Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Lamentations 1:1

Clarke's Commentary

THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH

Chronological notes relative to the Book of the Lamentations

- Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3416.

- Year of the Jewish era of the world, 3173.

- Year from the Deluge, 1760.

- First year of the forty-eighth Olympiad.

- Year from the building of Rome, according to the Varronian account, 166.

- Year before the birth of Christ, 584.

- Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 588.

- Year of the Julian Period, 4126.

- Year of the era of Nabonassar, 160.

- Cycle of the Sun, 10.

- Cycle of the Moon, 3.

- Second year after the fourth Sabbatic year after the seventeenth Jewish jubilee, according to Helvicus.

- Twenty-ninth year of Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of the Romans: this was the seventy-ninth year before the commencement of the consular government.

- Thirty-eighth year of Cyaxares or Cyaraxes, the fourth king of Media.

- Eighteenth year of Agasicles, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Proclidae.

- Twentieth year of Leon, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Eurysthenidae.

- Thirty-second year of Alyattes II., king of Lydia. This was the father of the celebrated Croesus.

- Fifteenth year of AEropas, the seventh king of Macedon.

- Nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

- Eleventh year of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah.

CHAPTER I

The prophet begins with lamenting the dismal reverse of fortune

that befell his country, confessing at the same time that her

calamities were the just consequence of her sins, 1-6.

Jerusalem herself is then personified and brought forward to

continue the sad complaint, and to solicit the mercy of God,

7-22.

In all copies of the Septuagint, whether of the Roman or Alexandrian editions, the following words are found as a part of the text: Και εγενετο μετα το αιχμαλωτισθηναι τον Ισραηλ, και Ιερουσαλημ ερημωθηναι, εκαθισεν Ιερεμιας κλαιων, και εθρηνησεν τον θρηνον τουτον επι Ιερουσαλημ, και ειπεν· - "And it came to pass after Israel had been carried away captive, and Jerusalem was become desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping: and he lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem; and he said."

The Vulgate has the same, with some variations: - "Et factum est, postquam in captivitatem redactus est Israel, et Jerusalem deserta est, sedit Jeremias propheta fiens, et planxit lamentations hac in Jerusalem, et amaro animo suspirans et ejulans, digit." The translation of this, as given in the first translation of the Bible into English, may be found at the end of Jeremiah, taken from an ancient MS. in my own possession.

I subjoin another taken from the first PRINTED edition of the English Bible, that by Coverdale, 1535. "And it came to passe, (after Israel was brought into captyvitie, and Jerusalem destroyed;) that Jeremy the prophet sat weeping, mournynge, and makinge his mone in Jerusalem; so that with an hevy herte he sighed and sobbed, sayenge."

Matthew's Bible, printed in 1549, refines upon this: "It happened after Israell was brought into captyvite, and Jerusalem destroyed, that Jeremy the prophet sate wepyng, and sorrowfully bewayled Jerusalem; and syghynge and hewlynge with an hevy and wooful hert, sayde."

Becke's Bible of the same date, and Cardmarden's of 1566, have the same, with a trifling change in the orthography.

On this Becke and others have the following note: - "These words are read in the LXX. interpreters: but not in the Hebrue."

All these show that it was the ancient opinion that the Book of Lamentations was composed, not over the death of Josiah, but on account of the desolations of Israel and Jerusalem.

The Arabic copies the Septuagint. The Syriac does not acknowledge it; and the Chaldee has these words only: "Jeremiah the great priest and prophet said."

NOTES ON CHAP. I

Verse Lamentations 1:1. How doth the city sit solitary — Sitting down, with the elbow on the knee, and the head supported by the hand, without any company, unless an oppressor near, - all these were signs of mourning and distress. The coin struck by Vespasian on the capture of Jerusalem, on the obverse of which there is a palm-tree, the emblem of Judea, and under it a woman, the emblem of Jerusalem, sitting, leaning as before described, with the legend Judea capta, illustrates this expression as well as that in Isaiah 47:1. Isaiah 3:26, where the subject is farther explained.

Become as a widow — Having lost her king. Cities are commonly described as the mothers of their inhabitants, the kings as husbands, and the princes as children. When therefore they are bereaved of these, they are represented as widows, and childless.

The Hindoo widow, as well as the Jewish, is considered the most destitute and wretched of all human beings. She has her hair cut short, throws off all ornaments, eats the coarsest food, fasts often, and is all but an outcast in the family of her late husband.

Is she become tributary! — Having no longer the political form of a nation; and the remnant that is left paying tribute to a foreign and heathen conqueror.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

THE FIVE POEMS

Desolation in Jerusalem (1:1-22)

Jerusalem, once a busy commercial city, is now empty. She is like a woman who has lost her husband, like a princess who has become a slave. The nations (her ‘lovers’) who she thought would help her have proved useless, some even treacherous (1:1-3).
When Jerusalem’s hour of crisis came, all her leaders fled, leaving the people to be attacked, plundered and taken captive. Now that all the usual activities of daily life have ceased, there remain only the memories of the pleasant way of life she once enjoyed - and the memory of how her enemies laughed at her downfall (4-7).
The reason for Jerusalem’s desolation is her sin. In her idolatry and wickedness she had acted like an immoral woman; now she has been treated like one (8-9). Babylonian soldiers not only entered the temple (something that was forbidden to foreigners) but also plundered its precious metals and took its sacred treasures. The starving people in the crushed city try to trade their personal possessions with the enemy soldiers in a desperate effort to obtain bread (10-11).
In anguish the personified city asks those who pass by if they feel any pity for her because of the suffering God has sent her. She has been attacked, burnt, and left in a condition of hopeless ruin (12-13). Her sins have weighed her down as a heavy yoke weighs down on the neck of a working animal. Consequently, when God sent the enemy armies against her, she was so weak and helpless that she was unable to withstand them (14-16).
Although she does not receive the sympathy for which she cries out, she is not bitter against God. She knows God has justly punished her for her sins. She warns others to learn from her experience (17-18). When she called for help, none came. Some of the people starved to death in the siege, others were killed or taken captive when the city finally fell (19-20).
Jerusalem’s grief is made worse by the mockery of her neighbours. They rejoice over the fall of Jerusalem, yet they themselves are wicked. She prays that God will carry out justice against them as he has carried it out against Judah (21-22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

JERUSALEM, THE GRIEVING WIDOW,The chapter headings which we have adopted here are those of Dr. Anthony L. Ash. See Anthony L. Ash, Jeremiah and Lamentations (Abilene, Texas: A.C.U. Press, 1987), p. 335.
THE THEME OF LAMENTATIONS

“How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! She has become as a widow, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces is become tributary! 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. Judah is gone into captivity, because of affliction and because of great servitude; She dwelleth among the nations, she findeth no rest. All her persecutors overtook her within the straits.”

“How doth the city sit solitary” “The word `How’ is the characteristic introduction to an elegy, or a dirge.”The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9d, p. 1. The Hebrew text used the word as the title of the book; and it carries the sense, “Behold, how great a tragedy!”

There is no continuity of thought in Lamentations. “It repeats themes in various ways, with numerous descriptions of calamity, along with psychological and emotional reactions of the people.”Anthony L. Ash, Jeremiah and Lamentations (Abilene, Texas: A.C.U. Press, 1987), p. 337.

“She is become as a widow” “Many years later, a Roman coin struck by Titus (70 A.D.) depicted a woman sitting under a palm-tree with the inscription `JUDEA CAPTA’ (as in Lamentations 1:3).”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. A grief-stricken woman sitting in misery and poverty represented the common fate of countless widows in antiquity, and this was an apt portrayal of the humiliation of the Chosen People.

“Among all her lovers… none to comfort her” “These lovers were those nations such as Egypt who had wooed her into their alliance against Babylon (Jeremiah 27:3).”The New Layman’s Bible Commentary, p. 854. Of course, they supported Judea only so long as it served their own selfish interests to do so; and Judah’s stupidity in this was most reprehensible because they ignored the urgent and repeated warnings of their holy prophets against such alliances with those false lovers.

“All her friends,… are become her enemies” “The prophecy of Isaiah has come true (Isaiah 39:5-7; Isaiah 47:8-9).”The Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 697. The mighty Jerusalem, once the great capital of Solomon’s extensive empire, to which many nations paid tribute, has now fallen to cruel and arrogant conquerors. Once respected and honored, now hated and despised; once flourishing and prosperous, now forsaken and deserted, her Temple looted and burned, her walls broken down, her population butchered or deported, except for the poorest of the land, her condition was pitiful indeed. “And her plight was made even worse by the pagan environment.”Ibid.

May this terrible disgrace and humiliation of the proudest nation of all antiquity be a lesson for those nations which today are called “super-powers.” Let them (including the U.S.A.) remember why it happened to Judea; and as Matthew Henry wrote, “Let no family, no state, no nation, no Babylon, nor any other, proudly boast of their security, saying, `I sit as a queen and shall never sit as a widow’ (Isaiah 47:8; Revelation 17:7).”Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Vol. p. 713. “The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:25).

“Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction” This was true in two ways. Judah had been forced into captivity by the military arm of Babylon, which resulted in captivity and servitude, but there was also a contingent of Judah, who attempted to escape their bondage by fleeing into Egypt. Jeremiah was probably taken against his will with that group. Cheyne wrote that, “Here the prophet is not thinking of the deportation of the captives, but of the Jews who sought refuge in foreign lands (Jeremiah 40:11).”The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9d, p. 1. Dummelow also favored this understanding of Lamentations 1:3. “This means that the Jews sought exile in order to escape the sufferings to which they were exposed in their native land.”J. R. Dummelow’s Commentary, p.

“Here persecutors overtook her within the straits” This may very well be a reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of the fleeing Zedekiah who tried to escape the siege of Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s doom was sealed in that capture.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

In these two verses is the same sad image as appears in the well-known medal of Titus, struck to celebrate his triumph over Jerusalem. A woman sits weeping beneath a palm-tree, and below is the legend “Judaea capta.”

Translate Lamentations 1:1 :

How sitteth solitary the city that was full of people:

She is become as a widow that was great among the nations:

A princess among provinces she is become a vassal.

Tributary - In the sense of personal labor Joshua 16:10.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

The Prophet could not sufficiently express the greatness of the calamity, except by expressing his astonishment. He then assumes the person of one who on seeing something new and unexpected is filled with amazement. It was indeed a thing incredible; for as it was a place chosen for God to dwell in, and as the city Jerusalem was not only the royal throne of God, but also as it were his earthly sanctuary, the city might have been thought exempted from all danger. Since it had been said,

“Here is my rest for ever, here will I dwell,”
(Psalms 132:14,)

God seemed to have raised that city above the clouds, and to have rendered it free from all earthly changes. We indeed know that there is nothing fixed and certain in the world, and that the greatest empires have been reduced to nothing; but, the state of Jerusalem did not depend on human protection, nor on the extent of its dominion, nor on the abundance of men, nor on any other defenses whatever, but it was founded by a celestial decree, by the promise of God, which is not subject to any mutations. When, therefore, the city fell, uprooted from its foundations, so that nothing remained, when the Temple was disgracefully plundered and then burnt by enemies, and further, when the king was driven into exile, his children slain in his presence, and also the princes, and when the people were scattered here and there, exposed to every contumely and reproach, was it not, a horrible and monstrous thing?

It was not, then, without reason that the Prophet exclaimed, How! for no one could have ever thought that such a thing would have happened; and then, after the event, no one with a calm mind could have looked on such a spectacle, for innumerable temptations must have come to their minds; and this thought especially must have upset the faith of all — “What does God mean? How is it that, he has promised that this city would be perpetual? and now there is no appearance of a city, and no hope of restoration in future.” As, then, this so sad a spectacle might not only disturb pious minds, but also upset them and sink them in the depths of despair, the Prophet exclaims, How! and then says, How sits the city solitary, which had much people! Here, by a comparison, he amplifies the indignity of the fact; for, on the one hand, he refers to the flourishing state of Jerusalem before the calamity, and, on the other hand, he shews how the place had in a manner been turned into darkness. For this change, as I have said, was as though the sun had fallen from heaven; for the sun has no firmer standing in heaven than Jerusalem had on earth, since its preservation was connected with the eternal truth of God. He then says that this city had many people, but that now it was sitting solitary. The verb to sit, is taken in Hebrew in a good and in a bad sense. Kings are said to sit on their thrones; but to sit means sometimes to lie prostrate, as we have before seen in many places. Then he says that Jerusalem was lying solitary, because it was desolate and forsaken, though it had before a vast number of people.

He adds, How is she become, etc.; for the word how, אכה, aike, ought to be repeated, and applied to both clauses. How, then, is she become as a widow, who was great among the nations! ⁽¹²³⁾ He says that Jerusalem had not only been full of citizens, but had also extended its power through many nations; for it is well known that many contiguous nations were tributary to it under David and Solomon. And to the same purpose is what follows, She who ruled among provinces is become tributary! that is, is become subject to a tribute. This phrase is taken from Deuteronomy 28:0, for the prophets were wont freely to borrow expressions from Moses, that chief teacher and prophet, as we shall presently see again.

We now then see the meaning of the Prophet. He wonders at the destruction of the city Jerusalem, and regarded it as a prodigy, which not only disturbed the minds of men, but in a manner confounded them. And by this mode of speaking he shews something of human infirmity; for they must be void of all feeling who are not seized with amazement at such a mournful sight. The Prophet then spoke not only according to his own feelings, but also according to those of all others; and he deplored that calamity as it were in the person of all. But he will hereafter apply a remedy to this astonishment For when we thus exaggerate evils, we at the same time sharpen our grief; and thus it happens that we at length become overwhelmed with despair; and despair kindles rage, so that men clamor against God. But the Prophet so mourned, and was in such a way amazed, that he did not yet indulge his grief nor cherish his amazement; but as we shall see, he restrained himself, lest the excess of his feelings should carry him beyond due bounds. It then follows, —

(123) The word is not repeated in the early Versions, nor by Blayney and Henderson. The word איכה, means properly, “Whence thus?” and it may be rendered, “How is this?” and the passage would be more emphatic, —

1.How is this? alone sits the city, that was full of people!
Like a widow is she that was great among nations!
A princess among provinces is under tribute!

2.Weeping she weeps in the night, and her tear on her cheek!
None to her a comforter of all her lovers!
All her friends have deceived her, they are become her enemies!

These were the various things which created astonishment in the Prophet. — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn now in our Bibles to the book of Lamentations.

The book of Lamentations in the Hebrew Bible does not appear in the same place that it appears in our Bibles. In the Hebrew Bible it appears with a group of books: Esther, and Ruth, Job, and Ezra. It was written by Jeremiah, and that is why in our Bibles they inserted it after the book of Jeremiah, because it is almost sort of an epilogue to the book of Jeremiah, in that it follows the destruction of the city of Jerusalem.

There is on the site of Golgotha a cave that is called Jeremiah's Grotto. This cave known as Jeremiah's Grotto comprises a part of the face of the skull; hence the name Golgotha. Because as you look at the cliff, with these caves that are there in the cliff, they take the appearance of a skull. One of these caves is called Jeremiah's Grotto. It is interesting that from those caves there on the site of Golgotha, you have a tremendous view of the city of Jerusalem, for Golgotha is actually the top of what was once Mount Moriah. And it looks down over the city of Jerusalem.

Tradition declares that Jeremiah sat in this grotto when he wrote the book of Lamentations, and there he wept and cried over the desolation of the city of Jerusalem as he saw its ruins, as he saw the walls destroyed, as he saw the buildings leveled. And from this vantage, he wrote this book.

In the Septuagint, which is a translation of the scriptures into Greek that was done by seventy Hebrew scholars about 200 B.C., they prefaced the book of Lamentations with these words, "And it came to pass, that after Israel had been carried away captive, and Jerusalem made desolate, Jeremiah sat weeping and lamented this lament over Jerusalem and said, 'How doth the city sit solitary.'" So, they have that as a prologue to the book of Lamentations, and it was picked up and put in the Vulgate.

The book of Lamentations is a favorite style of Hebrew poetry in four of the chapters. They are as known as an acrostic, and they were written in order to facilitate the memorization, in that you'll notice that in the first three chapters there are twenty two verses in each chapter. In the original Hebrew poetry, these twenty two verses were actually twenty two lines of the poem, and each line began with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So the first line began with Aleph, and then with Beth, and then with Gimel, and then with Daleth, and on through the Hebrew alphabet, each line with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet in the first three chapters...in the first two chapters.

In the third chapter, you'll notice that there are sixty six verses. The first three lines begin with Aleph, the next three with Beth, the next three with Gimel. And so it was in triplets, actually, thus the sixty six verses. The fourth chapter, again each line beginning with the succeeding letter of the Greek alphabet. And even though the fifth chapter has twenty two verses, it is not in an acrostic. It doesn't follow this same pattern of each line beginning with the successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. But they would often write their poems that way in order to help you in memorizing the poem, because you knew that the next line began with the next letter of the alphabet in succeeding order.

This is a funeral dirge. It is a lament of Jeremiah over Jerusalem after the destruction. And the book of Lamentations is read each year in the synagogue on the fourth day of the ninth month. So, around August the fourth, this particular lament or book is read in the Jewish synagogues as they commemorate the anniversary of the destruction of Solomon's temple in 586 B.C.

With that as a background, let us go into the first chapter, as Jeremiah declares,

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 the princess among the providences, how is she become a tributary! ( Lamentations 1:1 )

The city is empty. It is now sitting solitary. The inhabitants have either been slain or carried away captive. There is a weird silence over this once prosperous, beautiful city, as it lies there now in rubble.

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 ( Lamentations 1:2 ).

Jerusalem was once as a princess. Actually, tribute was paid to Solomon and to his kingdom, but now Jerusalem has become a tributary paying tribute to others. Those that she trusted in, Egypt and others have now become her enemies.

Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwells among the heathen, she finds no rest: in all of her persecutors overtook her between the straits. The ways [or the paths] on the way to Zion do mourn, because none come to her solemn feasts ( Lamentations 1:3-4 ):

It must be a weird, awesome feeling to look over the ruins of a once great and prosperous city. Can you imagine, say sitting on Mount Wilson and overlooking the Los Angeles basin and nobody living there? No freeways jammed with cars. No industries belching out their smoke, just everything with a deathly silence. Imagine how you would feel, you know, having seen all of the activities and all, that go on in that great basin, and suddenly to look at it and see the whole thing silent and empty. It must be an awesome kind of a feeling to see such a thing.

That's what Jeremiah... he had grown up in this city. He had seen the streets full of people. He had watched the worshippers at the temple and all. He had seen the pilgrims gather for their feasts, but now it's all silent. Now it's empty and the ways or the paths on the way to Jerusalem are mourning because no one is coming to the solemn feasts anymore.

all of her gates are desolate ( Lamentations 1:4 ):

The gates of Jerusalem are interesting places because there is always so many people passing in and out of the gates. A lot of times in Jerusalem just... if you don't have anything to do, it's interesting just to go at the gates of the city and just watch the people come and go through the gates. They're always just bustling with activity, and now it's silent. The gates are desolate.

her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, she is in bitterness. Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper, for the LORD hath afflicted her ( Lamentations 1:4-5 )

And then he gives the reason:

for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. And from the daughter of Zion all of her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, they are gone without strength before the pursuer. Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and her miseries all of 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. Jerusalem has grievously sinned; therefore she is removed ( Lamentations 1:5-8 ):

Again, not blaming God, which is so often our mistake when calamity comes. "Why did God allow this to happen to us?" But recognizing that the blame was upon the people because of their transgression and because they had grievously sinned against God. "Therefore she is removed."

all that honored her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sighed, and turned backward. Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembered not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy has magnified himself. The adversary has spread out his hand upon all of her pleasant things: for she has seen the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation ( Lamentations 1:8-10 ).

And so the heathen came right into the temple, into the Holy of Holies and they destroyed the temple of God. A stranger wasn't to come within the sanctuary, and yet they have seen them come in and destroy it.

All of 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 ( Lamentations 1:11 ).

They spent all of their money, actually, and given all of their treasures for bread.

Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From above hath he set fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: and he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up. The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as a winepress. For these things I weep ( Lamentations 1:12-16 );

Thus, the lamentation, the weeping of Jeremiah as he sees the destruction that has come, the mighty men destroyed, the virgins ravished by the enemy, the young men crushed and the young girls trodden. "For these things I weep."

my eye runs down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. Zion spread forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them. The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandments: hear, I pray you, all the people, and behold my sorrow, my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity ( Lamentations 1:16-18 ).

And so he sort of personifies Jerusalem, and lets Jerusalem cry out declaring the righteousness of God in judgment, "The Lord is righteous." For they were guilty of having rebelled against God. The Lord is always righteous in judgment, and yet it seems that that is an area where we always want to fault God. And we always hear sort of insinuations that God is unrighteous in judgment. "How can a God of love condemn a man to hell?" You know, and you've heard the rest of it. And the idea is that God is not really righteous when He judges. But that's one thing you can be certain of, and that is the righteousness of God in judgment.

In the book of Revelation, as God is bringing His judgment upon the earth, there are voices that come from the altar saying, "Holy and true art Thy judgments, oh Lord." And then in one place where God turns the fresh water upon the earth to blood, there are voices that declare, "Oh, that's great. They shed the blood of Your saints so You've given them blood to drink," and testifying of the properness of that particular judgment that God brings upon the earth at that time.

But God will judge. God has declared He will judge. And thus you can be sure that God is going to judge this world. God is going to judge the wicked. But God, when He judges the wicked, will be absolutely righteous in His judgment. People may complain about it now, but when God makes His judgment there can be no complaint, for the Lord is righteous. They had rebelled against the Lord. They rebelled against His commandment.

He said,

I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and my elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls ( Lamentations 1:19 ).

They died of starvation while they were looking for food.

Behold, O LORD, for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death. They have heard that I sigh: there is none to comfort me: all my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it: and thou will bring the day that thou has called, and they shall be like unto me. Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou has done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint ( Lamentations 1:20-22 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Jeremiah bewailed the abandoned city of Jerusalem that had once been so glorious and independent. Sitting alone is sometimes a picture of deep sorrow and mourning (cf. Lamentations 2:10; Ezra 9:3; Nehemiah 1:4). Now the city was as solitary as a widow and as servile as a forced laborer. It had changed in three ways: numerically, economically, and socially.

"Jerusalem, a city which used to be close to God, has been changed by the choice of significant men. They have turned away from Him when they knew Him, and now their city is under siege. There is death in the city." [Note: Francis A. Schaeffer, Death in the City, pp. 17-18.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The extent of the devastation 1:1-7

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

A. An observer’s sorrow over Jerusalem’s condition 1:1-11

Jeremiah first viewed Jerusalem’s destruction as an outsider looking in. Lamentations 1:1-7 describe the extent of the desolation and Lamentations 1:8-11 its cause.

Gann's Commentary on the Bible

Book Comments

Walking Thru The Bible

Lamentations

Jeremiah’s Funeral Song

Text: Lamentations 1-5

Introduction

    The titles of the books in the Hebrew Bible usually came from the very first word, in this case Ekah which may be translated into English “alas” or “how sad it is.” The scholars who translated the O.T. into Greek during the intertestamental period (and later into Syriac and Latin) applied the longer title “The Lamentations of Jeremiah.”

    This five chapter book is neglected today as a somber and gloomy record of Jeremiah weeping over the ruins of Jerusalem. But it is more that just “a cloudburst of grief, a river of tears, a sea of sobs” as one writer called it. This poem is an affirmation of faith in the justice and goodness of God.

    True, the author had tasted pain and sorrow and endured frustration and loneliness, but he clings to an undaunted faith which triumphs over circumstances. The book endeavors to explain history and place calamities in proper perspective. When the Christian understands it’s purpose we see how wonderfully this book contributes to our understanding of calamities and catastrophes.

The Background and Occasion of the Book

    The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC was God’s judgement for the idolatry and rebellion of Judah against Him. God has been patient and longsuffering with them but finally had to chastise Jerusalem for her horrible behavior.

    Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem for eighteen long months. Lamentations describes in the most vivid manner the terrible suffering to which the Jews were subjected. When the city was captured the Chaldean king ordered it completely demolished.

    To see their beloved sacred city go up in flames was a shocking, sad experience. Despite Jeremiah’s warning the city was unprepared for it. For over a hundred years since the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem in the days of king Hezekiah the popular notion had been that Jerusalem was inviolable and secure. (Micah 3:11 b)

    [Q-1]    Investigative Question: What had been the predominate message of the false prophets? (Micah 3:11 b; Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 8:11; Ezekiel 13:10.)

Theme and Content

    [Q-2] Investigative Question: What other Lamentation had Jeremiah written? (2 Chronicles 35:24-25)

    The theme of the book is a lament over the terrible woes which had fallen upon sinful Judah and over the destruction of the Holy City and the Temple of God. The books consists of four funeral hymns (dirges), ch. 1-4; and one prayer, ch. 5 written in those agonizing days following the destruction of Jerusalem.

    For the most part, the poems describe the adversity of the people, their land, the city, and the cause of it. Here are their confessions of sin, declarations of penitence and appeals that they not be forgotten.

    Hymn 1        A Widowed City        1:1-22

    Hymn 2        A Broken People        2:1-22

    Hymn 3        A Suffering Prophet    3:1-66

    Hymn 4        A Ruined Kingdom    4:1-22

    Prayer            A Penitent Nation        5:1-22

The Form and Structure of Lamentations

    The book is entirely in poetic form. Hebrew poetry does not involve rhyme (as a rule) but rather of thought. The second and third lines repeat the thought of the first in different words (synonymous parallelism).

    The four dirges are in the form of alphabetic acrostics in which each verse begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 contains sixty-six verses with 3 verses assigned to each Hebrew letter.

    The reasons for using such acrostic patterns was usually to serve as mnemonic devices to aid the memory when the hymns were publicly recited or sung.

    It may be also that the author used this technique in order to give a sense of completeness to the expression of grief. When one goes from a to a (so to speak) in expressing his grief he seems to have said all that can be said. (Psalm 25; 34; 35; 111; 112; 119; 145; Prov. 31:10-31).

Purpose and use

    The book served the purpose of helping the people of Judah maintain their faith in God in the midst of overwhelming disaster. Lamentations expresses the convictions that God had dealt justly with His people. The writer wants the people to recognize the righteousness of God’s dealings with them and to cast themselves upon the mercy of the Lord.

    Lamentations is read in Jewish synagogues on the ninth of the month of Ab (which falls at the end of July or early August), a fast day which commemorates the destruction of the Temple by Babylon in 586 BC and the Romans in AD 70.

Lamentations 1:1-7 (The New King James Version)

How lonely sits the city

1 That was full of people!

How like a widow is she,

Who was great among the nations!

The princess among the provinces

Has become a slave!

2 She weeps bitterly in the night,

Her tears are on her cheeks;

Among all her lovers

She has none to comfort her.

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;

They have become her enemies.

3 Judah has gone into captivity,

Under affliction and hard servitude;

She dwells among the nations,

She finds no rest;

All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.

4 The roads to Zion mourn

Because no one comes to the set feasts.

All her gates are desolate;

Her priests sigh,

Her virgins are afflicted,

And she is in bitterness.

5 Her adversaries have become the master,

Her enemies prosper;

For the Lord has afflicted her

Because of the multitude of her transgressions.

Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy.

6 And from the daughter of Zion

All her splendor has departed.

Her princes have become like deer

That find no pasture,

That flee without strength

Before the pursuer.

7 In the days of her affliction and roaming,

Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things

That she had in the days of old.

When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,

With no one to help her,

The adversaries saw her

And mocked at her downfall.

NKJV Lamentations 1:1-7

A Widowed City – Text: Lamentations 1:1-9

    Chapter one has two major divisions. In vs. 1-11 the prophet laments the present condition of Zion and alludes to his own personal agony twice. In vs. 12-22 the city itself laments over its condition. The entire chapter is written in acrostic style.

    In verses 1-7 we have a description of the condition of the city, and verses 8-9 (Lamentations 1:8-9) give an explanation for that condition. Then verse 9b-11 is a prayer to God concerning her.

    Verse 1-3.    Jerusalem is personified as a widowed princess who sits alone in the night weeping over the loss of her husband and children. Loneliness of widowhood is emphasized. Jerusalem’s “lovers” (idol gods) and her “neighbors” (political allies) deserted her.

    Verse 4-5.     The roads are weeping because no pilgrims are traveling to Jerusalem for the religious holidays. No crowds mingling at the gate, no merchants, no sacrifices.

    Verse 6-7.     The Widowed daughter of Zion is ugly, weak and helpless. All her beauty is gone.

    Verse 8-9.    The poet presents the reason for Zion’s present misery. She lived only for the present.

Some Lessons

1.    We must learn from our failures. Let them teach us lessons we never forget and let us never repeat those sins.

2.    Such lessons can be taught our children so they don’t fall into the condemnations that others have.

3.    We ought to study God’s word and have it in our hearts so we can repeat it’s admonitions and warnings.

QUESTIONS:

1.    Why is the book of Lamentations a much neglected book?

2.    How can this book help us as Christians?

3.    Who do we understand the author to be?

4.    What was the background situation of the book?

5.    Thought Question: Why was the city unprepared for what happened?

6.    What is the theme of the book?

7.    What can you tell about the structure of the book?

8.    What do the funeral songs describe?

9.    What may be the purpose of such acrostic patterns of composition?

10.    What purpose did the book serve to the Jews?

11.    How might it be helpful to us?

12.    Under what picture does chapter 1 describe the misery of the survivors of Jerusalem?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Verse Comments

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!.... These are the words of Jeremiah; so the Targum introduces them,

"Jeremiah the prophet and high priest said;''

and began thus, "how"; not inquiring the reasons of this distress and ruin; but as amazed and astonished at it; and commiserating the sad case of the city of Jerusalem, which a little time ago was exceeding populous; had thousands of inhabitants in it; besides those that came from other parts to see it, or trade with it: and especially when the king of Babylon had invaded the land, which drove vast numbers to Jerusalem for safety; and which was the case afterwards when besieged by the Romans; at which time, as Josephus f relates, there were eleven hundred thousand persons; and very probably a like number was in it before the destruction of it by the Chaldeans, who all perished through famine, pestilence, and the sword; or were carried captive; or made their escape; so that the city, as was foretold it should, came to be without any inhabitant; and therefore is represented as "sitting", which is the posture of mourners; and as "solitary", or "alone" g, like a menstruous woman in her separation, to which it is compared, Lamentations 1:17; or as a leper removed from the society of men; so the Targum,

"as a man that has the plague of leprosy on his flesh, that dwells alone;''

or rather as a woman deprived of her husband and children; as follows:

[how] is she become as a widow! her king, that was her head and husband, being taken from her, and carried captive; and God, who was the husband also of the Jewish people, having departed from them, and so left in a state of widowhood. Jarchi h observes, that it is not said a widow simply, but as a widow, because her husband would return again; and therefore only during this state of captivity she was like one; but Broughton takes the "caph" not to be a note of similitude, but of reality; and renders it, "she is become a very widow". Vespasian, when he had conquered Judea, struck a medal, on one side of which was a woman sitting under a palm tree in a plaintive and pensive posture, with this inscription, "Judea Capta", as Grotius observes:

she [that was] great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, [how] is she become tributary! that ruled over many nations, having subdued them, and to whom they paid tribute, as the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, in the times of David and Solomon; but since obliged to pay tribute herself, first to Pharaohnecho, king of Egypt; then to the king of Babylon in the times of Jehoiakim; and last of all in the times of Zedekiah; so the Targum,

"she that was great among the people, and ruled over the provinces that paid tribute to her, returns to be depressed; and after this to give tribute to them.''

f De Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 9. sect. 3. g בדד "sola", V. L. Montanus. h E Talmud Bab. Sanhedrin. fol. 104. 1. & Taanith, fol. 20. 1.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.   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.

      Those that have any disposition to weep with those that weep, one would think, should scarcely be able to refrain from tears at the reading of these verses, so very pathetic are the lamentations here.

      I. The miseries of Jerusalem are here complained of as very pressing and by many circumstances very much aggravated. Let us take a view of these miseries.

      1. As to their civil state. (1.) A city that was populous is now depopulated, Lamentations 2:1; Lamentations 2:1. It is spoken of by way of wonder--Who would have thought that ever it should come to this! Or by way of enquiry--What is it that has brought it to this? Or by way of lamentation--Alas! alas! (as Revelation 18:10; Revelation 18:16; Revelation 18:19) how doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! She was full of her own people that replenished her, and full of the people of other nations that resorted to her, with whom she had both profitable commerce and pleasant converse; but now her own people are carried into captivity, and strangers make no court to her: she sits solitary. The chief places of the city are not now, as they used to be, place of concourse, where wisdom cried (Proverbs 1:20; Proverbs 1:21); and justly are they left unfrequented, because wisdom's cry there was not heard. Note, Those that are ever so much increased God can soon diminish. How has she become as a widow! Her king that was, or should have been, as a husband to her, is cut off, and gone; her God has departed from her, and has given her a bill of divorce; she is emptied of her children, is solitary and sorrowful as a widow. Let no family, no state, not Jerusalem, no, nor Babylon herself, be secure, and say, I sit as a queen, and shall never sit as a widow,Isaiah 47:8; Revelation 18:7. (2.) A city that had dominion is now in subjection. She had been great among the nations, greatly loved by some and greatly feared by others, and greatly observed and obeyed by both; some made her presents, and others paid her taxes; so that she was really princess among the provinces, and every sheaf bowed to hers; even the princes of the people entreated her favour. But now the tables are turned; she has not only lost her friends and sits solitary, but has lost her freedom too and sits tributary; she paid tribute to Egypt first and then to Babylon. Note, Sin brings a people not only into solitude, but into slavery. (3.) A city that used to be full of mirth has now become melancholy and upon all accounts full of grief. Jerusalem had been a joyous city, whither the tribes went up on purpose to rejoice before the Lord; she was the joy of the whole earth, but now she weeps sorely, her laughter if turned into mourning, her solemn feasts are all gone; she weeps in the night, as true mourners do who weep in secret, in silence and solitude; in the night, when others compose themselves to rest, her thoughts are most intent upon her troubles, and grief then plays the tyrant. What the prophet's head was for her, when she regarded it not, now her head is--as waters, and her eyes fountains of tears, so that she weeps day and night (Jeremiah 9:1); her tears are continually on her cheeks. Though nothing dries away sooner than a tear, yet fresh griefs extort fresh tears, so that her cheeks are never free from them. Note, There is nothing more commonly seen under the sun than the tears of the oppressed, with whom the clouds return after the rain,Ecclesiastes 4:1. (4.) Those that were separated from the heathen now dwell among the heathen; those that were a peculiar people are now a mingled people (Lamentations 2:3; Lamentations 2:3): Judah has gone into captivity, out of her own land into the land of her enemies, and there she abides, and is likely to abide, among those that are aliens to God and the covenants of promise, with whom she finds no rest, no satisfaction of mind, nor any settlement of abode, but is continually hurried from place to place at the will of the victorious imperious tyrants. And again (Lamentations 2:5; Lamentations 2:5): "Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy; those that were to have been the seed of the next generation are carried off; so that the land that is now desolate is likely to be still desolate and lost for want of heirs." Those that dwell among their own people, and that a free people, and in their own land, would be more thankful for the mercies they thereby enjoy if they would but consider the miseries of those that are forced into strange countries. (5.) Those that used in their wars to conquer are now conquered and triumphed over: All her persecutors overlook her between the straits (Lamentations 2:3; Lamentations 2:3); they gained all possible advantages against her, sot hat her people unavoidably fell into the hand of the enemy, for there was no way to escape (Lamentations 2:7; Lamentations 2:7); they were hemmed in on every side, and, which way soever they attempted to flee, they found themselves embarrassed. When they made the best of their way they could make nothing of it, but were overtaken and overcome; so that every where her adversaries are the chief and her enemies prosper (Lamentations 2:5; Lamentations 2:5); which way soever their sword turns they get the better. Such straits do men bring themselves into by sin. If we allow that which is our greatest adversary and enemy to have dominion over us, and to be chief in us, justly will our other enemies be suffered to have dominion over us. (6.) Those that had been not only a distinguished by a dignified people, on whom God had put honour, and to whom all their neighbours had paid respect, are now brought into contempt (Lamentations 2:8; Lamentations 2:8): All that honoured her before despise her; those that courted an alliance with her now value it not; those that caressed her when she was in pomp and prosperity slight her now that she is in distress, because they have seen her nakedness. By the prevalency of the enemies against her they perceive her weakness, and that she is not so strong a people as they thought she had been; and by the prevalency of God's judgments against her they perceive her wickedness, which now comes to light and is every where talked of. Now it appears how they have vilified themselves by their sins: The enemies magnify themselves against them (Lamentations 2:9; Lamentations 2:9); they trample upon them, and insult over them, and in their eyes they have become vile, the tail of the nations, though once they were the head. Note, Sin is the reproach of any people. (7.) Those that lived in a fruitful land were ready to perish, and many of them did perish, for want of necessary food (Lamentations 2:11; Lamentations 2:11): All her people sigh in despondency and despair; they are ready to faint away; their spirits fail, and therefore they sigh, for they seek bread and seek it in vain. They were brought at last to that extremity that there was no bread for the people of the land (Jeremiah 52:6), and in their captivity they had much ado to get break, Lamentations 5:6; Lamentations 5:6. They have given their pleasant things, their jewels and pictures, and all the furniture of their closets and cabinets, which they used to please themselves with looking upon, they have sold these to buy bread for themselves and their families, have parted with them for meat to relieve the soul, or (as the margin is) to make the soul come again, when they were ready to faint away. They desired no other cordial than meat. All that a man has will he give for life, and for break, which is the staff of life. Let those that abound in pleasant things not be proud of them, nor fond of them; for the time may come when they may be glad to let them go for necessary things. And let those that have competent food to relieve their soul be content with it, and thankful for it, though they have not pleasant things.

      2. We have here an account of their miseries in their ecclesiastical state, the ruin of their sacred interest, which was much more to be lamented than that of their secular concerns. (1.) Their religious feasts were no more observed, no more frequented (Lamentations 2:4; Lamentations 2:4): The ways of Zion do mourn; they look melancholy, overgrown with grass and weeds. It used to be a pleasant diversion to see people continually passing and repassing in the highway that led to the temple, but now you may stand there long enough, and see nobody stir; for none come to the solemn feasts; a full end is put to them by the destruction of that which was the city of our solemnities,Isaiah 33:20. The solemn feasts had been neglected and profaned (Isaiah 1:11; Isaiah 1:12), and therefore justly is an end now put to them. But, when thus the ways of Zion are made to mourn, all the sons of Zion cannot but mourn with them. It is very grievous to good men to see religious assemblies broken up and scattered, and those restrained from them that would gladly attend them. And, as the ways of Zion mourned, so the gates of Zion, in which the faithful worshippers used to meet, are desolate; for there is none to meet in them. Time was when the Lord loved the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob, but now he has forsaken them, and is provoked to withdraw from them, and therefore it cannot but fare with them as it did with the temple when Christ quitted it. Behold, you house is left unto you desolate,Matthew 23:38. (2.) Their religious persons were quite disabled from performing their wonted services, were quite dispirited: Her priests sigh for the desolations of the temple; their songs are turned into sighs; they sigh, for they have nothing to do, and therefore there is nothing to be had; they sigh, as the people (Lamentations 2:11; Lamentations 2:11), for want of bread, because the offerings of the Lord, which were their livelihood, failed. It is time to sigh when the priests, the Lord's ministers, sigh. Her virgins also, that used, with their music and dancing, to grace the solemnities of their feasts, are afflicted and in heaviness. Notice is taken of their service in the day of Zion's prosperity (Psalms 68:25, Among them were the damsels playing with timbrels), and therefore notice is taken of the failing of it now. Her virgins are afflicted, and therefore she is in bitterness; that is, all the inhabitants of Zion are so, whose character it is that they are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, and that to them the reproach of it is a burden,Zephaniah 3:18. (3.) Their religious places were profaned (Lamentations 2:10; Lamentations 2:10): The heathen entered into her sanctuary, into the temple itself, into which no Israelite was permitted to enter, though ever so reverently and devoutly, but the priests only. The stranger that comes nigh, even to worship there, shall be put to death. Thither the heathen now crows rudely in, not to worship, but to plunder. God had commanded that the heathen should not so much as enter into the congregation, nor be incorporated with the people of the Jews (Deuteronomy 23:3); yet now they enter into the sanctuary without control. Note, Nothing is more grievous to those who have a true concern for the glory of God, nor is more lamented, than the violation of God's laws, and the contempt they see put upon sacred things. What the enemy did wickedly in the sanctuary was complained of, Psalms 74:3; Psalms 74:4. (4.) Their religious utensils, and all the rich things with which the temple was adorned and beautified, and which were made use of in the worship of God, were made a prey to the enemy (Lamentations 2:10; Lamentations 2:10): The adversary has spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things, has grasped them all, seized them all, for himself. What these pleasant things are we may learn from Isaiah 64:11, where, to the complaint of the burning of the temple, it is added, All our pleasant things are laid waste; the ark and the altar, and all the other tokens of God's presence with them, these were their pleasant things above any other things, and these were now broken to pieces and carried away. Thus from the daughter of Zion all her beauty has departed,Lamentations 2:6; Lamentations 2:6. The beauty of holiness was the beauty of the daughter of Zion; when the temple, that holy and beautiful house, was destroyed, her beauty was gone; that was the breaking of the staff of beauty, the taking away of the pledges and seals of the covenant, Zechariah 11:10. (5.) Their religious days were made a jest of (Lamentations 2:7; Lamentations 2:7): The adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths. They laughed at them for observing one day in seven as a day of rest from worldly business. Juvenal, a heathen poet, ridicules the Jews in his time for losing a seventh part of their time:--

whereas sabbaths, if they be sanctified as they ought to be, will turn to a better account than all the days of the week besides. And whereas the Jews professed that they did it in obedience to their God, and to his honour, their adversaries asked them, "What do you get by it now? What profit have you in keeping the ordinances of your God, who now deserts you in your distress?" Note, it is a very great trouble to all that love God to hear his ordinances mocked at, and particularly his sabbaths. Zion calls them her sabbaths, for the sabbath was made for men; they are his institutions, but they are her privileges; and the contempt put upon sabbaths all the sons of Zion take to themselves and lay to heart accordingly; nor will they look upon sabbaths, or any other divine ordinances, as less honourable, nor value them less, for their being mocked at. (6.) That which greatly aggravated all these grievances was that her state at present was just the reverse of what it had been formerly, Lamentations 2:7; Lamentations 2:7. Now, in the days of affliction and misery, when every thing was black and dismal, she remembers all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, and now knows how to value them better than formerly, when she had the full enjoyment of them. God often makes us know the worth of mercies by the want of them; and adversity is borne with the greatest difficulty by those that have fallen into it from the height of prosperity. This cut David to the heart, when he was banished from God's ordinances, that he could remember when he went with the multitude to the house of God,Psalms 42:4.

      II. The sins of Jerusalem are here complained of as the procuring provoking cause of all these calamities. Whoever are the instruments, God is the author of all these troubles; it is the Lord that has afflicted her (Lamentations 2:5; Lamentations 2:5) and he has done it as a righteous Judge, for she has sinned. 1. Her sins are for number numberless. Are her troubles many? Her sins are many more. it is for the multitude of her transgressions that the Lord has afflicted her. See Jeremiah 30:14. When the transgressions of a people are multiplied we cannot say, as Job does in his own case, that wounds are multiplied without cause,Job 9:17. 2. They are for nature exceedingly heinous (Lamentations 2:8; Lamentations 2:8): Jerusalem has grievously sinned, has sinned sin (so the word is), sinned wilfully, deliberately, has sinned that sin which of all others is the abominable things that the Lord hates, the sin of idolatry. The sins of Jerusalem, that makes such a profession and enjoys such privileges, are of all others the most grievous sins. She has sinned grievously (Lamentations 2:8; Lamentations 2:8), and therefore (Lamentations 2:9; Lamentations 2:9) she came down wonderfully. note, Grievous sins bring wondrous ruin; there are some workers of iniquity to whom there is a strange punishment, Job 31:3. They are such sins as may plainly be read in the punishment. (1.) They have been very oppressive and therefore are justly oppressed (Lamentations 2:3; Lamentations 2:3): Judah has gone into captivity, and it is because of affliction and great servitude, because the rich among them afflicted the poor and made them serve with rigour, and particularly (as the Chaldee paraphrases it) because they had oppressed their Hebrew servants, which is charged upon them, Jeremiah 34:11. Oppression was one of their crying sins (Jeremiah 6:6; Jeremiah 6:7) and it is a sin that cries aloud. (2.) They have made themselves vile, and therefore are justly vilified. They all despise her (Lamentations 2:8; Lamentations 2:8), for her filthiness is in her skirts; it appears upon her garments that she has rolled them in the mire of sin. None could stain our glory if we did not stain it ourselves. (3.) They have been very secure and therefore are justly surprised with this ruin (Lamentations 2:9; Lamentations 2:9): She remembers not her last end; she did not take the warning that was given her to consider her latter end, to consider what would be the end of such wicked courses as she took, and therefore she came down wonderfully, in an astonishing manner, that she might be made to feel what she would not fear; therefore God shall make their plagues wonderful.

      III. Jerusalem's friends are here complained of as false and faint-hearted, and very unkind: They have all dealt treacherously with her (Lamentations 2:2; Lamentations 2:2), so that, in effect, they have become here enemies. Her deceivers have created her as much vexation as her destroyers. The staff that breaks under us may do us as great a mischief as the staff that beats us,Ezekiel 29:6; Ezekiel 29:7. Her princes, that should have protected her, have not courage enough to make head against the enemy for their own preservation; they are like harts, that, upon the first alarm, betake themselves to flight and make no resistance; nay, they are like harts that are famished for want of pasture, and therefore are gone without strength before the pursuer, and, having no strength for flight, are soon run down and made a prey of. Her neighbours are unneighbourly, for, 1. There is none to help her (Lamentations 2:7; Lamentations 2:7); either they could not or they would not; nay, 2. She has not comforter, none to sympathize with her, or suggest any thing to alleviate her griefs, Lamentations 2:7; Lamentations 2:9. Like Job's friends, they saw it was to no purpose, her grief was so great; and miserable comforters were they all in such a case.

      IV. Jerusalem's God is here complained to concerning all these things, and all is referred to his compassionate consideration (Lamentations 2:9; Lamentations 2:9): "O Lord! behold my affliction, and take cognizance of it;" and (Lamentations 2:11; Lamentations 2:11), "See, O Lord! and consider, take order about it." Note, The only way to make ourselves easy under our burdens is to cast them upon God first, and leave it to him to do with us as seemeth him good.