO GRIND - Or, “The young men” have borne the mill, a menial and laborious task usually performed by slaves (compare Isaiah 47:2). THE CHILDREN FELL UNDER THE WOOD - Or, lads have stumbled under burdens of wood. By lads are meant youths up to the age of military service; ano... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GATE - The gate was the place for public gatherings, for conversation, and the music of stringed instruments.... [ Continue Reading ]
Literally, “The crown of our head is fallen,” i. e. what was our chief ornament and dignity is lost; the independence of the nation, and all that gave them rank and honor.... [ Continue Reading ]
IS FAINT ... - Or, has become “faint” - have become “dim.” “For this,” i. e. for the loss of our crown etc.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FOXES - Or, jackals. As these animals live among ruins, and shun the presence of man, it shows that Zion is laid waste and deserted.... [ Continue Reading ]
REMAINEST - Or, reignest. The earthly sanctuary is in ruins, but the heavenly throne in unchangeable glory.... [ Continue Reading ]
Literally, “Unless thou hast utterly rejected us,” unless “thou art very wroth against us.” This is stated as a virtual impossibility. God’s anger can be but temporary Psalms 30:5, and therefore the very supposition is an indirect expression of hope. This verse speaks of the possibility of an utter... [ Continue Reading ]