Lamentations 1:11

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!

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.

King James Version
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.

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.

Contextual Overview

¹ Oh, oh, oh... How empty the city, once teeming with people. A widow, this city, once in the front rank of nations, once queen of the ball, she's now a drudge in the kitchen. ² She cries herself to sleep each night, tears soaking her pillow. No one's left among her lovers to sit and hold her hand. Her friends have all dumped her. ³ After years of pain and hard labor, Judah has gone into exile. She camps out among the nations, never feels at home. Hunted by all, she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. ⁴ Zion's roads weep, empty of pilgrims headed to the feasts. All her city gates are deserted, her priests in despair. Her virgins are sad. How bitter her fate. ⁵ Her enemies have become her masters. Her foes are living it up because God laid her low, punishing her repeated rebellions. Her children, prisoners of the enemy, trudge into exile. ⁶ All beauty has drained from Daughter Zion's face. Her princes are like deer famished for food, chased to exhaustion by hunters. ⁷ Jerusalem remembers the day she lost everything, when her people fell into enemy hands, and not a soul there to help. Enemies looked on and laughed, laughed at her helpless silence. ⁸ Jerusalem, who outsinned the whole world, is an outcast. All who admired her despise her now that they see beneath the surface. Miserable, she groans and turns away in shame. ⁹ She played fast and loose with life, she never considered tomorrow, and now she's crashed royally, with no one to hold her hand: "Look at my pain, O God ! And how the enemy cruelly struts." ¹⁰ The enemy reached out to take all her favorite things. She watched as pagans barged into her Sanctuary, those very people for whom you posted orders: keep out: this assembly off-limits.

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
God spoke: "Separate! Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place; Land, appear!" And there it was. God named the land Earth. He named the pooled water Ocean. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:14
God spoke: "Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven's sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth." And there it was.

Genesis 1:16
God made two big lights, the larger to take charge of Day, The smaller to be in charge of Night; and he made the stars. God placed them in the heavenly sky to light up Earth And oversee Day and Night, to separate light and dark. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Four.

Genesis 1:20
God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life! Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!" God created the huge whales, all the swarm of life in the waters, And every kind and species of flying birds. God saw that it was good. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean! Birds, reproduce on Earth!" It was evening, it was morning— Day Five.

Genesis 1:29
Then God said, "I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth And every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food." And there it was.

Genesis 2:5
At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground— God hadn't yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)— God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

Genesis 2:16
God commanded the Man, "You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don't eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you're dead."

Matthew 6:30
"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

James 3:12
When You Open Your Mouth Don't be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you'd have a perfect person, in perfect control of life. A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?

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.