Lamentations 2:18

Green's Literal Translation

Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears go down like a torrent by day and by night; do not give relief to yourself; let not the daughter of your eye rest.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord.Wall of Daughter Zion,let your tears run down like a riverday and night.Give yourself no reliefand your eyes no rest.

Hebrew Names Version
Their heart cried to the Lord: wall of the daughter of Tziyon, let tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no respite; don't let the apple of your eye cease.

King James Version
Their heart cried unto the Lord , O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

English Standard Version
Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!

New American Standard Bible
Their heart cried out to the Lord: "You wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your tears stream down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.

New Century Version
The people cry out to the Lord. Wall of Jerusalem, let your tears flow like a river day and night. Do not stop or let your eyes rest.

Amplified Bible
Their hearts cried out to the Lord. "O wall of the Daughter of Zion, Let your tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.

World English Bible
Their heart cried to the Lord: wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no respite; don't let the apple of your eye cease.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Their heart cryed vnto the Lord, O wall of the daughter Zion, let teares runne downe like a riuer, day and night: take thee no rest, neither let the apple of thine eye cease.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Their heart cried out to the Lord, "O wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.

Legacy Standard Bible
Their heart cried out to the Lord,"O wall of the daughter of Zion,Let your tears run down like a river day and night;Give yourself no relief;Let your eyes not be still.

Berean Standard Bible
The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears run down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief, and your eyes no rest.

Contemporary English Version
Zion, deep in your heart you cried out to the Lord. Now let your tears overflow your walls day and night. Don't ever lose hope or let your tears stop.

Complete Jewish Bible
Their hearts cried out to Adonai, "Wall of the daughter of Tziyon! Let your tears stream down like a torrent, day and night! Give yourself no respite, give your eyes no rest!

Darby Translation
Their heart cried unto the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a torrent day and night: give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye rest.

Easy-to-Read Version
Cry out with all your heart to the Lord! Jerusalem, let tears roll down your walls. Let your tears flow like a stream day and night. Don't stop crying or let your eyes dry.

George Lamsa Translation
The peoples heart cried to the LORD of the walls of the daughter of Zion; let your tears run down like a stream day and night: give yourself no rest; let not the apple of your eye cease from shedding tears.

Good News Translation
O Jerusalem, let your very walls cry out to the Lord! Let your tears flow like rivers night and day; Wear yourself out with weeping and grief

Lexham English Bible
Their heart cried to the Lord, "O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a river; day and night, do not give yourself relief, do not give your eyes rest.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Let thine hert crie vnto the LORDE, O thou cite of the doughter Sion: let thy teares rune downe like a ryuer daye & night: rest not, & let not the aple of thine eye leaue of.

American Standard Version
Their heart cried unto the Lord: O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; Give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

Bible in Basic English
Let your cry go up to the Lord: O wall of the daughter of Zion, let your weeping be flowing down like a stream day and night; give yourself no rest, let not your eyes keep back the drops of sorrow.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Their heart cried unto the Lord: 'O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

King James Version (1611)
Their heart cried vnto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let teares runne downe like a riuer, day and night: giue thy selfe no rest, let not the apple of thine eyes cease.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Their heart cryed vnto the Lorde, O thou citie of the daughter Sion: let thy teares runne downe like a riuer day and night, rest not, and let not the apple of thyne eye leaue of.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
TSADE. Their heart cried to the Lord, Ye walls of Sion, pour down tears like torrents day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eyes cease.

English Revised Version
Their heart cried unto the Lord: O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sade. The herte of hem criede to the Lord, on the wallis of the douyter of Syon; leede thou forth teeris as a stronde, bi dai and niyt; yyue thou not reste to thee, nether the appil of thin iye be stille.

Update Bible Version
Their heart cried to the Lord: O walls of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no respite; don't let the apple of your eye cease.

Webster's Bible Translation
Their heart cried to the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thy eye cease.

New English Translation

צ (Tsade)

Cry out from your heart to the Lord, O wall of Daughter Zion! Make your tears flow like a river all day and all night long! Do not rest; do not let your tears stop!

New King James Version
Their heart cried out to the Lord, "O wall of the daughter of Zion, Let tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief; Give your eyes no rest.

New Living Translation
Cry aloud before the Lord, O walls of beautiful Jerusalem! Let your tears flow like a river day and night. Give yourselves no rest; give your eyes no relief.

New Life Bible
Let your heart cry out to the Lord. O wall of the people of Zion, let your tears flow down like a river day and night. Give yourself no rest. Do not let your eyes stop crying.

New Revised Standard
Cry aloud to the Lord! O wall of daughter Zion! Let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Their heart, hath made outcry, unto My Lord, - O wall of the daughter of Zion - Let tears run down as a torrent day and night, Do not give thyself relief, Let not the weeping of thine eye cease!

Douay-Rheims Bible
Sade. Their heart cried to the Lord upon the walls of the daughter of Sion: Let tears run down like a torrent day and night: give thyself no rest, and let not the apple of thy eye cease.

Revised Standard Version
Cry aloud to the Lord! O daughter of Zion! Let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!

Young's Literal Translation
Cried hath their heart unto the Lord; O wall of the daughter of Zion, Cause to go down as a stream tears daily and nightly, Give not rest to thyself, Let not the daughter of thine eye stand still.

THE MESSAGE
Give out heart-cries to the Master, dear repentant Zion. Let the tears roll like a river, day and night, and keep at it—no time-outs. Keep those tears flowing!

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ They sit on the ground; the elders of Zion's daughters are silent. They make dust go up on their heads, they gird on sack cloths. The virgins of Jerusalem let their heads go down to the ground. ¹¹ And my eyes are at an end with tears, my inward parts ferment; my liver is poured on the ground for the ruin of the daughter of my people; in the fainting of children and sucklings in the city's plazas. ¹² They say to their mothers, Where are grain and wine? In their fainting, they are like the wounded in the plazas of the city, in their pouring out their lives to their mothers' bosom. ¹³ What can I testify for you? To what will I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I liken you that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your crushing is great like the sea! Who can heal you? ¹⁴ Your prophets have seen false and foolish things for you; and they have not revealed your iniquity in order to turn back your captivity. Yea, they visioned for you burdens of falsehood and seductions. ¹⁵ All who pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city which they called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth? ¹⁶ All your enemies have opened their mouth against you; they hiss and gnash the teeth; they say, We have swallowed up. Surely this is the day for which we waited; we have found; we have seen. ¹⁷ Jehovah has done what He purposed; He fulfilled His Word which He commanded from days of antiquity. He has dashed and not pitied. And He made the enemy to rejoice over you; He raised the horn of your foes. ¹⁸ Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears go down like a torrent by day and by night; do not give relief to yourself; let not the daughter of your eye rest. ¹⁹ Rise up, cry out in the night at the head of the watches; pour out your heart like waters before the face of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the life of your children faint with hunger at the head of every open place.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

heart: Psalms 119:145, Isaiah 26:16, Isaiah 26:17, Hosea 7:14

O wall: Lamentations 2:8, Habakkuk 2:11

let tears: Lamentations 1:2, Lamentations 1:16, Lamentations 3:48, Lamentations 3:49, Psalms 119:136, Jeremiah 4:31, Jeremiah 9:1, Jeremiah 9:17, Jeremiah 9:18, Jeremiah 13:17, Jeremiah 14:17

the apple: Bath ayin which sometimes means the pupil of the eye, seems here to denote tears, the produce of the eye; and therefore elegantly termed the daughter of the eye.

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 7:6 - drew water Psalms 6:6 - I water Psalms 137:1 - we wept Ezekiel 24:16 - thy tears

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
And God saw everything that He had made and behold, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning the sixth day.

Genesis 2:7
And Jehovah God formed the man out of dust from the ground, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 2:9
And out of the ground Jehovah God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food. The Tree of Life was also in the middle of the garden; also the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Genesis 2:11
The name of the first was Pishon; it is the one surrounding all the land of Havilah where gold is ;

Genesis 2:12
the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium gum resin, and the onyx stone.

Genesis 2:13
And the name of the second river is Gihon. It is the one surrounding all the land of Cush.

Genesis 3:12
And the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she has given to me of the tree, and I ate.

Ruth 3:1
And her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, My daughter, do I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

Proverbs 18:22
Whoever finds a wife finds good, and gets favor from Jehovah.

1 Corinthians 7:36
But if anyone thinks it behaving indecently toward his virgin (if she is beyond her prime, and so it ought to be), let him do what he desires; he does not sin; let them marry.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Their heart cried unto the Lord,.... Either the heart of their enemies, as Aben Ezra; which cried against the Lord, and blasphemed him; or rather the heart of the Jews in their distress, when they saw the walls of the city breaking down, they cried unto the Lord for help and protection, whether sincerely or not; no doubt some did; and all were desirous of preservation:

O wall of the daughter of Zion! this seems to be an address of the prophet to the people of Jerusalem carried captive, which was now without houses and inhabitants, only a broken wall standing, some remains and ruins of that; which is mentioned to excite their sorrow and lamentation:

let tears run down like a river, day and night; incessantly, for the destruction and desolation made:

give thyself no rest; or intermission; but weep continually:

let not the apple of thine eye cease; from pouring out tears; or from weeping, as the Targum; or let it not "be silent" b, or asleep; but be open and employed in beholding the miseries of the nation, and in deploring them.

b אל תדם "non taceat", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "ne sileat", Calvin, Michaelis.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Their heart - That of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The prophet bids the wall, as the representative of the people who had dwelt secure under its protection, shed floods of tears on their behalf. Broken up by the enemy, it could be their guardian no longer, but by its ruins it might still cry unto the Lord in their behalf.

A river - Or, a brook or torrent.

Rest - Properly, the torpor and numbness which follows upon excessive grief.

Apple of thine eye - See Psalms 17:8 note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. O wall of the daughter of Zion — חומת בת ציון chomath bath tsiyon, wall of the daughter of Zion. These words are probably those of the passengers, who appear to be affected by the desolations of the land; and they address the people, and urge them to plead with God day and night for their restoration. But what is the meaning of wall of the daughter of Zion? I answer I do not know. It is certainly harsh to say "O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night." Zion's ways may lament, and her streets mourn; but how the walls can be said to weep is not so easy to be understood, because there is no parallel for it. One of my most ancient MSS. omits the three words; and in it the text stands thus: "Their heart cried unto the Lord, Let tears run down like a river day and night; give thyself no rest," &c.

Let not the apple of thine eye cease. — בת עין bath ayin means either the pupil of the eye, or the tears. Tears are the produce of the eye, and are here elegantly termed the daughter of the eye. Let not thy tears cease. But with what propriety can we say to the apple or pupil of the eye, Do not cease! Tears are most certainly meant.