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Lamentations
Chapter Five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LAMENTATIONS 5
In
this chapter are reckoned up the various calamities and distresses of the Jews
in Babylon, which the Lord is desired to remember and consider, Lamentations 5:1;
their great concern for the desolation of the temple in particular is
expressed, Lamentations 5:17;
and the chapter is concluded with a prayer that God would show favour to them,
and turn them to him, and renew their prosperity as of old, though he had
rejected them, and been wroth with them, Lamentations 5:19.
Lamentations 5:1 Remember,
O Lord,
what has come upon us; Look, and behold our reproach!
YLT
1Remember, O Jehovah, what
hath befallen us, Look attentively, and see our reproach.
Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us,.... This
chapter is called, in some Greek copies, and in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and
Arabic versions, "the prayer of Jeremiah". Cocceius interprets the
whole of the state of the Christian church after the last destruction of
Jerusalem; and of what happened to the disciples of Christ in the first times
of the Gospel; and of what Christians have endured under antichrist down to the
present times: but it is best to understand it of the Jews in Babylon;
representing their sorrowful case, as represented by the prophet; entreating
that the Lord would remember the affliction they were under, and deliver them
out of it, that which he had determined should come upon them. So the Targum,
"remember,
O Lord, what was decreed should be unto us;'
and
what he had long threatened should come upon them; and which they had reason to
fear would come, though they put away the evil day far from them; but now it
was come, and it lay heavy upon them; and therefore they desire it might be
taken off:
consider, and behold our reproach: cast upon them by their
enemies; and the rather the Lord is entreated to look upon and consider that,
since his name was concerned in it, and it was for his sake, and because of the
true religion they professed; also the disgrace they were in, being carried
into a foreign country for their sins; and so were in contempt by all the
nations around.
Lamentations 5:2 2 Our inheritance has been
turned over to aliens, And our houses to foreigners.
YLT
2Our inheritance hath been
turned to strangers, Our houses to foreigners.
Our inheritance is turned to strangers,.... The land
of Canaan in general, which was given to Abraham and his seed to be their
inheritance; and their field, and vineyards in particular, which came to them
by inheritance from their fathers, were now in the hands of the Chaldeans,
strangers to God, and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, as all Gentiles
were, Ephesians 2:12;
our houses to aliens; which they had built or
purchased, or their fathers had left them, were now inhabited by those of
another country.
Lamentations 5:3 3 We have become orphans and
waifs, Our mothers are like widows.
YLT
3Orphans we have been --
without a father, our mothers [are] as widows.
We are orphans and fatherless,.... In every sense; in a
natural sense, their fathers having been cut off by the sword, famine, or
pestilence; in a civil sense, their king being taken from them; and in a
religious sense, God having forsaken them for their sins:
our mothers are as widows; either really so, their
husbands being dead; or were as if they had no husbands, they not being able to
provide for them, protect and deferred them. The Targum adds,
"whose
husbands are gone to the cities of the sea, and it is doubtful whether they are
alive.'
Some
understand this politically, of their cities being desolate and defenceless.
Lamentations 5:4 4 We pay for the water we
drink, And our wood comes at a price.
YLT
4Our water for money we have
drunk, Our wood for a price doth come.
We have drunken our water for money,.... They who in their
own land, which was a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, had
wells of water of their own, and water freely and in abundance, now were
obliged to pay for it, for drink, and other uses:
our wood is sold unto us; or, "comes to us by
a price"F18במחיר יבאו
"in pretio venerunt", Pagninus, Montanus; "caro nobis pretio
veniunt", Michaelis. ; and a dear one; in their own land they could have
wood out of the forest, for cutting down and bringing home; but now they were
forced to give a large price for it.
Lamentations 5:5 5 They
pursue at our heels;[a] We labor and
have no rest.
YLT
5For our neck we have been
pursued, We have laboured -- there hath been no rest for us.
Our necks are under persecution,.... A yoke of
hard servitude and bondage was put upon their necks, as Jarchi interprets it;
which they were forced to submit unto: or, "upon our necks we are
pursued"F19על צוארנו
נרדפנו "super colla nostra persecutionem passi
sumus", Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin; "vel patimur", Vatablus,
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; or, "suffer persecution": which
Aben Ezra explains thus, in connection with the Lamentations 5:4;
if we carry water or wood upon our necks, the enemy pursues us; that is, to
take it away from us. The Targum relates a fable here, that when Nebuchadnezzar
saw the ungodly rulers of the children of Israel, who went empty, he ordered to
sow up the books of the law, and make bags or wallets of them, and fill them with
the stones on the banks of the Euphrates, and loaded them on their necks:
we labour, and have no rest; night nor day, nor even
on sabbath days; obliged to work continually till they were weary; and, when
they were, were not allowed time to rest themselves, like their forefathers in
Egypt.
Lamentations 5:6 6 We have given our hand to
the Egyptians And the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
YLT
6[To] Egypt we have given a
hand, [To] Asshur, to be satisfied with bread.
We have given our hand to the Egyptians,.... Either by
way of supplication, to beg bread of them; or by way of covenant and agreement;
or to testify subjection to them, in order to be supplied with food: many of
the Jews went into Egypt upon the taking of the city, Jeremiah 43:5;
and to the Assyrians,
to be satisfied with bread; among whom many of the captives were
dispersed; since from hence they are said to be returned, as well as from Egypt,
Isaiah 11:16.
Lamentations 5:7 7 Our fathers sinned and
are no more, But we bear their iniquities.
YLT
7Our fathers have sinned --
they are not, We their iniquities have borne.
Our fathers have sinned, and are not,.... In the
world, as the Targum adds; they were in being, but not on earth; they were
departed from hence, and gone into another world; and so were free from the
miseries and calamities their children were attended with, and therefore more
happy:
and we have borne their iniquities; the punishment of them,
or chastisement for them: this is not said by way of complaint, much less as
charging God with injustice, in punishing them for their fathers' sins, or to
excuse theirs; for they were ready to own that they had consented to them, and
were guilty of the same; but to obtain mercy and pity at the hands of God.
Lamentations 5:8 8 Servants rule over us; There
is none to deliver us from their hand.
YLT
8Servants have ruled over
us, A deliverer there is none from their hand.
Servants have ruled over us,.... The Targum is,
"the
sons of Ham, who were given to be servants to the sons of Shem, they have ruled
over us;'
referring
to the prophecy of Noah, Genesis 9:26; or
such as had been tributary to the Jews, as the Edomites; so Aben Ezra; the
Babylon, an, are meant; and not the nobles and principal inhabitants only, but
even their servants, had power and authority over the Jews and they were at
their beck and command; which made their servitude the more disagreeable and
intolerable:
there is none that doth
deliver us out of their hand; out of the hand of these
servants.
Lamentations 5:9 9 We get our bread at the
risk of our lives, Because of the sword in the wilderness.
YLT
9With our lives we bring in
our bread, Because of the sword of the wilderness.
We gat our bread with the peril of our lives,.... This seems
to refer to the time of the siege when they privately went out of the city to
get in some provision, but went in danger of their lives:
because of the sword of the wilderness: or, "of
the plain"F20מפני חרב
המדבר "propter gladium in deserto, sive
plano", Gataker. ; because of the, word of the Chaldean army, which lay in
the plain about Jerusalem into whose hand there was danger of falling, and of
being cut to pieces.
Lamentations 5:10 10 Our skin is hot as an
oven, Because of the fever of famine.
YLT
10Our skin as an oven hath
been burning, Because of the raging of the famine.
Our skin was black like an oven, because of the terrible famine. Or
"terrors and horrors of famine"; which are very dreadful and
distressing: or, "the storms of famine"; see Psalm 11:6; or,
"burning winds"F21זלעפות רעב "horrorum famis", Montanus; "terrores, vel
tremores", Vatablus; "procellas famis", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator; "exustiones", Pagninus, Calvin; "adustiones
famis", Stockius, p. 281. ; such as are frequent in Africa and Asia; to
which the famine is compared that was in Jerusalem, at the siege of it, both by
the Chaldeans and Romans; and as an oven, furnace, or chimney becomes black by
the smoke of the fire burnt in it, or under it; so the skins of the Jews became
black through these burning winds and storms, or burnings of famine; see Lamentations 4:8.
So Jarchi says the word has the signification of "burning"; for
famine as it were burns up the bodies of men when most vehement.
Lamentations 5:11 11 They ravished the women in
Zion, The maidens in the cities of Judah.
YLT
11Wives in Zion they have
humbled, Virgins -- in cities of Judah.
They ravished the women in Zion,.... Or
"humbled" themF23ענו εταπεινωσαν, Sept.
"humiliaverunt", V. L. Munster. ; an euphemism; the women that were
married to men in Zion, as the Targum; and if this wickedness was committed in
the holy mountain of Zion, it was still more abominable and afflicting, and to
be complained of; and if by the servants before mentioned, as Aben Ezra
interprets it, it is another aggravating circumstance of it; for this was done
not in Babylon when captives there; but at the taking of the city of Jerusalem,
and by the common soldiers, as is too often practised:
and the maids in the cities
of Judah; in all parts of the country, where the Chaldean army ravaged,
there they ravished the maids. The Targum is,
"the
women that were married to men in Zion were humbled by strangers; (the Targum
in the king of Spain's Bible is, by the Romans;) and virgins in the cities of
Judah by the Chaldeans;'
suggesting
that this account has reference to both destructions of the city, and the
concomitants and consequences thereof.
Lamentations 5:12 12 Princes were hung up by
their hands, And elders were not respected.
YLT
12Princes by their hand have
been hanged, The faces of elders have not been honoured.
Princes are hanged up by their hand,.... According to some,
as Aben Ezra observes, by the hand of the servants before mentioned; however,
by the hand of the Chaldeans or Babylonians; see Jeremiah 52:10.
Some understand it of their own hands, as if they laid violent hands upon
themselves, not being able to bear the hardships and disgrace they were
subjected to but I should rather think this is to be understood of hanging
them, not by the neck, but by the hand, could any instance be given of such a
kind of punishment so early used, and by this people; which has been in other
nations, and in more modern times:
the faces of elders were not honoured; no reverence
or respect were shown to elders in age or office, or on account of either; but
were treated with rudeness and contempt.
Lamentations 5:13 13 Young men ground at the
millstones; Boys staggered under loads of wood.
YLT
13Young men to grind they
have taken, And youths with wood have stumbled.
They took the young men to grind,.... In the mill, which
was laborious service; and which persons were sometimes put to, by way of
punishment; and was the punishment of servants; see Judges 16:21. Some
render it, "the young men bore the grist"F24בחורים טחון נשאו
"juvenes farinam portaverunt"; so some in Gataker; "juvenes
molam tulerunt", Cocceius; "juvenes ad molendum portant", Junius
& Tremellius. ; carried the corn, the meal ground, from place to place. The
Targum is,
"the
young men carried the millstones;'
and
so Jarchi, they put millstones upon their shoulders, and burdens so as to weary
them. Ben Melech, from their Rabbins, relates, that there were no millstones in
Babylon; wherefore the Chaldeans put them upon the young men of Israel, to carry
them thither. The Vulgate Latin version is,
"they
abused the young men in an unchaste manner;'
suggesting
something obscene intended by grinding; see Job 31:10; but the
context will not admit of such a sense:
and the children fell under the wood; such loads of
wood were laid upon them, that they could not bear them, but fell under them.
Aben Ezra understands it of moving the wood of the mill, of turning the wooden
handle of it; or the wooden post, the rider or runner, by which the upper
millstone was turned: this their strength was not equal to, and so failed. The
Targum interprets it of a wooden gibbet, or gallows; some wooden engine seems
to be had in view, used as a punishment, which was put upon their necks,
something like a pillory; which they were not able to stand up under, but fell.
Lamentations 5:14 14 The elders have ceased gathering
at the gate, And the young men from their music.
YLT
14The aged from the gate have
ceased, Young men from their song.
The elders have ceased from the gate,.... Of the
sanhedrim, or court of judicature, as the Targum; from the gate of the city,
where they used to sit and try causes; but now there was nothing of this kind
done:
the young men from their music; vocal and instrumental;
the latter is more particularly specified, though both may be intended; neither
were any more heard; their harps were hung upon the willows on the banks of
Euphrates, which ran through the city of Babylon, Psalm 137:1.
Lamentations 5:15 15 The joy of our heart has
ceased; Our dance has turned into mourning.
YLT
15Ceased hath the joy of our
heart, Turned to mourning hath been our dancing.
The joy of our heart is ceased,.... ward joy was gone,
as well as the external signs of it: it "sabbatized"F25שבת "sabbatizat". , as it may be rendered;
alluding perhaps to the cordial joy expressed formerly on their sabbaths and
other festivals, now not observed; at least, not with that joy, inward and
outward, they formerly were:
our dance is turned into mourning; which also was used at
their solemn feasts, as well as at their common diversions, Judges 21:21; but
now no more of that; but, instead of it, mourning at the calamities they were
oppressed with; and at the remembrance of mercies and privileges, civil and
religious, they were deprived of.
Lamentations 5:16 16 The crown has fallen from
our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!
YLT
16Fallen hath the crown
[from] our head, Wo [is] now to us, for we have sinned.
The crown is fallen from our head,.... Or,
"the crown of our head is fallen"F1נפלה
עטרת ראשנו "cecidit
corona capitis nostri", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator. ; all their honour and glory as a nation were gone; the
glory of their kingdom and priesthood, to both which a crown or mitre belonged;
the glory of church and state. Aben Ezra interprets it of the temple, the place
of the divine Majesty. Sanctius thinks there is an allusion to the crowns they
wore upon their heads at their feasts and festivals; and so the words have a
close connection with what goes before:
woe unto us that we have sinned! which had brought all
these evils upon them: this is not to be considered as an imprecation or
denunciation of misery; but as a commiseration of their case; calling upon
others to it, and particularly God himself, to have mercy upon them; for, alas
for them! they had sinned, and justly deserved what was come upon them; and
therefore throw themselves at the feet of mercy, and implore divine compassion.
Lamentations 5:17 17 Because of this our heart
is faint; Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
YLT
17For this hath our heart
been sick, For these have our eyes been dim.
For this our heart is faint,.... Our spirits sink; we
are ready to swoon and die away; either for this, that we have sinned; because
of our sins, they are so many, so great, and so aggravated; or for those
distresses and calamities they have brought upon us before mentioned; or for
the desolation of Zion, more especially, after expressed; and so the Targum,
"for
this house of the sanctuary, which is desolate, our heart is weak:'
for these things our eyes are dim; or
"darkened"F2חשכו
"contenebrati sunt", V. L. "obtenebrati", Pagninus,
Montanus, Calvin, Cocceius. almost blinded with weeping; can scarcely see out
of them; or as persons in a swoon; for dimness of sight usually attends
faintness of spirit.
Lamentations 5:18 18 Because of Mount Zion
which is desolate, With foxes walking about on it.
YLT
18For the mount of Zion --
that is desolate, Foxes have gone up on it.
Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate,.... Meaning
either the city of Jerusalem in general, or the temple in particular, which
both lay in ruins: but the latter gave the truly godly the greatest concern;
that the seat of divine Majesty should be in such a condition; that the public
exercises of religion should cease, and there be no more opportunities of
waiting upon God, and worshipping him as heretofore; their civil interest, and
the loss of that did not so much affect them as the interest of religion, and
what that suffered:
the foxes walk upon it: as they do in desolate
places, shunning the company of men; but here they walked in common, and as
freely as in the woods and deserts: this was fulfilled in the destruction of
the second temple, as well as the first. R. AkibaF3T. Bab. Maccot,
fol. 24. 1. 2. and his companions were walking together; they saw a fox come
out of the holy of holies; they wept, but he laughed or rejoiced; they wept,
that in the place where the stranger that drew near should die, now foxes
walked upon it; he laughed or rejoiced, because, as this prophecy was
fulfilled, so would others that predicted good things.
Lamentations 5:19 19 You, O Lord, remain
forever; Your throne from generation to generation.
YLT
19Thou, O Jehovah, to the age
remainest, Thy throne to generation and generation.
Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever,.... The same in his
nature and perfections; in his grace and goodness; in his power and
faithfulness; in his purposes and promises; though all things else change, are
fickle and inconstant, he changes not, but abides the same, without any
variableness or shallow of turning; whatever revolutions there are in the
world, or alterations in the course of Providence, yet he remains firm and
unalterable in his counsel and covenant; though all material things are subject
to decay, and even his own sanctuary lay in ruins, yet he himself continued
just as he ever was. The eternity and unchangeableness of God are of great use
and comfort to his people in times of distress, and to be regarded and
observed:
thy throne from generation to generation; though his
throne on earth, in Jerusalem, in the temple, was thrown down, yet his throne
in heaven remained unshaken; there he sits, and reigns, and rules, and
overrules all things here below to his own glory and the good of his people;
and this is the saints' comfort in the worst of times, that Zion's King reigns;
he has reigned, and will reign, throughout all generations. The Targum is,
"the
house of thine habitation in the high heavens; the throne of thy glory to the
generations of generations?'
Lamentations 5:20 20 Why do You forget us
forever, And forsake us for so long a time?
YLT
20Why for ever dost Thou
forget us? Thou forsakest us for length of days!
Wherefore dost thou, forget us for ever,.... Since
thou art firm, constant, and unchangeable, and thy love and covenant the same.
God seems to forget his people when he afflicts them, or suffers them to be
oppressed, and does not arise immediately for their help; which being deferred
some time, looks like an eternity to them, or they fear it will ever be so; at
least this they say to express their eager desire after his gracious presence,
and to show how much they prize it:
and forsake us so long time? or, "to
length of days"F4לארך ימים "in longitudinem dierum", Pagninus,
Montanus. ? so long as the seventy years' captivity; which to be forsaken of
God, or to seem to be forsaken of him, was with them a long time.
Lamentations 5:21 21 Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will
be restored; Renew our days as of old,
YLT
21Turn us back, O Jehovah,
unto Thee, And we turn back, renew our days as of old.
Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned,.... This
prayer expresses the sense they had of their backslidings from God, and
distance from him; of their inability to turn themselves to the Lord, or
convert themselves; and of their need of divine grace, and of the efficacy of
that to effect it; see Jeremiah 31:18; for
this is to be understood not only of returning them to their own land, and to
the external worship of God in it; but of turning them to the Lord by true and
perfect repentance, as the Targum; of the conversion of their hearts and the
reformation of their lives:
renew our days as of old; for good, as the Targum
adds. The request is, that their good days might be renewed; that they might
enjoy the same peace and prosperity, and all good things in their own land, as
they had done in days and years past: first they pray for repentance; then
restoration.
Lamentations 5:22 22 Unless You have utterly
rejected us, And are very angry with us!
YLT
22For hast Thou utterly
rejected us? Thou hast been wroth against us -- exceedingly?
But thou hast utterly rejected us,.... That looks as if
they had no hope, and were in despair of having their petitions granted; since
God had entirely rejected them from being his people, and would never more have
mercy on them; but the words may be rendered, "though thou hast in
rejecting rejected us"F5כי אם מאס מאסתנו
"quamvis detestatione detestatus es nos", Targ. ; or else,
"unless thou hast utterly rejected us"F6"Nisi forte
repudiando repudiasti nos", Calvin. ; or rather by an interrogation,
"for wilt thou utterly reject", or "despise us?"F7"Nam
an omnino sperneres nos?" Junius & Tremellius. surely thou wilt not;
such is thy grace and goodness:
thou art very wroth against us; thou hast been, and
still continuest to be: or, "wilt thou be exceeding wroth against
us?"F8קצפת עלינו
עד־מאד "effervesceres contra nos admodum?"
Junius & Tremellius. or continue thy wrath to extremity, and for ever? thou
wait not; it is not consistent with, thy mercy and grace, truth and
faithfulness; and so it is an argument of faith in prayer, and not an
expression of despondency; though the Jews, because they would not have the
book end in what is sorrowful and distressing, repeat the foregoing verse; and
the like method they take at the end of Ecclesiastes, and the prophecies of
Isaiah and Malachi, as Jarchi observes.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)