Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, July 20th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

King James Version

Lamentations 1:11

All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O Lord , and consider; for I am become vile.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Famine;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Bread;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Bread, Bread of Presence;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Lamentations, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - Gentile;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
All her people groanwhile they search for bread.They have traded their precious belongings for foodin order to stay alive.Lord, look and seehow I have become despised.
Hebrew Names Version
All her people sigh, they seek bread; They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul: Look, LORD, and see; for I am become abject.
English Standard Version
All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. "Look, O Lord , and see, for I am despised."
New American Standard Bible
All her people groan, seeking bread; They have given their treasures for food To restore their lives. "See, LORD, and look, For I am despised."
New Century Version
All of Jerusalem's people groan, looking for bread. They are trading their precious things for food so they can stay alive. The city says, "Look, Lord , and see. I am hated."
Amplified Bible
All her people groan, seeking bread; They have exchanged their desirable and precious things for food To restore their lives. "See, O LORD, and consider How despised and repulsive I have become!"
World English Bible
All her people sigh, they seek bread; They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul: Look, Yahweh, and see; for I am become abject.
Geneva Bible (1587)
All her people sigh and seeke their bread: they haue giuen their pleasant thinges for meate to refresh the soule: see, O Lorde, and consider: for I am become vile.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
All her people groan seeking bread; They have given their precious things for food To restore their lives themselves. "See, O LORD, and look, For I am despised."
Legacy Standard Bible
All her people are sighing, seeking bread;They have given their desirable things for foodTo restore their souls."See, O Yahweh, and look,For I am despised."
Berean Standard Bible
All her people groan as they search for bread. They have traded their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Look, O LORD, and consider, for I have become despised.
Contemporary English Version
Everyone in the city groans while searching for food; they trade their valuables for barely enough scraps to stay alive. Jerusalem Speaks: Jerusalem shouts to the Lord , "Please look and see how miserable I am!"
Complete Jewish Bible
All her people are groaning, as they search for something to eat. They barter their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. "Look, Adonai ! See how despised I am.
Darby Translation
All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their precious things for food to revive [their] soul. See, Jehovah, and consider, for I am become vile.
Easy-to-Read Version
All the people of Jerusalem are groaning. All of her people are looking for food. They are giving away all their nice things for food to stay alive. Jerusalem says, "Look, Lord . Look at me! See how people hate me.
George Lamsa Translation
All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their precious things for food to relieve their soul; see, O LORD, and consider; for I am despised.
Good News Translation
Her people groan as they look for something to eat; They exchange their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. "Look at me, Lord ," the city cries; "see me in my misery."
Lexham English Bible
All her people groan, they are searching for bread. They give their treasures for food, to bring back life. See, O Yahweh, and look, how I am despised.
Literal Translation
All her people sigh from seeking bread. They gave their desirable things for food to revive the soul. See, O Jehovah, and look on me , for I have become vile.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
All hir people seke their bred with heuynes, & loke what precious thinge euery man hath, that geueth he for meate, to saue his life. Considre (O LORDE) and se, how vyle I am become.
American Standard Version
All her people sigh, they seek bread; They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul: See, O Jehovah, and behold; for I am become abject.
Bible in Basic English
Breathing out grief all her people are looking for bread; they have given their desired things for food to give them life: see, O Lord, and take note; for she has become a thing of shame.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul. 'See, O LORD, and behold, how abject I am become.'
King James Version (1611)
All her people sigh, they seek bread, they haue giuen their pleasant things for meate to relieue the soule: see, O Lord, & consider: for I am become vile.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
All her people seeke their bread with heauinesse, and loke what precious thyng euery man hath, that geueth he for meate to saue his lyfe: Consider O Lorde, and see howe vile I am become.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
CHAPH. All her people groan, seeking bread: they have given their desirable things for meat, to restore their soul: behold, Lord, and look; for she is become dishonoured.
English Revised Version
All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to refresh the soul: see, O LORD, and behold; for I am become vile.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Caph. Al the puple therof was weilinge and sekynge breed, thei yauen alle preciouse thingis for mete, to coumforte the soule; se thou, Lord, and biholde, for Y am maad vijl.
Update Bible Version
All her people sigh, they seek bread; They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul: See, O Yahweh, and behold; for I have become abject.
Webster's Bible Translation
All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for food to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile.
New English Translation

כ (Kaf)

All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread. They exchanged their valuables for just enough food to stay alive. "Look, O Lord ! Consider that I have become worthless!"
New King James Version
All her people sigh, They seek bread; They have given their valuables for food to restore life. "See, O LORD, and consider, For I am scorned."
New Living Translation
Her people groan as they search for bread. They have sold their treasures for food to stay alive. "O Lord , look," she mourns, "and see how I am despised.
New Life Bible
All her people cry inside themselves as they look for bread. They have traded their things of much worth for food to have strength. "Look and see, O Lord, for I am hated.
New Revised Standard
All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. Look, O Lord , and see how worthless I have become.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
All her people, are sighing, seeking bread, They have given their precious things for food, to bring back life, - Behold, O Yahweh, and discern, that I have become worthless.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Caph. All her people sigh, they seek bread: they have given all their precious things for food to relieve the soul: see, O Lord, and consider, for I am become vile.
Revised Standard Version
All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. "Look, O LORD, and behold, for I am despised."
Young's Literal Translation
All her people are sighing -- seeking bread, They have given their desirable things For food to refresh the body; See, O Jehovah, and behold attentively, For I have been lightly esteemed.
THE MESSAGE
All the people groaned, so desperate for food, so desperate to stay alive that they bartered their favorite things for a bit of breakfast: "O God , look at me! Worthless, cheap, abject!

Contextual Overview

1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! 2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. 3 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. 4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. 5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. 6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. 7 Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths. 8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward. 9 Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O Lord , behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. 10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

seek: Lamentations 1:19, Lamentations 2:12, Lamentations 4:4-10, Deuteronomy 28:52-57, 2 Kings 6:25, Jeremiah 19:9, Jeremiah 38:9, Jeremiah 52:6, Ezekiel 4:15-17, Ezekiel 5:16, Ezekiel 5:17

relieve the soul: Heb. make the soul to come again, 1 Samuel 30:11, 1 Samuel 30:12

see: Lamentations 1:9, Lamentations 1:20, Lamentations 2:20, Job 40:4, Psalms 25:15-19

Reciprocal: Genesis 47:19 - buy us Psalms 9:13 - consider Isaiah 64:11 - all our Jeremiah 12:10 - trodden Lamentations 1:4 - her priests Lamentations 1:8 - she sigheth Lamentations 1:21 - have heard that Ezekiel 4:16 - eat

Cross-References

Genesis 1:9
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Genesis 1:13
And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Genesis 1:14
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Genesis 1:16
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Genesis 1:17
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Genesis 1:20
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Genesis 1:29
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Genesis 2:5
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
Genesis 2:9
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:16
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

All her people sigh,.... Not her priests only, Lamentations 1:4; but all the common people, because of their affliction, particularly for want of bread. So the Targum,

"all the people of Jerusalem sigh because of the famine;''

for it follows:

they seek bread; to eat, as the Targum; inquire where it is to be had, but in vain:

they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: or, "to cause the soul to return" x; to fetch it back when fainting and swooning away through famine; and therefore would give anything for food; part with their rich clothes, jewels, and precious stones; with whatsoever they had that was valuable in their cabinets or coffers, that they might have meat to keep from fainting and dying; to refresh and recruit their spirits spent with hunger:

see, O Lord, and consider; for I am become vile; mean, base, and contemptible, in the eyes of men, through penury and want of food; through poverty, affliction, and distress; and therefore desires the Lord would consider her case, and look with pity and compassion on her.

x להשיב נפש "ad reducendum animam", Montanus, Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Sigh ... seek - Are sighing ... are seeking. The words are present participles, describing the condition of the people. After a siege lasting a year and a half the whole country, far and near, would be exhausted.

To relieve the soul - See the margin, i. e. to bring back life to them. They bring out their jewels and precious articles to obtain with them at least a meal.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 11. They have given their pleasant things — Jerusalem is compared to a woman brought into great straits, who parts with her jewels and trinkets in order to purchase by them the necessaries of life.


 
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