1Wehe wie weilt die Stadt einsam, die einst viel bevölkerte, einer Witwe gleich ist sie worden, die unter den Weltstämmen so viel war, die Fürstin unter den Gauen, zur Frönerin ist sie geworden. 2Sie weint und weint die Nacht durch, über ihre Wange hin ihre Träne, für sie ist kein Tröster da von ihren Liebenden allen, es verrieten sie all ihre Freunde, zu Feinden warden sie ihr. 3Entwandert ist Jehuda vor Elend und der vielen Knechtschaft, unter den Weltstämmen weilt es, eine Ruhe findet es nicht, all seine Verfolger erreichens mitten in der Bedrängnis. 4Die Wege Zions trauern, fort sind, die einst zur Begegnungszeit kamen, verstarrt sind all ihre Tore, ihre Priester stöhnen, ihre Maiden sind vergrämt, und sie, bitter ist ihr. 5Ihre Bedränger sind zum Haupt worden, ihre Feinde sind zufrieden, denn ER ists, der sie peinigt um ihre vielen Abtrünnigkeiten. Ihre Kindlein gingen gefangen vor dem Bedränger einher. 6Von der Tochter Zions schwand all ihr Glanz, ihre Obern sind wie Hirsche geworden, die nichts zu weiden finden, kraftlos gingen sie vorm Verfolger dahin. 7Jerusalem gedenkt in den Tagen ihres Elends und ihres Schweifens all ihrer Köstlichkeiten, die dawaren von ureinst her, als ihr Volk in die Hand des Bedrängers fiel und keiner war, der ihr hülfe. Die Bedränger besehen sie, sie lachen über ihr Verabschiedetsein. 8Jerusalem hat gesündigt, hat sich versündigt, drum ist sie zu einem Unflat geworden, alle, die sie ehrten, dünkt sie gemein, denn sie haben ihre Blöße gesehn. Selber gar stöhnt sie auf und kehrt rückwärts sich ab. 9Ihr Makel ist bis auf ihrer Schleppe. Sie dachte nicht an ihre Späte, so sank sie wunderlich ab - für sie ist kein Tröster da - : »Sieh, DU, mein Elend an, denn der Feind macht sich groß!« 10Der Bedränger breitet seine Hand über all ihre Köstlichkeiten. Ja, sie sah die Weltstämme in ihr Heiligtum kommen: »... von denen du geboten hast, sie sollten in das Gesamt dir nicht eingehn.« 11All ihr Volk, sie stöhnen, sie suchen nach Brot, sie gaben ihre Köstlichkeiten für Speise, die Seele zu erhalten: »... sieh, DU, blick her, denn ich bin gemeingemacht worden. 12Sei es nur zu euch hin, ihr alle, die ihr des Wegs zieht: blicket her und seht, obs einen Schmerz gibt wie mein Schmerz, da mir so mitgespielt hat, da mich so gepeinigt hat ER am Tag des Flammens seines Zorns. 13Aus der Höhe sandte ins Gebein er mir Feuer, senkte es drein, er spannte ein Netz meinen Füßen, zum Verstarren gab er mich hin, - ein Siechen alletag. 14Gewacht ward über meinen Abtrünnigkeiten, mit seiner Hand hat er sie verflochten, sie sind um den Hals mir gestiegen. Straucheln machte er meine Kraft, mein Herr gab mich in Hände, draus ich mich nicht zu erheben vermag. 15Er ächtete all meine Recken, mein Herr mir mittinnen, eine Begegnungszeit rief er über mich aus, meine Jünglinge zu zerschlagen, die Kelter trat mein Herr Jehudas Tochter, der Maid. 16Darüber weint mein Auge sich aus, vom Wasser überfließt mein Auge, denn fern von mir ist ein Tröster, der mir die Seele erhielte, verstarrt sind meine Söhne, denn der Feind ist übermächtig.« 17Zion breitet ihre Hände aus, für sie ist kein Tröster da, aufgeboten hat gegen Jaakob ER von ringsumher seine Bedränger, Jerusalem ist unter ihnen zum Unflat geworden. 18»ER, bewahrheitet ist er, denn widerspenstig war ich seinem Mund. Hörets doch, ihr Völker alle, und seht meinen Schmerz! Meine Maiden und meine Jünglinge gingen in die Gefangenschaft. 19Ich rief meinen Liebhabern, sie, sie betrogen mich. Meine Priester, meine Ältesten in der Stadt, sie verschieden, da sie sich Speise suchten, daß sie ihre Seele erhalten. 20Sieh her, DU, denn ich bin in der Drangsal. Mein Eingeweid gärt, mein Herz dreht sich inmitten mir um, weil ich widerspenstig, widerspenstig war. Von draußen raubt die Kinder das Schwert, was drinnen ist, gleicht dem Tod selber. 21Sie hörten, daß ich stöhne, für mich ist kein Tröster, all meine Feinde hörten von meinem Bösgeschick, sie ergötzen sich, denn der es gewirkt hat bist du. Bringst du den Tag, den du ausriefst, werden sie mir gleich sein, 22all ihre Bosheit kommt dann vor dich, und du handelst an ihnen, gleichwie an mir du gehandelt hast für all meine Abtrünnigkeiten. Ja, viel ist meines Stöhnens, und mein Herz ist Siechtum.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 (Lam. 1:1-22)
how is she . . . widow! she that was great, &c.--English Version is according to the accents. But the members of each sentence are better balanced in antithesis, thus, "how is she that was great among the nations become as a widow! (how) she who was princess among the provinces (that is, she who ruled over the surrounding provinces from the Nile to the Euphrates,
Gen 15:18;
1Kgs 4:21;
2Chr 9:26;
Ezra 4:20) become tributary!" [MAURER].
sit--on the ground; the posture of mourners (
Lam 2:10;
Ezra 9:3). The coin struck on the taking of Jerusalem by Titus, representing Judea as a female sitting solitary under a palm tree, with the inscription, Judća Capta, singularly corresponds to the image here; the language therefore must be prophetical of her state subsequent to Titus, as well as referring retrospectively to her Babylonian captivity.
2 in the night--even in the night, the period of rest and oblivion of griefs (
Job 7:3).
lovers . . . friends--the heathen states allied to Judah, and their idols. The idols whom she "loved" (
Jer 2:20-
Jer 2:25) could not comfort her. Her former allies would not: nay, some "treacherously" joined her enemies against her (
2Kgs 24:2,
2Kgs 24:7;
Ps 137:7).
3 (
Jer 52:27).
because of great servitude--that is, in a state "of great servitude," endured from the Chaldeans. "Because" is made by VATABLUS indicative of the cause of her captivity; namely, her having "afflicted" and unjustly brought into "servitude" the manumitted bond-servants (
Jer 34:8-
Jer 34:22). MAURER explains it, "Judah has left her land (not literally 'gone into captivity') because of the yoke imposed on it by Nebuchadnezzar."
no rest-- (
Deut 28:64-
Deut 28:65).
overtook her between . . . straits--image from robbers, who in the East intercept travellers at the narrow passes in hilly regions.
4 feasts--the passover, pentecost (or the feast of weeks), and the feast of tabernacles.
gates--once the place of concourse.
5 the chief--rule her (
Deut 28:43-
Deut 28:44).
adversaries . . . prosper; for the Lord--All the foes' attempts would have failed, had not God delivered His people into their hands (
Jer 30:15).
6 beauty . . . departed--her temple, throne, and priesthood.
harts that find no pasture--an animal timid and fleet, especially when seeking and not able to "find pasture."
7 remembered--rather, "remembers," now, in her afflicted state. In the days of her prosperity she did not appreciate, as she ought, the favors of God to her. Now, awakening out of her past lethargy, she feels from what high privileges she has fallen.
when her people fell, &c.--that is, after which days of prosperity "her people fell."
mock at her sabbaths--The heathen used to mock at the Jews' Sabbath, as showing their idleness, and term them Sabbatarians [MARTIAL, 4.4]. Now, said they ironically, ye may keep a continuous Sabbath. So God appointed the length of the captivity (seventy years) to be exactly that of the sum of the Sabbaths in the four hundred ninety years in which the land was denied its Sabbaths (
Lev 26:33-
Lev 26:35). MAURER translates it "ruin." But English Version better expresses the point of their "mocking," namely, their involuntary "Sabbaths," that is, the cessation of all national movements. A fourth line is added in this stanza, whereas in all the others there are but three. So in
Lam 2:19.
8 (
1Kgs 8:46).
is removed--as a woman separated from the congregation of God for legal impurity, which is a type of moral impurity. So
Lam 1:17;
Lev 12:2;
Lev 15:19, &c.
her nakedness--They have treated her as contumeliously as courtesans from whom their clothes are stripped.
turneth backward--as modest women do from shame, that is, she is cast down from all hope of restoration [CALVIN].
9 Continuation of the image in
Lam 1:8. Her ignominy and misery cannot be concealed but are apparent to all, as if a woman were suffering under such a flow as to reach the end of her skirts.
remembereth not . . . last end-- (
Deut 32:29;
Isa 47:7). She forgot how fatal must be the end of her iniquity. Or, as the words following imply: She, in despair, cannot lift herself up to lay hold of God's promises as to her "latter end" [CALVIN].
wonderfully--Hebrew, "wonders," that is, with amazing dejection.
O Lord, behold--Judah here breaks in, speaking for herself.
for the enemy hath magnified himself--What might seem ground for despair, the elated insulting of the enemy, is rather ground for good hope.
10 for--surely she hath seen, &c.
heathen . . . command . . . not enter . . . congregation--for instance, the Ammonites and Moabites (
Deut 23:3;
Neh 13:1-
Neh 13:2). If the heathen, as such, were not allowed to enter the sanctuary for worship, much less were they allowed to enter in order to rob and destroy.
11 (
Jer 37:21;
Jer 38:9;
Jer 52:6).
given . . . pleasant things for meat-- (
2Kgs 6:25;
Job 2:4).
relieve . . . soul--literally, "to cause the soul or life to return."
for I am become vile--Her sins and consequent sorrows are made the plea in craving God's mercy. Compare the like plea in
Ps 25:11.
12 The pathetic appeal of Jerusalem, not only to her neighbors, but even to the strangers "passing by," as her sorrow is such as should excite the compassion even of those unconnected with her. She here prefigures Christ, whom the language is prophetically made to suit, more than Jerusalem. Compare Israel, that is, Messiah,
Isa 49:3. Compare with "pass by,"
Matt 27:39;
Mark 15:29. As to Jerusalem,
Dan 9:12. M AURER, from the Arabic idiom, translates, "do not go off on your way," that is, stop, whoever ye are that pass by. English Version is simpler.
13 bones--a fire which not only consumes the skin and flesh, but penetrates even to my "bones" (that is, my vital powers).
prevaileth against--not as ROSENMULLER, "He (Jehovah) hath broken them"; a sense not in the Hebrew.
net-- (
Ezek 12:13); image from hunting wild beasts. He has so entangled me in His judgments that I cannot escape.
turned me back--so that I cannot go forward and get free from His meshes.
14 yoke . . . is bound by his hand-- (
Deut 28:48). Metaphor from husbandmen, who, after they have bound the yoke to the neck of oxen, hold the rein firmly twisted round the hand. Thus the translation will be, "in His hand." Or else, "the yoke of my transgressions" (that is, of punishment for my transgressions) is held so fast fixed on me "by" God, that there is no loosening of it; thus English Version, "by His hand."
wreathed--My sins are like the withes entwined about the neck to fasten the yoke to.
into their hands, from whom--into the hands of those, from whom, &c. MAURER translates, "before whom I am not able to stand."
15 trodden, &c.--MAURER, from Syriac root, translates, "cast away"; so
2Kgs 23:27. But
Ps 119:118, supports English Version.
in . . . midst of me--They fell not on the battlefield, but in the heart of the city; a sign of the divine wrath.
assembly--the collected forces of Babylon; a very different "assembly" from the solemn ones which once met at Jerusalem on the great feasts. The Hebrew means, literally, such a solemn "assembly" or feast (compare
Lam 2:22).
trodden . . . virgin . . . in a wine-press--hath forced her blood to burst forth, as the red wine from the grapes trodden in the press (
Isa 63:3;
Rev 14:19-
Rev 14:20;
Rev 19:15).
16 (
Jer 13:17;
Jer 14:17). Jerusalem is the speaker.
mine eye, mine eye--so
Lam 4:18, "our end . . . our end"; repetition for emphasis.
17 Like a woman in labor-throes (
Jer 4:31).
menstruous woman--held unclean, and shunned by all; separated from her husband and from the temple (compare
Lam 1:8;
Lev 14:19, &c.).
18 The sure sign of repentance; justifying God, condemning herself (
Neh 9:33;
Ps 51:4;
Dan 9:7-
Dan 9:14).
his commandment--literally, "mouth"; His word in the mouth of the prophets.
19 lovers-- (
Lam 1:2;
Jer 30:14).
elders--in dignity, not merely age.
sought . . . meat--Their dignity did not exempt them from having to go and seek bread (
Lam 1:11).
20 bowels . . . troubled-- (
Job 30:27;
Isa 16:11;
Jer 4:19;
Jer 31:20). Extreme mental distress affects the bowels and the whole internal frame.
heart . . . turned-- (
Hos 11:8); is agitated or fluttered.
abroad . . . sword . . . at home . . . as death-- (
Deut 32:25;
Ezek 7:15). The "as" does not modify, but intensifies. "Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home as it were death itself" (personified), in the form of famine and pestilence (
2Kgs 25:3;
Jer 14:18;
Jer 52:6). So
Hab 2:5, "as death" [MICHAELIS].
21 they are glad that thou hast done it--because they thought that therefore Judah is irretrievably ruined (
Jer 40:3).
the day . . . called--(but) thou wilt bring on them the day of calamity which thou hast announced, namely, by the prophets (Jer. 50:1-46;
Jer 48:27).
like . . . me--in calamities (
Ps 137:8-
Ps 137:9;
Jer 51:25, &c.).
22 Such prayers against foes are lawful, if the foe be an enemy of God, and if our concern be not for our own personal feeling, but for the glory of God and the welfare of His people.
come before thee--so
Rev 16:19, "Babylon came in remembrance before God" (compare
Ps 109:15).