Lamentations 1:11

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.

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."

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 hath she sat alone, The city abounding with people! She hath been as a widow, The mighty among nations! Princes among provinces, She hath become tributary! ² She weepeth sore in the night, And her tear [is] on her cheeks, There is no comforter for her out of all her lovers, All her friends dealt treacherously by her, They have been to her for enemies. ³ Removed hath Judah because of affliction, And because of the abundance of her service; She hath dwelt among nations, She hath not found rest, All her pursuers have overtaken her between the straits. ⁴ The ways of Zion are mourning, Without any coming at the appointed time, All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted -- and she hath bitterness. ⁵ Her adversaries have become chief, Her enemies have been at ease, For Jehovah hath afflicted her, For the abundance of her transgressions, Her infants have gone captive before the adversary. ⁶ And go out from the daughter of Zion doth all her honour, Her princes have been as harts -- They have not found pasture, And they go powerless before a pursuer. ⁷ Remembered hath Jerusalem [In] the days of her affliction and her mournings, all her desirable things that were from the days of old, In the falling of her people into the hand of an adversary, And she hath no helper; Seen her have adversaries, They have laughed at her cessation. ⁸ A sin hath Jerusalem sinned, Therefore impure she hath become, All who honoured her have esteemed her lightly, For they have seen her nakedness, Yea, she herself hath sighed and turneth backward. ⁹ Her uncleanness [is] in her skirts, She hath not remembered her latter end, And she cometh down wonderfully, There is no comforter for her. See, O Jehovah, mine affliction, For exerted himself hath an enemy. ¹⁰ His hand spread out hath an adversary On all her desirable things, For she hath seen -- Nations have entered her sanctuary, Concerning which Thou didst command, `They do not come into the assembly to thee.'

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 saith, `Let the waters under the heavens be collected unto one place, and let the dry land be seen:' and it is so.

Genesis 1:13
and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day third.

Genesis 1:14
And God saith, `Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, to make a separation between the day and the night, then they have been for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years,

Genesis 1:16
And God maketh the two great luminaries, the great luminary for the rule of the day, and the small luminary -- and the stars -- for the rule of the night;

Genesis 1:17
and God giveth them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth,

Genesis 1:20
And God saith, `Let the waters teem with the teeming living creature, and fowl let fly on the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.'

Genesis 1:29
And God saith, `Lo, I have given to you every herb sowing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which [is] the fruit of a tree sowing seed, to you it is for food;

Genesis 2:5
and no shrub of the field is yet in the earth, and no herb of the field yet sprouteth, for Jehovah God hath not rained upon the earth, and a man there is not to serve the ground,

Genesis 2:9
and Jehovah God causeth to sprout from the ground every tree desirable for appearance, and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:16
And Jehovah God layeth a charge on the man, saying, `Of every tree of the garden eating thou dost 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.