Lamentations 1

Lamentations 1 mourns the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586 BC. The city is pictured first as a lonely widow, then she speaks for herself in grief. Again and again the chapter admits that the LORD is just and that her sin brought this ruin, yet it ends by crying to Him for mercy.

Lamentations 1:1

The poet opens with a cry of shock: a once crowded, honored city now sits empty and alone. Jerusalem is pictured as a woman who lost her husband and her rank. The one who ruled others now serves them.

BSA: widow (“bereaved, without a protector”): A widow had no one to defend her, which shows how exposed Jerusalem now is. lonely (“desolate, in isolation”): The word speaks of emptiness and being cut off, not only of quiet.

Hebrew: אֵיכָה (ʾêkāh, H349) — “How! Alas!.” This is the cry of shock used at funerals. It is also the Hebrew name of the book, so the whole book opens like a funeral song.

Lamentations 1:2

Jerusalem weeps alone in the dark, and her tears do not stop. The nations she once leaned on for help have turned against her. Those she counted as friends have become enemies.

BSA: betrayed (“acted treacherously, been deceitful or unfaithful”): Her allies did more than abandon her. They broke faith and turned on her. lovers (“those who have affection for her, including family, romance, or nations”): The word points to the nations she trusted instead of God, spoken of as lovers.

See also: Jeremiah 30:14.

Lamentations 1:3

Judah has been dragged into exile and hard labor. Among foreign peoples she finds no home and no rest. Her pursuers have caught her where there is no way out.

BSA: rest (“no resting place, no peace”): God had promised His people rest in the land, so exile is the loss of that gift.

See also: Deuteronomy 28:64-65.

Lamentations 1:4

The roads to Jerusalem are empty because no pilgrims come for the yearly feasts. Gates stand deserted, priests sigh, and young women suffer. Worship has stopped, and the whole city shares one bitter sorrow.

BSA: appointed feasts (“solemn assemblies, sacred festivals”): These were meetings God Himself set, so their absence means a break in fellowship with Him.

Lamentations 1:5

Her enemies now rule and are comfortable. The poet says plainly that the LORD sent this grief because of her many sins. Even her children walk ahead of the conquerors as prisoners.

BSA: transgressions (“sins, rebellions”): The word means deliberate revolt against a rightful ruler, not a small slip.

See also: Daniel 9:7.

Lamentations 1:6

The glory that made Zion beautiful has gone. Her leaders are like starving deer, too weak to run from the hunter. Those meant to protect the people are themselves hunted.

BSA: splendor (“glory, majesty, beauty”): Her real glory was God’s presence among her, and that is what seems to have left.

Lamentations 1:7

In her wandering, Jerusalem remembers her old treasures and cannot get them back. When she fell, nobody helped. Her enemies stared and laughed at her ruin, and that made it more painful.

BSA: laughing (“mocking, scoffing”): Her enemies treated her fall as a joke, adding shame to her pain.

Lamentations 1:8

The poet states the cause: Jerusalem sinned greatly. Those who once admired her now look down on her. They have seen her shame laid bare, and she turns her face away in pain.

BSA: nakedness (“shame, exposure”): Her sin has stripped away her dignity, and everyone can see her disgrace.

Lamentations 1:9

Her uncleanness is like a stain on her clothing, and she never thought where her path led. Her fall was shocking and no one comforted her. At the end the speaker turns and prays, asking the LORD to look.

BSA: astounding (“wonderful, a marvel”): Her fall was so steep that it amazed everyone who saw it.

Hebrew: רְאֵה (rĕʾēh, H7200) — “see, look.” This is a prayer that God would see, which means notice and act. The book returns to this plea more than once.

Lamentations 1:10

The enemy has plundered her valuables. Worse, she has seen foreign nations walk into the temple, a place God had forbidden them to enter. The deepest loss is the violation of what was holy.

BSA: sanctuary (“holy place, temple”): The word means a place set apart for God, so its invasion is a sacred wound.

See also: Deuteronomy 23:3.

Lamentations 1:11

The whole population is groaning and hunting for bread. People have sold their valuables just to stay alive. The speaker asks the LORD to look and think about it, since she feels worthless.

BSA: despised (“vile, worthless”): She feels that she has been reduced to something of no value.

Lamentations 1:12

Jerusalem now speaks for herself and calls out to people passing by. She asks whether her sorrow means nothing to them. She says no pain compares to hers, and that it came from the LORD’s burning anger.

BSA: fierce anger (“burning, intense”): God’s anger is shown as a fire against sin, not as a loss of temper.

See also: Matthew 27:39-40.

Lamentations 1:13

She uses several pictures for God’s judgment. Fire goes into her bones, a net trips her feet, and she is left empty and faint. Nowhere is there escape from what He has sent.

BSA: net (“a network”): The net suggests a trap she walked into and could not leave.

Lamentations 1:14

Her sins are pictured as a yoke woven together and laid on her neck. It is a heavy load that she cannot lift off, and it has drained her strength. The Lord has given her into the power of enemies she cannot resist.

BSA: yoke (“a wooden beam, a burden”): A yoke is the heavy beam an animal carries, so her sins weigh on her like forced labor.

Hebrew: עֹל (ʿōl, H5921) — “yoke.” The yoke was the wooden frame laid on the necks of working animals. Here it means sin that turns into slavery.

See also: Matthew 11:28-30.

Lamentations 1:15

The Lord has dismissed her strong men and called an army to break her young fighters. He has trampled Judah like grapes in a winepress. The picture is of a harvest of judgment, with her people as the fruit.

BSA: trampled (“tread, trodden under foot”): The word echoes the treading of grapes, and the judgment is shown as total.

See also: Isaiah 63:3; Revelation 14:19-20.

Lamentations 1:16

She weeps because no one is near to comfort her or to restore her spirit. Her children are left destitute, because the enemy has won. The very person who could help is missing.

BSA: revive (“restore, refresh”): She needs more than pity. She needs her very life brought back. soul (“my inner being, my very life”): What is wounded is her whole inner self, not only her feelings.

Lamentations 1:17

Zion holds out her hands in need, but nobody comforts her. The LORD has turned her neighbors into enemies. She is treated as unclean, someone others will not touch.

BSA: unclean thing (“like a menstruous woman, impure”): In that culture such a person was avoided, so Jerusalem is shunned.

Lamentations 1:18

Here she says plainly that the LORD is righteous. His judgment is fair, because she rebelled against His word. She then asks all peoples to look at her suffering, and mentions her young people in captivity.

BSA: righteous (“just, upright”): She admits that God has done nothing wrong, even though she is deeply hurt.

See also: Daniel 9:14; Psalm 119:75.

Lamentations 1:19

She called on her allies for help and they let her down. Her priests and elders died in the city as they searched for food. Even those who should have led the people ended up starving.

BSA: betrayed (“deceived”): They did not simply fail. They deceived her and broke their promises.

Lamentations 1:20

She asks the LORD to see her distress. Her insides churn and her heart pounds, and she admits she has been very rebellious. Death is on the streets by the sword and in the houses.

BSA: churning (“troubled, agitated”): The word describes a stomach in turmoil from fear and grief.

Lamentations 1:21

Others hear her groaning but offer no comfort. Her enemies are glad of her trouble. She asks God to bring the day He has announced, when they will face their own judgment.

BSA: announced (“proclaimed, called”): She appeals to something God has already said, namely that evil nations will face judgment.

See also: Jeremiah 50:15.

Lamentations 1:22

The chapter ends with a prayer that God would see the wickedness of her enemies and deal with it as He has dealt with her. She does not excuse herself, because her groans are many and her heart is faint. She leaves the matter with the LORD.

BSA: faint (“weak, troubled”): Her heart is worn out, so she has nothing left to rely on but God.