Lamentations · Chapter 5

Verse 1. Remember, O Lord] In the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, this is headed, “The prayer of Jeremiah.” In my old MS. Bible: Here bigynneth the orison of Jeremye the prophete.

Though this chapter consists of exactly twenty-two verses, the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, yet the acrostic form is no longer observed. Perhaps any thing so technical was not thought proper when in agony and distress (under a sense of God’s displeasure on account of sin) they prostrated themselves before him to ask for mercy. Be this as it may, no attempt appears to have been made to throw these verses into the form of the preceding chapters. It is properly a solemn prayer of all the people, stating their past and present sufferings, and praying for God’s mercy. Behold our reproach.] cybh hebita. But many MSS. of Kennicott’s, and the oldest of my own, add the h he, paragogic, hcybh hebitah, “Look down earnestly with commiseration;” for paragogic letters always increase the sense.

Verses 1-6. Consider, and behold our reproach — Which we suffer from the heathen nations. Our inheritance is turned to strangers — Namely, to the Babylonians and others, to whom our lands are given. We are orphans and fatherless — All the chief men being carried away to Babylon, lest they should make any fresh attempts to shake off the Babylonish yoke, all that were left in Judea were poor people, destitute of almost every thing. We have drunk our water for money, &c. — When our country was in our own possession, we had free use of water and wood, both which we are now forced to buy. Our necks are under persecution — We are become slaves to our enemies, who make us labour incessantly. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, &c. — We have been obliged to stretch out our hands to the Egyptians and Assyrians for bread to support us. Whether the expression here used implies their begging it of them, or buying it with money, is not quite plain.

THE GENERAL DISTRESS, 1-7.

1. What is come — Better, what hath happened to us. This is more fully explained by the term reproach; and this, in turn, by the sad recital which follows.

Verse 2. Our inheritance is turned to strangers] The greater part of the Jews were either slain or carried away captive; and even those who were left under Gedaliah were not free, for they were vassals to the Chaldeans.

Verses 1-6. Consider, and behold our reproach — Which we suffer from the heathen nations. Our inheritance is turned to strangers — Namely, to the Babylonians and others, to whom our lands are given. We are orphans and fatherless — All the chief men being carried away to Babylon, lest they should make any fresh attempts to shake off the Babylonish yoke, all that were left in Judea were poor people, destitute of almost every thing. We have drunk our water for money, &c. — When our country was in our own possession, we had free use of water and wood, both which we are now forced to buy. Our necks are under persecution — We are become slaves to our enemies, who make us labour incessantly. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, &c. — We have been obliged to stretch out our hands to the Egyptians and Assyrians for bread to support us. Whether the expression here used implies their begging it of them, or buying it with money, is not quite plain.

2. Our inheritance… to strangers — This has a woful meaning to the Jew. The land was to him the special gift of God, and his occupation of it a visible proof of the faithful covenant of Jehovah. For aliens, then, to gain possession of their inheritance and their houses was violently to annul this covenant, and so to take away their faith as well as their possessions.

V. 3. We-We are all of us without a king, (our common father) we are deprived of thy fatherly protection, and many young children among us are left without an earthly parent.

Verses 1-6. Consider, and behold our reproach — Which we suffer from the heathen nations. Our inheritance is turned to strangers — Namely, to the Babylonians and others, to whom our lands are given. We are orphans and fatherless — All the chief men being carried away to Babylon, lest they should make any fresh attempts to shake off the Babylonish yoke, all that were left in Judea were poor people, destitute of almost every thing. We have drunk our water for money, &c. — When our country was in our own possession, we had free use of water and wood, both which we are now forced to buy. Our necks are under persecution — We are become slaves to our enemies, who make us labour incessantly. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, &c. — We have been obliged to stretch out our hands to the Egyptians and Assyrians for bread to support us. Whether the expression here used implies their begging it of them, or buying it with money, is not quite plain.

3. Fatherless — Without a father. Many expositors find here a specific meaning, and understand by the term father, king; and others understand by mothers, the cities of Judah. But this is unnecessary, not to say puerile. The meaning simply is: We are desolate and bereaved, like children without parents, or a wife mourning the loss of her husband.

V. 4. Sold-Whereas at other times there was abundance of wood and water throughout Judea.

Verse 4. We have drunken our water for money] I suppose the meaning of this is, that every thing was taxed by the Chaldeans, and that they kept the management in their own hands, so that wood and water were both sold, the people not being permitted to help themselves. They were now so lowly reduced by servitude, that they were obliged to pay dearly for those things which formerly were common and of no price. A poor Hindoo in the country never buys fire-wood, but when he comes to the city he is obliged to purchase his fuel, and considers it as a matter of great hardship.

Verses 1-6. Consider, and behold our reproach — Which we suffer from the heathen nations. Our inheritance is turned to strangers — Namely, to the Babylonians and others, to whom our lands are given. We are orphans and fatherless — All the chief men being carried away to Babylon, lest they should make any fresh attempts to shake off the Babylonish yoke, all that were left in Judea were poor people, destitute of almost every thing. We have drunk our water for money, &c. — When our country was in our own possession, we had free use of water and wood, both which we are now forced to buy. Our necks are under persecution — We are become slaves to our enemies, who make us labour incessantly. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, &c. — We have been obliged to stretch out our hands to the Egyptians and Assyrians for bread to support us. Whether the expression here used implies their begging it of them, or buying it with money, is not quite plain.

4. Our water for money, etc. — These are illustrations of the hardships they were experiencing. Such absolute necessities of life could be had by them only on the payment of money. And what greatly enhanced the bitterness of this complaint was, that they had to buy what was rightfully their own. In this not only is there distress and hardship, but a sense of degradation and wrong.

Verse 5. Our necks are under persecution] We feel the yoke of our bondage; we are driven to our work like the bullock, which has a yoke upon his neck.

Verses 1-6. Consider, and behold our reproach — Which we suffer from the heathen nations. Our inheritance is turned to strangers — Namely, to the Babylonians and others, to whom our lands are given. We are orphans and fatherless — All the chief men being carried away to Babylon, lest they should make any fresh attempts to shake off the Babylonish yoke, all that were left in Judea were poor people, destitute of almost every thing. We have drunk our water for money, &c. — When our country was in our own possession, we had free use of water and wood, both which we are now forced to buy. Our necks are under persecution — We are become slaves to our enemies, who make us labour incessantly. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, &c. — We have been obliged to stretch out our hands to the Egyptians and Assyrians for bread to support us. Whether the expression here used implies their begging it of them, or buying it with money, is not quite plain.

5. Our necks are under persecution, etc. — More literally, On our necks we are persecuted. That is, our pursuers follow us so closely as to be on our very necks. We labour — Rather, are wearied, a necessary consequence of this hot and relentless pursuit.

V. 6. We-The ten tribes were all carried captives into Assyria, and many of the kingdom of Judah fled into Egypt. Giving the hand may signify labouring for them: or, yielding up themselves to their power.

Verse 6. We have given the hand to the Egyptians] We have sought alliances both with the Egyptians and Assyrians, and made covenants with them in order to get the necessaries of life. Or, wherever we are now driven, we are obliged to submit to the people of the countries in order to the preservation of our lives.

Verses 1-6. Consider, and behold our reproach — Which we suffer from the heathen nations. Our inheritance is turned to strangers — Namely, to the Babylonians and others, to whom our lands are given. We are orphans and fatherless — All the chief men being carried away to Babylon, lest they should make any fresh attempts to shake off the Babylonish yoke, all that were left in Judea were poor people, destitute of almost every thing. We have drunk our water for money, &c. — When our country was in our own possession, we had free use of water and wood, both which we are now forced to buy. Our necks are under persecution — We are become slaves to our enemies, who make us labour incessantly. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, &c. — We have been obliged to stretch out our hands to the Egyptians and Assyrians for bread to support us. Whether the expression here used implies their begging it of them, or buying it with money, is not quite plain.

6. We have given the hand — Namely, as a sign of submission and subjection, in order to procure bread.

V. 7. Their iniquities-The punishment of them.

Verse 7. Our fathers have sinned, and are not] Nations, as such, cannot be punished in the other world; therefore national judgments are to be looked for only in this life. The punishment which the Jewish nation had been meriting for a series of years came now upon them, because they copied and increased the sins of their fathers, and the cup of their iniquity was full. Thus the children might be said to bear the sins of the fathers, that is, in temporal punishment, for in no other way does God visit these upon the children. See Ezekiel 18:1, &c.

Verses 7-10. Our fathers have sinned, and are not — Death hath secured our fathers from these evils, though they had sinned; but the punishment they escaped, we suffer in the most grievous degree: see note on Jeremiah 31:29. The expression, is not, or, are not, is often used of those who are departed out of this world, Genesis 42:13. Servants have ruled over us — Servants to the great men among the Chaldeans, and other strangers, are become our masters, Nehemiah 5:15. We gat our bread with the peril of our lives, &c. — It was at the hazard of our lives that we brought in the grain out of the fields, on account of the robbers who infested the country. Blaney thinks that the prophet refers here to the incursions of the Arabian free-booters, who, he supposes, might not be improperly styled, the sword of the wilderness, to whose depredations the people, on account of their weak and helpless state, were continually exposed, while they followed their necessary business. Our skin was black like an oven — Famine and other hardships changed the very colour of our countenances.

7. Our fathers… we have borne their iniquities — They sinned, but died before the times were ripe for the punishment of the nation, hence we suffer for their sins. Not that they themselves were innocent, but they suffer not only for their own sins but also for those of their progenitors.

Verse 8. Servants have ruled over us] To be subject to such is the most painful and dishonourable bondage:—

Quio domini faciant, audent cum talia fures?

Virg. Ecl. iii. 16.

“Since slaves so insolent are grown,

What may not masters do?”

Perhaps he here alludes to the Chaldean soldiers, whose will the wretched Jews were obliged to obey.

Verses 7-10. Our fathers have sinned, and are not — Death hath secured our fathers from these evils, though they had sinned; but the punishment they escaped, we suffer in the most grievous degree: see note on Jeremiah 31:29. The expression, is not, or, are not, is often used of those who are departed out of this world, Genesis 42:13. Servants have ruled over us — Servants to the great men among the Chaldeans, and other strangers, are become our masters, Nehemiah 5:15. We gat our bread with the peril of our lives, &c. — It was at the hazard of our lives that we brought in the grain out of the fields, on account of the robbers who infested the country. Blaney thinks that the prophet refers here to the incursions of the Arabian free-booters, who, he supposes, might not be improperly styled, the sword of the wilderness, to whose depredations the people, on account of their weak and helpless state, were continually exposed, while they followed their necessary business. Our skin was black like an oven — Famine and other hardships changed the very colour of our countenances.

INDIVIDUALIZING ILLUSTRATIONS, 8-18.

8. Servants (slaves) have ruled over us — Who were these “servants?” The Chaldean soldiers, servants of Nebuchadrezzar, (Rosenmuller, etc.;) the Chaldeans, but recently tributary to the Assyrians, (Kaltschmidt, quoted by Keil,) the Chaldean satraps, servants of the king of Babylon, (Ewald;) slaves employed as overseers and task-masters of the captives on the march, (Nagelsbach.) Better is it to recognise in the word a bitter allusion to the fact that in oriental countries, at this time, it was not unusual for slaves to come to high office, as is illustrated in the cases of Joseph and Daniel. In a rude and comparatively unorganized condition of society personal skill and physical prowess sometimes overbear all other considerations, and bring their possessors to places of power.

V. 9. The sword-The enemies lay encamped in all the plains, so that they could stir out no way but the sword of the Chaldeans was upon them.

Verse 9. We gat our bread with the peril of our lives] They could not go into the wilderness to feed their cattle, or to get the necessaries of life, without being harassed and plundered by marauding parties, and by these were often exposed to the peril of their lives. This was predicted by Moses, Deuteronomy 28:31.

Verses 7-10. Our fathers have sinned, and are not — Death hath secured our fathers from these evils, though they had sinned; but the punishment they escaped, we suffer in the most grievous degree: see note on Jeremiah 31:29. The expression, is not, or, are not, is often used of those who are departed out of this world, Genesis 42:13. Servants have ruled over us — Servants to the great men among the Chaldeans, and other strangers, are become our masters, Nehemiah 5:15. We gat our bread with the peril of our lives, &c. — It was at the hazard of our lives that we brought in the grain out of the fields, on account of the robbers who infested the country. Blaney thinks that the prophet refers here to the incursions of the Arabian free-booters, who, he supposes, might not be improperly styled, the sword of the wilderness, to whose depredations the people, on account of their weak and helpless state, were continually exposed, while they followed their necessary business. Our skin was black like an oven — Famine and other hardships changed the very colour of our countenances.

9. Sword of the wilderness — This alludes to the predatory Bedouins, who sometimes strip a whole district of its herds and its harvests in a single day.

Verse 10. Our skin was black—because of the terrible famine.] Because of the searching winds that burnt up every green thing, destroying vegetation, and in consequence producing a famine.

Verses 7-10. Our fathers have sinned, and are not — Death hath secured our fathers from these evils, though they had sinned; but the punishment they escaped, we suffer in the most grievous degree: see note on Jeremiah 31:29. The expression, is not, or, are not, is often used of those who are departed out of this world, Genesis 42:13. Servants have ruled over us — Servants to the great men among the Chaldeans, and other strangers, are become our masters, Nehemiah 5:15. We gat our bread with the peril of our lives, &c. — It was at the hazard of our lives that we brought in the grain out of the fields, on account of the robbers who infested the country. Blaney thinks that the prophet refers here to the incursions of the Arabian free-booters, who, he supposes, might not be improperly styled, the sword of the wilderness, to whose depredations the people, on account of their weak and helpless state, were continually exposed, while they followed their necessary business. Our skin was black like an oven — Famine and other hardships changed the very colour of our countenances.

10. Our skin was black — The word rendered “black” occurs in three other passages, namely, in Genesis 43:30, and 1 Kings 3:26, in both which places it is translated “yearned;” and in Hosea 11:8, where it is rendered “kindled.” The use of the word oven, or furnace, seems decisive for this last sense in this place; though Furst says, “The explanation of Kimchi, ‘to grow warm,’ is only conjectural.” The allusion is to the fever produced by famine, and the clause should read, Our skin glows like an oven, because of the fever of famine.

Verse 11. They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.] The evil mentioned here was predicted by Moses, Deuteronomy 28:30, 32, and by Jeremiah, Jeremiah 6:12.

11-13. Ravished the women — In those verses we have individualizing illustrations of the unhappy lot of the people. The women are dishonoured, (literally, humbled;) princes are put to death and their dead bodies hanged up by their hand to expose them to public contumely. The… elders were not honoured — An utter violation of all that is most sacred in oriental life; and young men and children are put to the most servile work; literally, they bear the mill and fall under the wood.

Verse 12. Princes are hanged up by their hand] It is very probable that this was a species of punishment. They were suspended from hooks in the wall by their hands till they died through torture and exhaustion. The body of Saul was fastened to the wall of Bethshan, probably in the same way; but his head had already been taken off. They were hung in this way that they might be devoured by the fowls of the air. It was a custom with the Persians after they had slain, strangled, or beheaded their enemies, to hang their bodies upon poles, or empale them. In this way they treated Histiæus of Miletum, and Leonidas of Lacedæmon. See Herodot. lib. vi. c. 30, lib. vii. c. 238.

Verses 12-16. Princes are hanged up by their hand — By the hand of their enemies. They took the young men to grind — To grind at the mill was the common employment of slaves, Exodus 11:5. The children fell under the wood — They made children turn the handle of the mill till they fell down through weariness: so some explain it with relation to the former part of the verse. But the expression may be understood of making them carry such heavy burdens of wood that they fainted under the load. The elders have ceased from the gate — The elders no more sit in the gates of the cities, to administer justice to every one, and keep things in order. The young men from their music — Those songs of mirth and joy which used to be heard in our nation are heard no longer. The joy of our heart is ceased — Since the enemy came in upon us like a flood, we have been strangers to all comfort. Our dance is turned into mourning — Instead of leaping for joy, as formerly, we sink and lie down in sorrow. This may refer especially to the joy of their solemn feasts: this was now turned into mourning, which was doubled on their festival days, in remembrance of their former delights and comforts. The crown is fallen from our head — At their feasts, at their marriages, and other seasons of festivity, they used to crown themselves with flowers. The prophet most probably alludes to this custom, as we may gather from the preceding verses. The general meaning is, “All our glory is at an end, together with the advantages of being thy people, and enjoying thy presence, by which we were distinguished from the rest of the world.” — Lowth.

11-13. Ravished the women — In those verses we have individualizing illustrations of the unhappy lot of the people. The women are dishonoured, (literally, humbled;) princes are put to death and their dead bodies hanged up by their hand to expose them to public contumely. The… elders were not honoured — An utter violation of all that is most sacred in oriental life; and young men and children are put to the most servile work; literally, they bear the mill and fall under the wood.

V. 13. Fell-Not being able to stand under the burdens laid upon them.

Verse 13. They took the young men to grind] This was the work of female slaves. See Clarke’s note on “Isaiah 47:2”.

Verses 12-16. Princes are hanged up by their hand — By the hand of their enemies. They took the young men to grind — To grind at the mill was the common employment of slaves, Exodus 11:5. The children fell under the wood — They made children turn the handle of the mill till they fell down through weariness: so some explain it with relation to the former part of the verse. But the expression may be understood of making them carry such heavy burdens of wood that they fainted under the load. The elders have ceased from the gate — The elders no more sit in the gates of the cities, to administer justice to every one, and keep things in order. The young men from their music — Those songs of mirth and joy which used to be heard in our nation are heard no longer. The joy of our heart is ceased — Since the enemy came in upon us like a flood, we have been strangers to all comfort. Our dance is turned into mourning — Instead of leaping for joy, as formerly, we sink and lie down in sorrow. This may refer especially to the joy of their solemn feasts: this was now turned into mourning, which was doubled on their festival days, in remembrance of their former delights and comforts. The crown is fallen from our head — At their feasts, at their marriages, and other seasons of festivity, they used to crown themselves with flowers. The prophet most probably alludes to this custom, as we may gather from the preceding verses. The general meaning is, “All our glory is at an end, together with the advantages of being thy people, and enjoying thy presence, by which we were distinguished from the rest of the world.” — Lowth.

11-13. Ravished the women — In those verses we have individualizing illustrations of the unhappy lot of the people. The women are dishonoured, (literally, humbled;) princes are put to death and their dead bodies hanged up by their hand to expose them to public contumely. The… elders were not honoured — An utter violation of all that is most sacred in oriental life; and young men and children are put to the most servile work; literally, they bear the mill and fall under the wood.

Verse 14. The elders have ceased from the gate] There is now no more justice administered to the people; they are under military law, or disposed of in every sense according to the caprice of their masters.

Verses 12-16. Princes are hanged up by their hand — By the hand of their enemies. They took the young men to grind — To grind at the mill was the common employment of slaves, Exodus 11:5. The children fell under the wood — They made children turn the handle of the mill till they fell down through weariness: so some explain it with relation to the former part of the verse. But the expression may be understood of making them carry such heavy burdens of wood that they fainted under the load. The elders have ceased from the gate — The elders no more sit in the gates of the cities, to administer justice to every one, and keep things in order. The young men from their music — Those songs of mirth and joy which used to be heard in our nation are heard no longer. The joy of our heart is ceased — Since the enemy came in upon us like a flood, we have been strangers to all comfort. Our dance is turned into mourning — Instead of leaping for joy, as formerly, we sink and lie down in sorrow. This may refer especially to the joy of their solemn feasts: this was now turned into mourning, which was doubled on their festival days, in remembrance of their former delights and comforts. The crown is fallen from our head — At their feasts, at their marriages, and other seasons of festivity, they used to crown themselves with flowers. The prophet most probably alludes to this custom, as we may gather from the preceding verses. The general meaning is, “All our glory is at an end, together with the advantages of being thy people, and enjoying thy presence, by which we were distinguished from the rest of the world.” — Lowth.

14. From the gate — The place for rest and recreation, for business and social converse. In a land in which there were no public houses or public baths the gates were ordinarily the only available places of common resort.

Verses 12-16. Princes are hanged up by their hand — By the hand of their enemies. They took the young men to grind — To grind at the mill was the common employment of slaves, Exodus 11:5. The children fell under the wood — They made children turn the handle of the mill till they fell down through weariness: so some explain it with relation to the former part of the verse. But the expression may be understood of making them carry such heavy burdens of wood that they fainted under the load. The elders have ceased from the gate — The elders no more sit in the gates of the cities, to administer justice to every one, and keep things in order. The young men from their music — Those songs of mirth and joy which used to be heard in our nation are heard no longer. The joy of our heart is ceased — Since the enemy came in upon us like a flood, we have been strangers to all comfort. Our dance is turned into mourning — Instead of leaping for joy, as formerly, we sink and lie down in sorrow. This may refer especially to the joy of their solemn feasts: this was now turned into mourning, which was doubled on their festival days, in remembrance of their former delights and comforts. The crown is fallen from our head — At their feasts, at their marriages, and other seasons of festivity, they used to crown themselves with flowers. The prophet most probably alludes to this custom, as we may gather from the preceding verses. The general meaning is, “All our glory is at an end, together with the advantages of being thy people, and enjoying thy presence, by which we were distinguished from the rest of the world.” — Lowth.

INDIVIDUALIZING ILLUSTRATIONS, 8-18.

8. Servants (slaves) have ruled over us — Who were these “servants?” The Chaldean soldiers, servants of Nebuchadrezzar, (Rosenmuller, etc.;) the Chaldeans, but recently tributary to the Assyrians, (Kaltschmidt, quoted by Keil,) the Chaldean satraps, servants of the king of Babylon, (Ewald;) slaves employed as overseers and task-masters of the captives on the march, (Nagelsbach.) Better is it to recognise in the word a bitter allusion to the fact that in oriental countries, at this time, it was not unusual for slaves to come to high office, as is illustrated in the cases of Joseph and Daniel. In a rude and comparatively unorganized condition of society personal skill and physical prowess sometimes overbear all other considerations, and bring their possessors to places of power.

V. 16. The crown-All our honour, splendor and dignity.

Verse 16. The crown is fallen from our head] At feasts, marriages, &c., they used to crown themselves with garlands of flowers; all festivity of this kind was now at an end. Or it may refer to their having lost all sovereignty, being made slaves.

Verses 12-16. Princes are hanged up by their hand — By the hand of their enemies. They took the young men to grind — To grind at the mill was the common employment of slaves, Exodus 11:5. The children fell under the wood — They made children turn the handle of the mill till they fell down through weariness: so some explain it with relation to the former part of the verse. But the expression may be understood of making them carry such heavy burdens of wood that they fainted under the load. The elders have ceased from the gate — The elders no more sit in the gates of the cities, to administer justice to every one, and keep things in order. The young men from their music — Those songs of mirth and joy which used to be heard in our nation are heard no longer. The joy of our heart is ceased — Since the enemy came in upon us like a flood, we have been strangers to all comfort. Our dance is turned into mourning — Instead of leaping for joy, as formerly, we sink and lie down in sorrow. This may refer especially to the joy of their solemn feasts: this was now turned into mourning, which was doubled on their festival days, in remembrance of their former delights and comforts. The crown is fallen from our head — At their feasts, at their marriages, and other seasons of festivity, they used to crown themselves with flowers. The prophet most probably alludes to this custom, as we may gather from the preceding verses. The general meaning is, “All our glory is at an end, together with the advantages of being thy people, and enjoying thy presence, by which we were distinguished from the rest of the world.” — Lowth.

16. The crown is fallen — The grand summing up of all their disgrace and misery.

Verses 17, 18. For this our heart is faint — And sinks under the load of its own heaviness. Our eyes are dim — See on Lamentations 2:11. Our spirits fail us, and we are almost blind with weeping. Because of the mountain of Zion — The holy mountain, and the temple built upon it. Nothing lies with so heavy a load upon the spirits of good people, as that which threatens the ruin of religion, or weakens the interest thereof: and it is a mark of our possessing saving grace, if we can appeal to God that we are more concerned for his cause than for any temporal interests of our own. The Jews had polluted the mountain of Zion with their sins, and therefore God justly made it desolate; which he did to such a degree that the foxes walked upon it, as freely and commonly as they did in the woods. It is lamentable indeed when the mountain of Zion is made a portion for foxes, Psalm 63:10.

INDIVIDUALIZING ILLUSTRATIONS, 8-18.

8. Servants (slaves) have ruled over us — Who were these “servants?” The Chaldean soldiers, servants of Nebuchadrezzar, (Rosenmuller, etc.;) the Chaldeans, but recently tributary to the Assyrians, (Kaltschmidt, quoted by Keil,) the Chaldean satraps, servants of the king of Babylon, (Ewald;) slaves employed as overseers and task-masters of the captives on the march, (Nagelsbach.) Better is it to recognise in the word a bitter allusion to the fact that in oriental countries, at this time, it was not unusual for slaves to come to high office, as is illustrated in the cases of Joseph and Daniel. In a rude and comparatively unorganized condition of society personal skill and physical prowess sometimes overbear all other considerations, and bring their possessors to places of power.

Verse 18. The foxes walk upon it.] Foxes are very numerous in Palestine, see on Judges 15:4. It was usual among the Hebrews to consider all desolated land to be the resort of wild beasts; which is, in fact, the case every where when the inhabitants are removed from a country.

Verses 17, 18. For this our heart is faint — And sinks under the load of its own heaviness. Our eyes are dim — See on Lamentations 2:11. Our spirits fail us, and we are almost blind with weeping. Because of the mountain of Zion — The holy mountain, and the temple built upon it. Nothing lies with so heavy a load upon the spirits of good people, as that which threatens the ruin of religion, or weakens the interest thereof: and it is a mark of our possessing saving grace, if we can appeal to God that we are more concerned for his cause than for any temporal interests of our own. The Jews had polluted the mountain of Zion with their sins, and therefore God justly made it desolate; which he did to such a degree that the foxes walked upon it, as freely and commonly as they did in the woods. It is lamentable indeed when the mountain of Zion is made a portion for foxes, Psalm 63:10.

18. The foxes walk upon it — Jackals, who live among ruins and shun the presence of man. Hence there is in this a vivid suggestion of the utter desolation which had come to “Zion, the perfection of beauty.”

V. 19. Thy throne-Altho’ for our sins thou sufferest our throne to be cast down, yet thou art the same, thy power is not diminished, nor thy goodness abated.

Verse 19. Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever] THOU sufferest no change. Thou didst once love us, O let that love be renewed towards us!

Verses 19-22. Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever — Though, for our sins, thou hast suffered these calamities to befall us, and our throne, through thy righteous providence, is thrown down; yet thou art still the same God that thou ever wast: thy power is not diminished, nor thy goodness abated. Thou still governest the world, and orderest all the events of it, and shalt rule it, and superintend its affairs, for ever and ever. Thou art, therefore, always able to help us, and art thou not as willing as able? Is it possible thou shouldest be unmindful of the promises which thou hast made to thy people? Our hope, therefore, is still in thee, unto whom we look for mercy and deliverance. Wherefore dost thou forget us, &c. — Wherefore dost thou act toward us, in the dispensations of thy providence, as if thou hadst forgotten us, and forsaken us, and that for a long time? Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord — Turn us unto thyself from our sins and idols, by a sincere repentance and thorough conversion; and we shall be turned — Effectually and lastingly turned to thee, so as to turn from thee no more. Renew our days as of old — Restore us to that happiness and prosperity which we formerly enjoyed. But thou hast utterly rejected us — Hebrew, wntsam sam µayk, which, it seems, should rather be rendered, For surely thou hast cast us off, &c., the prophet, in this verse, assigning the reason of the preceding application. For God’s having rejected his people, and expressed great indignation against them, was the cause and ground of their pleading with him, and praying thus earnestly to be restored to his favour and the enjoyment of their ancient privileges. The Jewish rabbins, because they would not have the book to conclude with the melancholy words of this verse, repeat after them the prayer of the preceding verse, namely, Turn thou us unto thee, &c., a prayer which we cannot too frequently, or too fervently, address to God, for ourselves and others. And surely the fervent zeal with which the prophet beseeches the Lord to have compassion on his people, should excite us, at all times, to pray earnestly to him, especially for the protection, safety, and prosperity of his church, and the supply of all its wants, whether it be exposed to persecutions and sufferings on the one hand, or the assaults of infidelity, impiety, and vice on the other. We may learn also, from this humble and earnest prayer of the prophet for the restoration of the Jewish nation, that, when God corrects us, and afflicts us, even with the greatest severity, we must not despond or restrain prayer before him, but have recourse to him by true repentance and faith, and implore his pardoning mercy and renewing grace, as the only way to obtain the light of his countenance, and a restoration to our former state of peace, tranquillity, and comfort.

THE PRAYER, 19-22.

19. Thou… remainest for ever — Nothing could be more fitting or more impressive than this pathetic appeal to the immutable sovereignty of Jehovah. Men may die, institutions may fail, kingdoms may come to a perpetual end, but the resources of God are unfailing. His throne standeth forever, from generation to generation. And if God lives his people cannot die. If the head is above the water the body cannot be drowned. “Under the shadow of his throne,

Still may we dwell secure.”

He who sitteth eternally enthroned will not forget for ever his own people. And yet this hope and confidence does not “rise to the heights of joyful victory, but, as Gerlach expresses himself, ‘merely glimmers from afar, like the morning star through the clouds, which does not, indeed, itself dispel the shadows of the night, though it announces that the rising of the sun is near, and that it shall obtain the victory.’” — Keil.

THE END.

Verses 19-22. Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever — Though, for our sins, thou hast suffered these calamities to befall us, and our throne, through thy righteous providence, is thrown down; yet thou art still the same God that thou ever wast: thy power is not diminished, nor thy goodness abated. Thou still governest the world, and orderest all the events of it, and shalt rule it, and superintend its affairs, for ever and ever. Thou art, therefore, always able to help us, and art thou not as willing as able? Is it possible thou shouldest be unmindful of the promises which thou hast made to thy people? Our hope, therefore, is still in thee, unto whom we look for mercy and deliverance. Wherefore dost thou forget us, &c. — Wherefore dost thou act toward us, in the dispensations of thy providence, as if thou hadst forgotten us, and forsaken us, and that for a long time? Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord — Turn us unto thyself from our sins and idols, by a sincere repentance and thorough conversion; and we shall be turned — Effectually and lastingly turned to thee, so as to turn from thee no more. Renew our days as of old — Restore us to that happiness and prosperity which we formerly enjoyed. But thou hast utterly rejected us — Hebrew, wntsam sam µayk, which, it seems, should rather be rendered, For surely thou hast cast us off, &c., the prophet, in this verse, assigning the reason of the preceding application. For God’s having rejected his people, and expressed great indignation against them, was the cause and ground of their pleading with him, and praying thus earnestly to be restored to his favour and the enjoyment of their ancient privileges. The Jewish rabbins, because they would not have the book to conclude with the melancholy words of this verse, repeat after them the prayer of the preceding verse, namely, Turn thou us unto thee, &c., a prayer which we cannot too frequently, or too fervently, address to God, for ourselves and others. And surely the fervent zeal with which the prophet beseeches the Lord to have compassion on his people, should excite us, at all times, to pray earnestly to him, especially for the protection, safety, and prosperity of his church, and the supply of all its wants, whether it be exposed to persecutions and sufferings on the one hand, or the assaults of infidelity, impiety, and vice on the other. We may learn also, from this humble and earnest prayer of the prophet for the restoration of the Jewish nation, that, when God corrects us, and afflicts us, even with the greatest severity, we must not despond or restrain prayer before him, but have recourse to him by true repentance and faith, and implore his pardoning mercy and renewing grace, as the only way to obtain the light of his countenance, and a restoration to our former state of peace, tranquillity, and comfort.

THE PRAYER, 19-22.

19. Thou… remainest for ever — Nothing could be more fitting or more impressive than this pathetic appeal to the immutable sovereignty of Jehovah. Men may die, institutions may fail, kingdoms may come to a perpetual end, but the resources of God are unfailing. His throne standeth forever, from generation to generation. And if God lives his people cannot die. If the head is above the water the body cannot be drowned. “Under the shadow of his throne,

Still may we dwell secure.”

He who sitteth eternally enthroned will not forget for ever his own people. And yet this hope and confidence does not “rise to the heights of joyful victory, but, as Gerlach expresses himself, ‘merely glimmers from afar, like the morning star through the clouds, which does not, indeed, itself dispel the shadows of the night, though it announces that the rising of the sun is near, and that it shall obtain the victory.’” — Keil.

THE END.

V. 21. Renew-Restore us to our former estate.

Verse 21. Renew our days as of old.] Restore us to our former state. Let us regain our country, our temple, and all the Divine offices of our religion; but, more especially, thy favour.

Verses 19-22. Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever — Though, for our sins, thou hast suffered these calamities to befall us, and our throne, through thy righteous providence, is thrown down; yet thou art still the same God that thou ever wast: thy power is not diminished, nor thy goodness abated. Thou still governest the world, and orderest all the events of it, and shalt rule it, and superintend its affairs, for ever and ever. Thou art, therefore, always able to help us, and art thou not as willing as able? Is it possible thou shouldest be unmindful of the promises which thou hast made to thy people? Our hope, therefore, is still in thee, unto whom we look for mercy and deliverance. Wherefore dost thou forget us, &c. — Wherefore dost thou act toward us, in the dispensations of thy providence, as if thou hadst forgotten us, and forsaken us, and that for a long time? Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord — Turn us unto thyself from our sins and idols, by a sincere repentance and thorough conversion; and we shall be turned — Effectually and lastingly turned to thee, so as to turn from thee no more. Renew our days as of old — Restore us to that happiness and prosperity which we formerly enjoyed. But thou hast utterly rejected us — Hebrew, wntsam sam µayk, which, it seems, should rather be rendered, For surely thou hast cast us off, &c., the prophet, in this verse, assigning the reason of the preceding application. For God’s having rejected his people, and expressed great indignation against them, was the cause and ground of their pleading with him, and praying thus earnestly to be restored to his favour and the enjoyment of their ancient privileges. The Jewish rabbins, because they would not have the book to conclude with the melancholy words of this verse, repeat after them the prayer of the preceding verse, namely, Turn thou us unto thee, &c., a prayer which we cannot too frequently, or too fervently, address to God, for ourselves and others. And surely the fervent zeal with which the prophet beseeches the Lord to have compassion on his people, should excite us, at all times, to pray earnestly to him, especially for the protection, safety, and prosperity of his church, and the supply of all its wants, whether it be exposed to persecutions and sufferings on the one hand, or the assaults of infidelity, impiety, and vice on the other. We may learn also, from this humble and earnest prayer of the prophet for the restoration of the Jewish nation, that, when God corrects us, and afflicts us, even with the greatest severity, we must not despond or restrain prayer before him, but have recourse to him by true repentance and faith, and implore his pardoning mercy and renewing grace, as the only way to obtain the light of his countenance, and a restoration to our former state of peace, tranquillity, and comfort.

THE PRAYER, 19-22.

19. Thou… remainest for ever — Nothing could be more fitting or more impressive than this pathetic appeal to the immutable sovereignty of Jehovah. Men may die, institutions may fail, kingdoms may come to a perpetual end, but the resources of God are unfailing. His throne standeth forever, from generation to generation. And if God lives his people cannot die. If the head is above the water the body cannot be drowned. “Under the shadow of his throne,

Still may we dwell secure.”

He who sitteth eternally enthroned will not forget for ever his own people. And yet this hope and confidence does not “rise to the heights of joyful victory, but, as Gerlach expresses himself, ‘merely glimmers from afar, like the morning star through the clouds, which does not, indeed, itself dispel the shadows of the night, though it announces that the rising of the sun is near, and that it shall obtain the victory.’” — Keil.

THE END.

Verse 22. But thou hast utterly rejected us] It appears as if thou hadst sealed our final reprobation, because thou showest against us exceeding great wrath. But convert us, O Lord, unto thee, and we shall be converted. We are now greatly humbled, feel our sin, and see our folly: once more restore us, and we shall never again forsake thee! He heard the prayer; and at the end of seventy years they were restored to their own land. This last verse is well rendered in the first printed edition of our Bible, 1535:—Renue our daies as in olde tyme, for thou hast now banished us longe ynough, and bene sore displeased at us.

My old MS. Bible is not less nervous: Newe thou our dais as fro the begynnyng: bot castand aweie thou put us out: thou wrathedist ugein us hugely. Dr. Blayney translates, “For surely thou hast cast us off altogether:” and adds, “yk ki ought certainly to be rendered as causal; God’s having rejected his people, and expressed great indignation against them, being the cause and ground of the preceding application, in which they pray to be restored to his favour, and the enjoyment of their ancient privileges.” Pareau thinks no good sense can be made of this place unless we translate interrogatively, as in Jeremiah 14:19:—

“Hast thou utterly rejected Judah?

Hath thy soul loathed Sion?”

On this ground he translates here,

An enim prorsus nos rejecisses?

Nobis iratus esses usque adeo?

“Hast thou indeed utterly cast us off?

Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?”

Wilt thou extend thy wrath against us so as to show us no more mercy? This agrees well with the state and feelings of the complainants. MASORETIC NOTES

Number of verses in this Book, 154.

Middle verse, Lamentations 3:34.

In one of my oldest MSS., the twenty-first verse is repeated at the conclusion of the twenty-second verse. In another, yet older, there is only the first word of it, wnbyvh hashibenu, Convert us!

Having given in the preceding preface and notes what I judge necessary to explain the principal difficulties in this very fine and affecting poem, very fitly termed THE LAMENTATIONS, as it justly stands at the head of every composition of the kind, I shall add but a few words, and these shall be by way of recapitulation chiefly.

The Hebrews were accustomed to make lamentations or mourning songs upon the death of great men, princes, and heroes, who had distinguished themselves in arms; and upon any occasion of public miseries and calamities. Calmet thinks they had collections of these sorts of Lamentations: and refers in proof to 2 Chronicles 35:25: “And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah; and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations, to this day; and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the Lamentations.” From this verse it is evident, that Jeremiah had composed a funeral elegy on Josiah: but, from the complexion of this Book, it is most evident that it was not composed on the death of Josiah, but upon the desolations of Jerusalem, &c., as has already been noted. His lamentation for Josiah is therefore lost. It appears also, that on particular occasions, perhaps anniversaries, these lamentations were sung by men and women singers, who performed their several parts; for these were all alternate or responsive songs. And it is very likely, that this book was sung in the same way; the men commencing with a aleph, the women responding with b beth and so on. Several of this sort of songs are still extant. We have those which David composed on the death of his son Absalom, and on the death of his friend Jonathan. And we have those made by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, on the desolation of Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, and Babylon. See Isaiah 14:4, 5; 15:1-9; 16:1-14; Jeremiah 7:29; 9:10; 48:32; Ezekiel 19:1; 28:11; 32:2; Jeremiah 9:17. Besides these, we have fragments of others in different places; and references to some, which are now finally lost.

In the two first chapters of this book, the prophet describes, principally, the calamities of the siege of Jerusalem.

In the third, he deplores the persecutions which he himself had suffered; though he may in this be personifying the city and state; many of his own sufferings being illustrative of the calamities that fell generally upon the city and people at large.

The fourth chapter is employed chiefly on the ruin and desolation of the city and temple; and upon the misfortunes of Zedekiah, of whom he speaks in a most respectful, tender, and affecting manner:—

“The anointed of Jehovah, the breadth of our nostrils, was taken in their toils, Under whose shadow we said, We shall live among the nations.”

At the end he speaks of the cruelty of the Edomites, who had insulted Jerusalem in her miseries, and contributed to its demolition. These he threatens with the wrath of God.

The fifth chapter is a kind of form of prayer for the Jews, in their dispersions and captivity. In the conclusion of it, he speaks of their fallen royalty; attributes all their calamities to their rebellion and wickedness; and acknowledges that there can be no end to their misery, but in their restoration to the Divine favour.

This last chapter was probably written some considerable time after the rest: for it supposes the temple to be so deserted, that the foxes walked undisturbed among its ruins, and that the people were already in captivity. The poem is a monument of the people’s iniquity and rebellion; of the displeasure and judgment of GOD against them; and of the piety, eloquence, and incomparable ability of the poet.

Verses 19-22. Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever — Though, for our sins, thou hast suffered these calamities to befall us, and our throne, through thy righteous providence, is thrown down; yet thou art still the same God that thou ever wast: thy power is not diminished, nor thy goodness abated. Thou still governest the world, and orderest all the events of it, and shalt rule it, and superintend its affairs, for ever and ever. Thou art, therefore, always able to help us, and art thou not as willing as able? Is it possible thou shouldest be unmindful of the promises which thou hast made to thy people? Our hope, therefore, is still in thee, unto whom we look for mercy and deliverance. Wherefore dost thou forget us, &c. — Wherefore dost thou act toward us, in the dispensations of thy providence, as if thou hadst forgotten us, and forsaken us, and that for a long time? Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord — Turn us unto thyself from our sins and idols, by a sincere repentance and thorough conversion; and we shall be turned — Effectually and lastingly turned to thee, so as to turn from thee no more. Renew our days as of old — Restore us to that happiness and prosperity which we formerly enjoyed. But thou hast utterly rejected us — Hebrew, wntsam sam µayk, which, it seems, should rather be rendered, For surely thou hast cast us off, &c., the prophet, in this verse, assigning the reason of the preceding application. For God’s having rejected his people, and expressed great indignation against them, was the cause and ground of their pleading with him, and praying thus earnestly to be restored to his favour and the enjoyment of their ancient privileges. The Jewish rabbins, because they would not have the book to conclude with the melancholy words of this verse, repeat after them the prayer of the preceding verse, namely, Turn thou us unto thee, &c., a prayer which we cannot too frequently, or too fervently, address to God, for ourselves and others. And surely the fervent zeal with which the prophet beseeches the Lord to have compassion on his people, should excite us, at all times, to pray earnestly to him, especially for the protection, safety, and prosperity of his church, and the supply of all its wants, whether it be exposed to persecutions and sufferings on the one hand, or the assaults of infidelity, impiety, and vice on the other. We may learn also, from this humble and earnest prayer of the prophet for the restoration of the Jewish nation, that, when God corrects us, and afflicts us, even with the greatest severity, we must not despond or restrain prayer before him, but have recourse to him by true repentance and faith, and implore his pardoning mercy and renewing grace, as the only way to obtain the light of his countenance, and a restoration to our former state of peace, tranquillity, and comfort.

THE PRAYER, 19-22.

19. Thou… remainest for ever — Nothing could be more fitting or more impressive than this pathetic appeal to the immutable sovereignty of Jehovah. Men may die, institutions may fail, kingdoms may come to a perpetual end, but the resources of God are unfailing. His throne standeth forever, from generation to generation. And if God lives his people cannot die. If the head is above the water the body cannot be drowned. “Under the shadow of his throne,

Still may we dwell secure.”

He who sitteth eternally enthroned will not forget for ever his own people. And yet this hope and confidence does not “rise to the heights of joyful victory, but, as Gerlach expresses himself, ‘merely glimmers from afar, like the morning star through the clouds, which does not, indeed, itself dispel the shadows of the night, though it announces that the rising of the sun is near, and that it shall obtain the victory.’” — Keil.

THE END.