ⓘChapter 1 mourns the destruction and desolation of...
Chapter 1 mourns the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem, recognizing that this was God’s well-deserved judgment on Israel’s sins.
1How† lonely lies the city,once so full of people!She who was great among the nationshas become a widow.The princess of the provinceshas become a slave.2She weeps aloud in the night,with tears upon her cheeks.Among all her loversthere is no one to comfort her.All her friends have betrayed her;they have become her enemies.3Judah has gone into exileunder affliction and harsh slavery;she dwells among the nationsbut finds no place to rest.All her pursuers have overtaken herin the midst of her distress.4The roads to Zion mourn,because no one comes to her appointed feasts.All her gates are deserted;her priests groan,her maidens grieve,and she herself is bitter with anguish.5Her foes have become her masters;her enemies are at ease.For the LORD has brought her griefbecause of her many transgressions.Her children have gone awayas captives before the enemy.6All the splendor has departedfrom the Daughter of Zion.Her princes are like deerthat find no pasture;they lack the strength to fleein the face of the hunter.7In the days of her affliction and wanderingJerusalem remembers all the treasuresthat were hers in days of old.When her people fell into enemy handsshe received no help.Her enemies looked upon her,laughing at her downfall.ⓘJerusalem was stripped of everything of physical and...
Jerusalem was stripped of everything of physical and spiritual value that the people cherished.
8Jerusalemhas sinned greatly;therefore she has become an object of scorn.All who honored her now despise her,for they have seen her nakedness;†she herself groans and turns away.9Her uncleannessstains her skirts;she did not consider her end.Her downfall was astounding;there was no one to comfort her.Look, O LORD, on my affliction,for the enemy has triumphed!10The adversary has seizedall her treasures.For she has seen the nationsenter her sanctuary—those You had forbiddento enter Your assembly.11All her people groanas they search for bread.They have traded their treasures for foodto keep themselves alive.Look, O LORD, and consider,for I have become despised.12Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by?Look around and see!Is there any sorrow like mine,which was inflicted on me,which the LORD made me sufferon the day of His fierce anger?13He sent fire from on high,and it overpowered my bones.He spread a net for my feetand turned me back.He made me desolate,faint all the day long.14My transgressions are bound into a yoke,†knit together by His hand;they are draped over my neck,and the Lord has broken my strength.He has delivered me into the handsof those I cannot withstand.15The Lord has rejectedall the mighty men in my midst;He has summoned an army against me†to crush my young warriors.Like grapes in a winepress,the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.16For these things I weep;my eyes flow with tears.For there is no one nearby to comfort me,no one to revive my soul.My children are destitutebecause the enemy has prevailed.17Zion stretches out her hands,but there is no one to comfort her.The LORD has decreed against Jacobthat his neighbors become his foes.Jerusalem has becomean unclean thing among them.18The LORD is righteous,yet I rebelled against His command.Listen, all you people;look upon my suffering.My young men and maidenshave gone into captivity.19I called out to my lovers,but they have betrayed me.My priests and eldersperished in the citywhile they searched for foodto keep themselves alive.20See, O LORD, how distressed I am!I am churning within;my heart is pounding within me,for I have been most rebellious.Outside, the sword bereaves;inside, there is death.21People have heard my groaning,but there is no one to comfort me.All my enemies have heard of my trouble;they are glad that You have caused it.May You bring the day You have announced,so that they may become like me.22Let all their wickedness come before You,and deal with themas You have dealt with mebecause of all my transgressions.For my groans are many,and my heart is faint.
Commentary
Lamentations 1:2
The lovers were the fertility deities, Baal and Asherah, who were worshiped by most people in Judah. Her friends were her military allies, notably Egypt, who was no match for Babylon (Jer 37:5–11).
Jerusalem (Hebrew Zion): In the Psalms and in the prophetic books, Zion represents the city of Jerusalem. In Lamentations, Zion is a poetic name for the city, even in ruins. Hebrews 12:22–24 speaks of the heavenly Zion (see also Rev 14:1–5).
The annual festivals in Jerusalem were the Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Harvest, Harvest (Pentecost), Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Shelters (Tabernacles).
The main duties of the priests were carried out in the Temple and its surrounding area. Since the Temple was in ruins, they had no jobs and hence no future.
The destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians was like fire from heaven.
Commentary
Lamentations 1:14
For their sins, the people of Judah were tied to one another with ropes and taken as captives into exile.
Commentary
Lamentations 1:15
his beloved city: God had given special care to Jerusalem, like a father protecting his daughter. But her sins had been persistent, and her punishment was horrible.
like grapes . . . trampled in a winepress: This common procedure for extracting juice from grapes is used vividly in Isa 63:3 to show the horrors of punishment. In Rev 14:18–20; 19:15, the image graphically represents universal judgment.
Commentary
Lamentations 1:19
I begged my allies: Egypt had a great deal of interest in Judah because Judah controlled the only good route to the north. However, Egypt turned her back on Judah when Babylon attacked Jerusalem (Jer 37:5–11).
When there was little rain in the fall and spring in Palestine, a summer without rain could destroy crops and cause a food shortage. The food supply also ran out under the prolonged siege of a city (Jan 588–July 586 BC), and many people starved to death (2 Kgs 25:2–3; cp. Jer 37:21).
Commentary
Lamentations 1:20
The leaders and people of Judah had rebelled (Jer 2:17; 5:6, 23) by rejecting the one true God and his commandments and by resisting the invaders God had sent (2 Kgs 24:1, 20; 2 Chr 36:13).