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Lamentations
Chapter Two
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LAMENTATIONS 2
This
chapter contains another alphabet
in which the Prophet Jeremiah
or those he
represents
lament the sad condition of Jerusalem; the destruction of the city
and temple
and of all persons and things relative to them
and to its civil or
church state; and that as being from the hand of the Lord himself
who is
represented all along as the author thereof
because of their sins
Lamentations 2:1;
and then the elders and virgins of Zion are represented as in great distress
and weeping for those desolations; which were very much owing to the false
prophets
that had deceived them
Lamentations 2:10;
and all this occasioned great rejoicing in the enemies of Zion
Lamentations 2:15;
but sorrow of heart to Zion herself
who is called to weeping
Lamentations 2:18;
and the chapter is concluded with an address to the Lord
to take this her sorrowful
case into consideration
and show pity and compassion
Lamentations 2:20.
Lamentations 2:1 How
the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion With a cloud in His anger! He cast
down from heaven to the earth The beauty of Israel
And did not remember His
footstool In the day of His anger.
YLT
1How doth the Lord cloud in
His anger the daughter of Zion
He hath cast from heaven [to] earth the beauty
of Israel
And hath not remembered His footstool in the day of His anger.
How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his
anger
.... Not their persons for protection
as he did the Israelites
at the Red sea
and in the wilderness; nor their sins
which he blots out as a
thick cloud; or with such an one as he filled the tabernacle and temple with
when dedicated; for this was "in his anger"
in the day of his anger
against Jerusalem; but with the thick and black clouds of calamity and
distress; he "beclouded"F18יעיב
"obnubilavit"
Montanus
Vatablus; "obnubilat"
Cocceius.
her
as it may be rendered
and is by Broughton; he drew a veil
or caused a
cloud to come over all her brightness and glory
and surrounded her with
darkness
that her light and splendour might not be seen. Aben Ezra interprets
it
"he lifted her up to the clouds": that is
in order to cast her
down with the greater force
as follows:
and cast down from heaven
unto the earth the beauty of Israel; all its glory
both in
church and state; this was brought down from the highest pitch of its
excellency and dignity
to the lowest degree of infamy and reproach;
particularly this was true of the temple
and service of God in it
which was
the beauty and glory of the nation
but now utterly demolished:
and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger; to spare and
preserve that; meaning either the house of the sanctuary
the temple itself
as
the Targum and Jarchi; or rather the ark with the mercy seat
on which the
Shechinah or divine Majesty set his feet
when sitting between the cherubim;
and is so called
1 Chronicles 28:2.
Lamentations 2:2 2 The Lord has swallowed up
and has not pitied All the dwelling places of Jacob. He has thrown down in His
wrath The strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down
to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
YLT
2Swallowed up hath the Lord
He hath not pitied any of the pleasant places of Jacob
He hath broken down in
His wrath The fortresses of the daughter of Judah
He hath caused to come to
the earth
He polluted the kingdom and its princes.
The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob
and hath
not pitied
.... As he regarded not his own habitation the temple
nor the
ark his footstool
it is no wonder he should be unconcerned about the
habitations of others; as of the inhabitants of the land of Judea and of
Jerusalem
particularly of the king
his nobles
and the great men; these the
Lord swallowed up
or suffered to be swallowed up
as houses in an earthquake
and by an inundation
so as to be seen no more; and this he did without showing
the least reluctance
pity
and compassion; being so highly incensed and
provoked by their sins and transgressions:
he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter
of Judah; not only the dwelling houses of the people
but the most
fortified places
their castles
towers
and citadels:
he hath brought them down to the ground; and not only
battered and shook them
but beat them down
and laid them level with the
ground; and all this done in the fury of his wrath
being irritated to it by
the sins of his people; even the daughter of Judah
or the congregation
thereof
as the Targum:
he hath polluted the kingdom
and the princes thereof; what was
reckoned sacred
the kingdom of the house of David
and the kings and princes
of it
the Lord's anointed; these being defiled with sin
God cast them away
as filth to the dunghill
and gave them up into the hands of the Gentiles
who
were reckoned unclean; and thus they were profaned. Jarchi interprets these
princes of the Israelites in common
who were called a kingdom of priests; and
makes mention of a Midrash
that explains them of the princes above
or of
heaven.
Lamentations 2:3 3 He has cut off in fierce
anger Every horn of Israel; He has drawn back His right hand From before the
enemy. He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire Devouring all around.
YLT
3He hath cut off in the heat
of anger every horn of Israel
He hath turned backward His right hand From the
face of the enemy
And He burneth against Jacob as a flaming fire
It hath
devoured round about.
He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel
.... All its
power and strength
especially its kingly power
which is often signified by a
horn in Scripture; see Daniel 7:24; this
the Lord took away in his fierce anger
and left the land destitute of all
relief
help
defence and protection; whether from its king and princes
or
from its men of war or fortified places; all being cut off and destroyed:
he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy; either his
own right hand
with which he had used to fight for his people
and protect
them
but now withdrawing it
left them to the mercy of their enemies; or
Israel's right hand
which he so weakened
that they had no power to resist the
enemy
and defend themselves:
and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire which
devoureth round about; that is
his wrath was like a burning flaming fire
which
consumes all around
wherever it comes; thus the Lord in his anger consumed
Jacob
and left neither root nor branch.
Lamentations 2:4 4 Standing like an enemy
He
has bent His bow; With His right hand
like an adversary
He has slain all who
were pleasing to His eye; On the tent of the daughter of Zion
He has
poured out His fury like fire.
YLT
4He hath trodden His bow as
an enemy
Stood hath His right hand as an adversary
And He slayeth all the
desirable ones of the eye
In the tent of the daughter of Zion
He hath poured
out as fire His fury.
He hath bent his bow like an enemy
.... God sometimes
appears as if he was an enemy to his people
when he is not
by his conduct and
behaviour; by the dispensations of his providence they take him to be so
as
Job did
Job 16:9; he bends
his bow
or treads it
for the bending or stretching the bow was done by the
foot; and as the Targum
"and
threw his arrows at me:'
he stood with his right hand as an adversary; with arrows
in it
to put into his bow or with his sword drawn
as an adversary does. The
Targum is
"he
stood at the right hand of Nebuchadnezzar and helped him
when he distressed
his people Israel:'
and slew all that were pleasant to the eye; princes and
priests
husbands and wives
parents and children
young men and maids;
desirable to their friends and relations
and to the commonwealth:
in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion he poured out his fury
like fire; that is
either in the temple
or in the city of Jerusalem
or
both
which were burnt with fire
as the effect of divine wrath and fury; and
which itself is comparable to fire; like a burning lamp of fire
as the Targum;
or rather like a burning furnace or mountain; see Nahum 1:6.
Lamentations 2:5 5 The Lord was like an
enemy. He has swallowed up Israel
He has swallowed up all her palaces; He has
destroyed her strongholds
And has increased mourning and lamentation In the
daughter of Judah.
YLT
5The Lord hath been as an
enemy
He hath swallowed up Israel
He hath swallowed up all her palaces
He
hath destroyed His fortresses
And He multiplieth in the daughter of Judah
Mourning and moaning.
The Lord was as an enemy
.... Who formerly was on
their side
their God and guardian
their protector and deliverer
but now
against them; and a terrible thing it is to have God for an enemy
or even to
be as one; this is repeated
as being exceeding distressing
and even
intolerable. Mr. Broughton renders it
"the Lord is become a very
enemy"; taking "caph" for a note of reality
and not of
similitude;
he hath swallowed up Israel; the ten tribes
or the
Jewish nation in general; as a lion
or any other savage beast
swallows its
prey
and makes nothing of it
and leaves none behind:
he hath swallowed up all her palaces: the palaces
of Zion or Jerusalem; the palaces of the king
princes
nobles
and great men;
as an earthquake or inundation swallows up whole streets and cities at once;
See Gill on Lamentations 2:2;
he hath destroyed his strong holds: the fortified places of
the land of Israel
the towers and castles:
and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and
lamentation; exceeding great lamentation
for the destruction of its cities
towns
villages
and the inhabitants of them.
Lamentations 2:6 6 He has done violence to
His tabernacle
As if it were a garden; He has destroyed His place of
assembly; The Lord
has caused The appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion. In His
burning indignation He has spurned the king and the priest.
YLT
6And He shaketh as a garden
His tabernacle
He hath destroyed His appointed place
Jehovah hath forgotten
in Zion the appointed time and sabbath
And despiseth
in the indignation of
His anger
king and priest.
And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle
as if it were
of a garden
.... The house of the sanctuary or temple
as the Targum; which
was demolished at once with great force and violence
and as easily done as a
tent or tabernacle is taken down; and no more account made of it than of a
cottage or lodge in a vineyard or garden
set up while the fruit was
gathering; either to shelter from the heat of the sun in the day
or to lodge
in at night; see Isaiah 1:8;
he hath destroyed his places in the assembly; the courts
where the people used to assemble for worship in the temple; or the synagogues
in Jerusalem
and other parts of the land:
the Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be
forgotten in Zion; there being neither places to keep them in
nor people to
observe them:
and hath despised
in the indignation of his anger
the king and
the priest; whose persons and offices were sacred
and ought to be treated
by men with honour and respect; but
for the sins of both
the Lord despised
them himself
and made them the object of his wrath and indignation
and
suffered them to be despised and ill used by others
by the Chaldeans; Zedekiah
had his children slain before his eyes
and then they were put out
and he was
carried in chains to Babylon
and there detained a captive all his days; and
Seraiah the chief priest
or
as the Targum here has it
the high priest
was
put to death by the king of Babylon; though not only the persons of the king
and priest are meant
but their offices also; the kingdom and priesthood ceased
from being exercised for many years.
Lamentations 2:7 7 The Lord has spurned His
altar
He has abandoned His sanctuary; He has given up the walls of her palaces
Into the hand of the enemy. They have made a noise in the house of the Lord As on the day
of a set feast.
YLT
7The Lord hath cast off His
altar
He hath rejected His sanctuary
He hath shut up into the hand of the
enemy The walls of her palaces
A noise they have made in the house of Jehovah
Like a day of appointment.
The Lord hath cast off his altar
.... Whether of incense
or of burnt offerings; the sacrifices of which used to be acceptable to him;
but now the altar being cast down and demolished
there were no more offerings;
nor did he show any desire of them
but the reverse:
he hath abhorred his sanctuary; the temple; by suffering
it to be profaned
pulled down
and burnt
it looked as if he had an abhorrence
of it
and the service in it; as he had
as it was performed without faith in
Christ
love to him
or any view to his glory; see Isaiah 1:13;
he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her
palaces; both the walls of the sanctuary
and the walls of the houses of
the kin
and princes; especially thee former are meant
both by what goes
before and follows:
they have made a noise in the house of the Lord
as in the day of
a solemn feast; that is the enemy
the Chaldeans
made a noise in the temple
blaspheming God
that had dwelt in it; insulting over the people of God
that
had worshipped there; rejoicing in their victories over them; singing their
"paeans" to their gods
and other profane songs; indulging themselves
in revelling and rioting; making as great a noise with their shouts and songs
as the priests
Levites
and people of Israel did
when they sung the songs of
Zion on a festival day. The Targum is
"as
the voice of the people of the house of Israel
that prayed in the midst of it
in the day of the passover.'
Lamentations 2:8 8 The Lord has purposed
to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line; He
has not withdrawn His hand from destroying; Therefore He has caused the rampart
and wall to lament; They languished together.
YLT
8Devised hath Jehovah to
destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion
He hath stretched out a line
He hath
not turned His hand from destroying
And He causeth bulwark and wall to mourn
Together -- they have been weak.
The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion
.... Either
the wall of the city
as Aben Ezra; or the wall that encompassed the temple
and all the outward courts of it
as Dr. LightfootF19Prospect of the
Temple
c. 17. p. 1089. thinks; this the Lord had determined to destroy
and
according to his purposes did destroy it
or suffer it to be demolished; and so
all were laid open for the enemy to enter:
he hath stretched out a line; a line of destruction
to mark out how far the destruction should go
and bow much should be laid in
ruins; all being as exactly done
according to the purpose and counsel of God
as if it was done by line and rule; see Isaiah 34:11;
he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying; till he made
a full end of the city and temple
as he first designed:
therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament: the
"chel" and the wall; all that space between the courts of the temple
and the wall that surrounded it was called the "chel"; and so the Targum
the circumference or enclosure; and these were laid waste together
and so said
to lament: according to others they were two walls
a wall the son of a wall
as Jarchi interprets it; an outward and an inward wall
one higher than
another; a low wall over against a high wall; which was as a rampart or
bulwark
for the strength and support of it:
they languished together; or fell together
as
persons in a fit faint away and full to the ground.
Lamentations 2:9 9 Her gates have sunk into
the ground; He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are
among the nations; The Law is no more
And her prophets find no
vision from the Lord.
YLT
9Sunk into the earth have
her gates
He hath destroyed and broken her bars
Her king and her princes
[are] among the nations
There is no law
also her prophets Have not found
vision from Jehovah.
Her gates are sunk into the ground
.... Either the gates of
the city or temple
or both; being broke and demolished
and laid level with
the ground
and covered with rubbish; for as for the Midrash
or exposition
that Jarchi mentions
that the gates sunk into the earth upon the approach of
the enemy
that they might not have power over them
through which the ark
passed
is a mere fable of their Rabbins; and equally as absurd is the
additional gloss of the Targum
"her
gates sunk into the earth
because they sacrificed a hog
and brought of the
blood of it to them:'
he hath destroyed and broken her bars; with which
the gates were bolted and barred
that so the enemy might enter; it was God
that did it
or suffered it to be done
or it would not have been in the power
of the enemy:
her king and her princes are among the Gentiles; Zedekiah
and
the princes that were not slain by the king of Babylon
were carried captive
thither; and there they lived
even among Heathens that knew not God
and
despised his worship:
the law is no more; the book of the law was
burnt in the temple
and the tables of it carried away with the ark
or
destroyed; and though
no doubt
there were copies of the law preserved
yet it
was not read nor expounded; nor was worship performed according to the
direction of it; nor could it be in a strange land. Mr. Broughton joins this
with the preceding clause
as descriptive of the Heathens: "her king and
her princes are among Heathen that have no law"; see Romans 2:12;
her prophets also find no vision from the Lord; there was
none but Jeremiah left in the land
and none but Ezekiel and Daniel in the
captivity; prophets were very rare at this time
as they were afterwards; for
we hear of no more after the captivity
till the coming of the Messiah
but
Haggai
Zechariah
and Malachi; so that there was very little open vision; the
word of the Lord was precious or scarce; there was a famine of hearing it
1 Samuel 3:1.
Lamentations 2:10 10 The elders of the daughter
of Zion Sit on the ground and keep silence; They throw dust on their
heads And gird themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Bow their
heads to the ground.
YLT
10Sit on the earth -- keep
silent do the elders of the daughter of Zion
They have caused dust to go up on
their head
They have girded on sackcloth
Put down to the earth their head
have the virgins of Jerusalem.
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground
and
keep silence
.... Who used to sit in the gate on thrones of judgment
and
passed sentence in causes tried before them; or were wont to give advice and
counsel
and were regarded as oracles
now sit on the ground
and dumb
as
mourners; see Job 2:13;
they have cast up dust upon their heads; on their
white hairs and gray locks
which bespoke wisdom
and made them grave and
venerable:
they have girded themselves with sackcloth: after the
manner of mourners; who used to be clothed in scarlet and rich apparel
in
robes suitable to their office as civil magistrates:
the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground: through shame
and sorrow; who used to look brisk and gay
and walk with outstretched necks
and carried their heads high
but now low enough. Aben Ezra interprets it of
the hair of their heads
which used to be tied up
but now loosed and
dishevelled
and hung down as it were to the ground.
Lamentations 2:11 11 My eyes fail with tears
My
heart is troubled; My bile is poured on the ground Because of the destruction
of the daughter of my people
Because the children and the infants Faint in the
streets of the city.
YLT
11Consumed by tears have been
my eyes
Troubled have been my bowels
Poured out to the earth hath been my
liver
For the breach of the daughter of my people; In infant and suckling
being feeble
In the broad places of the city
Mine eyes do fail with tears
.... According to Aben
Ezra
everyone of the elders before mentioned said this; but rather they are
the words of the Prophet Jeremiah
who had wept his eyes dry
or rather blind
on account of the calamities of his people; though he himself obtained liberty
and enlargement by means thereof:
my bowels are troubled; all his inward parts
were distressed:
my liver is poured upon the earth; his gall bladder
which
lay at the bottom of his liver
broke
and he cast it up
and poured it on the
earth; see Job 16:13; and all
this was
for the destruction of the daughter of my people; or
the
"breach" of themF20על שבר "propter contritionem"
Pagninus
Montanus
Junius & Tremellius; "propter confractionem"
Piscator;
"propter fractionem"
Cocceius. ; their civil and church state being
destroyed and broke to shivers; and for the ruin of the several families of
them: particularly
because the children and sucklings swoon in the streets of the
city; through famine
for want of bread
with those that could eat it;
and for want of the milk of their mothers and nurses
who being starved
themselves could not give it; and hence the poor infants fainted and swooned
away; which was a dismal sight
and heart melting to the prophet.
Lamentations 2:12 12 They say to their mothers
“Where is grain and wine?” As they swoon like the wounded In the streets
of the city
As their life is poured out In their mothers’ bosom.
YLT
12To their mothers they say
`Where [are] corn and wine?' In their becoming feeble as a pierced one In the
broad places of the city
In their soul pouring itself out into the bosom of
their mothers.
They say to their mothers
where is corn and wine?.... Not the
sucklings who could not speak
nor were used to corn and wine
but the children
more grown; both are before spoken of
but these are meant
even the young men
of Israel
as the Targum; and such as had been brought up in the best manner
had been used to wine
and not water
and therefore ask for that as well as
corn; both take in all the necessaries of life; and which they ask of their
mothers
who had been used to feed them
and were most tender of them; but now
not seeing and having their usual provisions
and not knowing what was the
reason of it
inquire after them
being pressed with hunger:
when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city; having no
food given them
though they asked for it time after time
they fainted away
and died a lingering death; as wounded persons do who are not killed at once
which is the more distressing:
when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom; meaning not
the desires of their souls for food
expressed in moving and melting language
as they sat in their mothers' laps
and lay in their bosoms; which must be
piercing unto them
if no more was designed; but their souls or lives
themselves
which they gave up through famine
as the Targum; expiring in their
mothers' arms.
Lamentations 2:13 13 How shall I console you? To
what shall I liken you
O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare with you
that I may comfort you
O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is
spread wide as the sea; Who can heal you?
YLT
13What do I testify [to]
thee
what do I liken to thee
O daughter of Jerusalem? What do I equal to
thee
and I comfort thee
O virgin daughter of Zion? For great as a sea [is]
thy breach
Who doth give healing to thee?
What thing shall I take to witness for thee?.... What
argument can be made use of? what proof or evidence can be given? what
witnesses can be called to convince thee
and make it a clear case to time
that ever any people or nation was in such distress and calamity
what with
sword
famine
pestilence
and captivity
as thou art?
what thing shall I liken thee to
O daughter of Jerusalem? what kingdom
or nation ever suffered the like? no example can be given
no instance that
comes up to it; not the Egyptians
when the ten plagues were inflicted on them;
not the Canaanites
when conquered and drove out by Joshua; not the
Philistines
Moabites
Edomites
and Syrians
when subdued by David; or any
other people:
what shall I equal to thee
that I may comfort thee
O virgin
daughter of Zion? for this is one way that friends comfort the afflicted
by
telling them that such an one's case was as bad
and worse
than theirs; and
therefore bid them be of good heart; bear their affliction patiently; before
long it will be over; but nothing of this kind could be said here; no
nor any
hope given it would be otherwise; they could not say their case was like
others
or that it was not desperate:
for thy breach is great like the sea; as large and
as wide as that: Zion's troubles were a sea of trouble; her afflictions as
numerous and as boisterous as the waves of the sea; and as salt
as
disagreeable
and as intolerable
as the waters of it: or her breach was great
like the breach of the sea; when it overflows its banks
or breaks through its
bounds
there is no stopping it
but it grows wider and wider:
who can heal thee? it was not in the power of man
in her own
power
or of her allies
to recover her out of the hands of the enemy; to
restore her civil or church state; her wound was incurable; none but God could
be her physician. The Targum is
"for
thy breach is great as the greatness of the breach of the waves of the sea in
the time of its tempest; and who is the physician that can heal thee of thy
infirmity?'
Lamentations 2:14 14 Your prophets have seen
for you False and deceptive visions; They have not uncovered your iniquity
To
bring back your captives
But have envisioned for you false prophecies and
delusions.
YLT
14Thy prophets have seen for
thee a false and insipid thing
And have not revealed concerning thine
iniquity
To turn back thy captivity
And they see for thee false burdens and
causes of expulsion.
Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee
.... Not the
prophets of the Lord; but false prophets
as the Targum; which were of the
people's choosing
and were acceptable to them; prophets after their own
hearts
because they prophesied smooth things
such as they liked; though in
the issue they proved "vain" and "foolish"
idle stories
impertinent talk
the fictions of their own brains; and yet they pretended to
have visions of them from the Lord; as that within two years Jeconiah
and all
the vessels of the temple carried away by the king of Babylon
should be
returned; and that he would not come against Jerusalem
nor should it be
delivered into his hands; see Jeremiah 28:2;
and they have not discovered thine iniquity: they did not
tell them of their sins; they took no pains to convince them of them
but
connived at them; instead of reproving them for them
they soothed them in
them; they did not "remove" the covering that was "over their
iniquity"F21ולא גלו
על עונך "et non
revelarunt legmen pravitati tuae impositum"
Christ. Ben.
Miehaelis.
as it might be rendered; which they might easily have done
and
laid their sirs to open view: whereby they might have been ashamed of them
and
brought to repentance for them. The Targum is
"neither
have they manifested the punishment that should come upon thee for thy sins;'
but
on the contrary
told them it should not come upon them; had they dealt
faithfully with them
by showing them their transgressions
and the
consequences of them
they might have been a means of preventing their ruin:
and
as it here follows
to turn away thy captivity; either to turn them from
their backslidings and wanderings about
as Jarchi; or to turn them by
repentance
as the Targum; or to prevent their going into captivity:
but have seen for thee false burdens
and causes of banishment; that is
false prophecies against Babylon
and in favour of the Jews; prophecies
even
those that are true
being often called "burdens"
as the
"burden of Egypt"
and "the burden of Damascus"
&c.
and the rather this name is here given to those false prophecies because the
prophecies of Jeremiah were reproached by them with it
Jeremiah 23:33
&c. and because these proved in the issue burdensome
sad
and sorrowful
ones though they once tickled and pleased; and were the cause of the people's
going into exile and captivity they listening to them: or they were
"depulsions" or "expulsions"F23ומדוחים και
εξωσματα
Sept. "et expulsiones"
Montanus
Vatablus
Calvin;
"et ad depulsionem spectantium"
Junius & Tremellius;
"depulsiones
expulsiones"
Stockius
p. 649. ; drivings
that drove
them from the right way; from God and his worship; from his word and prophets;
and
at last
the means of driving them out of their own land; of impelling
them to sin
and so of expelling them from their own country. The Targum
renders it
"words of error.'
Lamentations 2:15 15 All who pass by clap their
hands at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem: “Is
this the city that is called ‘The perfection of beauty
The joy of the whole
earth’?”
YLT
15Clapped hands at thee have
all passing by the way
They have hissed -- and they shake the head At the
daughter of Jerusalem: `Is this the city of which they said: The perfection of
beauty
a joy to all the land?'
All that pass by clap their hands at thee
....
Travellers that passed by
and saw Jerusalem in ruins
clapped their hands at
it
by way of rejoicing
as well pleased at the sight. This must be understood
not of the inhabitants of the land
but of strangers
who had no good will to
it; though they seem to be distinguished from their implacable enemies in Lamentations 2:16
they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem; by way of
scorn and derision; hereby expressing their contempt of her
and the pleasure
and satisfaction they took in seeing her in this condition:
saying
is this the city
that men call the perfection of beauty
the joy of the whole earth? a complete city
a most
beautiful one for its situation; for its fortifications by nature and art; for
its spacious buildings
palaces
and towers; and especially for the magnificent
temple in it
and the residence of the God of heaven there
and that pompous
worship of him there performed; on account of all which
and the abundant
blessings of goodness bestowed upon the inhabitants
they had reason to rejoice
more than all the men of the world besides; as well as they contributed many
ways to the good and happiness of all nations; this is what had been said by
themselves
Psalm 48:2; and had
even been owned by others; by the forefathers of those very persons that now
insult over it. So the Targum
"is
this the city which our fathers that were of old said? &c.'
nor
do they by these words deny
but rather own
that it had been what was said of
it; but now the case was otherwise; instead of being a perfect beauty
it was a
perfect heap of rubbish; instead of being the joy of the whole earth
it was
the offscouring of all things.
Lamentations 2:16 16 All your enemies have
opened their mouth against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They
say
“We have swallowed her up! Surely this is the day we have
waited for; We have found it
we have seen it!”
YLT
16Opened against thee their
mouth have all thine enemies
They have hissed
yea
they gnash the teeth
They
have said: `We have swallowed [her] up
Surely this [is] the day that we looked
for
We have found -- we have seen.'
All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee
.... Or
"widened"F24פצו
"dilatant"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. them; stretched them
out as far as they could
to reproach
blaspheme
and insult; or
like gaping
beasts
to swallow up and devour:
they hiss and gnash their teeth; hiss like serpents
and
gnash their teeth in wrath and fury; all expressing their extreme hatred and
abhorrence of the Jews
and the delight they took in their ruin and
destruction:
they say
we have swallowed her up; all her
wealth and riches were corns into their hands
and were all their own; as well
as they thought these were all their own doings
owing to their wisdom and
skill
courage and strength; not seeing and knowing the hand of God in all
this. These words seem to be the words of the Chaldeans particularly:
certainly this is the day that we have looked for; we have
found
we have seen it: this day of Jerusalem's destruction
which
they had long looked for
and earnestly desired; and now it was come; and they
had what they so much wished for; and express it with the utmost pleasure. In
this verse the order of the alphabet is not observed the letter פ
"pe"
being set before the letter ע
"ain"
which should be first
according to the
constant order of the alphabet; and which was so before the times of Jeremiah
even in David's time
as appears by the ninety ninth Psalm
and others. Grotius
thinks it is after the manner of the Chaldeans; but the order of the Hebrew and
Chaldee alphabets is the same Dr Lightfoot thinksF25Vol. 1. p. 129.
the prophet
by this charge
hints at the seventy years that Jerusalem should
be desolate
which were now begun; the letter ע
"ain"
in numbers
denoting seventy. So Mr. BedfordF26Scripture
Chronology
p. 685.
who observes
that the transposition of these letters
seems to show the confusion in which the prophet was
when he considered that
this captivity should last seventy years. JarchiF1E Talmud Bab.
Sanhedrin
fol. 104. 2. says one is put before the other
because they spoke
with their mouths what they saw not with their eyes; "pe" signifying
the mouth
and "ain" an eye.
Lamentations 2:17 17 The Lord has done what
He purposed; He has fulfilled His word Which He commanded in days of old. He
has thrown down and has not pitied
And He has caused an enemy to rejoice over
you; He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.
YLT
17Jehovah hath done that
which He devised
He hath fulfilled His saying That He commanded from the days
of old
He hath broken down and hath not pitied
And causeth an enemy to
rejoice over thee
He lifted up the horn of thine adversaries.
The Lord hath done that which he had devised
.... It was
not so much the Chaldeans that did it
though they ascribed it to themselves;
but it was the Lord's doing
and what he had deliberately thought of
purposed
and designed within himself; all whose purposes and devices certainly come to
pass:
he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of
old; not only by the mouth of Jeremiah
years ago
or in the times of
Isaiah
long before him; but even in the days of Moses; see Leviticus 26:17
&c. Deuteronomy 28:20
&c. So the Targum
"which
he commanded to Moses the prophet from ancient days
that if the children of
Israel would not keep the commands of the Lord
he would take vengeance on
them:'
he hath thrown down
and hath not pitied; he hath
thrown down
or caused to be thrown down
without any pity
the walls of
Jerusalem; and not only the houses and palaces in it
but also his own house
the temple:
and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee; giving thorn
victory
and putting all into their hands; on which they insulted them
and
gloried over them:
he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries; increased
their strength and power
their kingdom and authority; and which swelled their
pride
and made them more haughty and insolent.
Lamentations 2:18 18 Their heart cried out to
the Lord
“O wall of the daughter of Zion
Let tears run down like a river day
and night; Give yourself no relief; Give your eyes no rest.
YLT
18Cried hath their heart unto
the Lord; O wall of the daughter of Zion
Cause to go down as a stream tears
daily and nightly
Give not rest to thyself
Let not the daughter of thine eye
stand still.
Their heart cried unto the Lord
.... Either the heart of
their enemies
as Aben Ezra; which cried against the Lord
and blasphemed him;
or rather the heart of the Jews in their distress
when they saw the walls of
the city breaking down
they cried unto the Lord for help and protection
whether sincerely or not; no doubt some did; and all were desirous of
preservation:
O wall of the daughter of Zion! this seems to be an
address of the prophet to the people of Jerusalem carried captive
which was
now without houses and inhabitants
only a broken wall standing
some remains
and ruins of that; which is mentioned to excite their sorrow and lamentation:
let tears run down like a river
day and night; incessantly
for the destruction and desolation made:
give thyself no rest; or intermission; but
weep continually:
let not the apple of thine eye cease; from pouring
out tears; or from weeping
as the Targum; or let it not "be silent"F2אל תדם "non taceat"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus; "ne sileat"
Calvin
Michaelis.
or
asleep; but be open and employed in beholding the miseries of the nation
and
in deploring them.
Lamentations 2:19 19 “Arise
cry out in the
night
At the beginning of the watches; Pour out your heart like water before
the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him For the life of your young
children
Who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”
YLT
19Arise
cry aloud in the
night
At the beginning of the watches. Pour out as water thy heart
Over
against the face of the Lord
Lift up unto Him thy hands
for the soul of thine
infants
Who are feeble with hunger at the head of all out-places.
Arise
cry out in the night
.... That is
O daughter
of Zion
or congregation of Israel
as the Targum; who are addressed and called
upon by the prophet to arise from their beds
and shake off their sleep
and
sloth
and stupidity
and cry to God in the night season; and be earnest and
importunate with him for help and assistance. Aben Ezra rightly observes
that
the word used signifies a lifting up of the voice both in singing and in
lamentation; here it is used in the latter sense; and denotes great vehemency
and earnestness in crying unto God
arising from deep distress and sorrow
which prevents sleep:
in the beginning of the watches; either at the first of
them; so Broughton renders it
"at the first watch"; which began at
the time of going to bed: or at the beginning of each of them; for with the
ancient Jews there were three of them; in later times four: or in the beginning
of the morning watch
as the Targum; very early in the morning
before sun
rising; as they are called upon to pray late at night
so betimes in the
mottling:
pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord; use the
utmost freedom with him; tell him
in the fullest manner
thy whole case
fit
thy complaints; unbosom thyself to him; keep nothing from him; speak out freely
all lily soul needs; do all this publicly
and in the most affectionate way and
manner
thy soul melted in floods of tears
under a sense of sin
and pressing
evils for it. The Targum is
"pour
out as water the perverseness of thine heart
and return by repentance
and
pray in the house of the congregation (or synagogue) before the face of the
Lord:'
lift up thine hands towards him; in prayer
as the Targum
adds; for this is a prayer gesture
as in Lamentations 3:41;
for the life of thy young children that faint for hunger in the
top of every street; pray for them
that they might have food and sustenance
to
preserve them alive; who
for want of it
were ready to swoon and die the
public streets; in the top of them
where they met
and where was the greatest
concourse of people
and yet none able to relieve them.
Lamentations 2:20 20 “See
O Lord
and consider!
To whom have You done this? Should the women eat their offspring
The children
they have cuddled?[a] Should the
priest and prophet be slain In the sanctuary of the Lord?
YLT
20See
O Jehovah
and look
attentively
To whom Thou hast acted thus
Do women eat their fruit
infants of
a handbreadth? Slain in the sanctuary of the Lord are priest and prophet?
Behold
O Lord
and consider to whom thou hast done this
.... On whom
thou hast brought these calamities of famine and sword; not upon thine enemies
but upon thine own people
that are called by thy name
and upon theirs
their
young ones
who had not sinned as their fathers had: here the church does not
charge God with any injustice
or complain of hard usage; only humbly entreats
he would look upon her
in her misery
with an eye of pity and compassion; and
consider her sorrowful condition; and remember the relation she stood in to
him; and so submits her case
and leaves it with him. These words seem to be
suggested to the church by the prophet
as what might be proper for her to use
when praying for the life of her young children; and might be introduced by
supplying the word "saying" before "behold
O Lord"
&c.
shall the women eat their fruit; their children
the
fruit of their womb
as the Targum; their newborn babes
that hung at their
breasts
and were carried in their arms; it seems they did
as was threatened
they should
Leviticus 26:29;
and so they did at the siege of Samaria
and at the siege of Jerusalem
both by
the Chaldeans and the Romans:
and children of a span long? or of a
hand's breadth; the breadth of the palms of the hand
denoting very little
ones: or "children handled"
or "swaddled with the hands"F3עללי טפחים "parvulos qui
educantur"
Pagninus; "parvulos educationum"
Montanus;
"educationis"
Calvin; "infantes palmationum
sive
tractationis palmarum"
Michaelis; "pueros palmis tractatos"
Cocceius. ; of their parents
who are used to stroke the limbs of their babes
to bring them to; and keep them in right form and shape
and swaddle them with
swaddling bands in a proper manner; see Lamentations 2:22;
and so the Targum
"desirable
children
who are wrapped in fine linen.'
JarchiF4E
Talmud Bab. Yoma
fol. 38. 2. interprets it of Doeg Ben Joseph
whom his mother
slew
and ate:
shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the
Lord? as very probably some were
who fled thither for safety when the
city was broken up; but were not spared by the merciless Chaldeans
who had no
regard to their office and character; nor is it any wonder they should not
when the Jews themselves slew Zechariah
a priest and prophet
between the
porch and the altar; of whom the Targum here makes mention; and to whom Jarchi
applies these words.
Lamentations 2:21 21 “Young and old lie On the
ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword; You
have slain them in the day of Your anger
You have slaughtered and
not pitied.
YLT
21Lain on the earth [in]
out-places have young and old
My virgins and my young men have fallen by the
sword
Thou hast slain in a day of Thine anger
Thou hast slaughtered -- Thou
hast not pitied.
The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets
.... Young men
and old men
virgins and aged women; these promiscuously lay on the ground in
the public streets
fainting and dying for want of food; or lay killed there by
the sword of the enemy; the Chaldeans sparing neither age nor sex. The Targum
interprets it of their sleeping on the ground
"young
men slept on the ground in the villages
and old men who used to lie on pillows
of fine wool
and on beds of ivory;'
but
the former sense is confirmed by what follows:
my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; by the sword
of the Chaldeans
when they entered the city:
thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger: thou hast
killed
and not pitied; the Chaldeans
were only instruments; it was the Lord's doing; it was according to his will;
it was what he had purposed and decreed; what he had solemnly declared and
threatened; and now in his providence brought about
for the sins of the Jews
by which he was provoked to anger; and so gave them up into the hands of their
enemies
to slay them without mercy; and which is here owned; the church takes
notice of the hand of God in all this.
Lamentations 2:22 22 “You have invited as to a
feast day The terrors that surround me. In the day of the Lord’s anger There
was no refugee or survivor. Those whom I have borne and brought up My enemies
have destroyed.”
YLT
22Thou dost call as [at] a
day of appointment
My fears from round about
And there hath not been in the
day of the anger of Jehovah
An escaped and remaining one
They whom I
stretched out and nourished
My enemy hath consumed!
Thou hast called
as in a solemn day
my terrors round about
.... Terrible
enemies
as the Chaldeans; these came at the call of God
as soldiers at the
command of their general; and in as great numbers as men from all parts of
Judea flocked to Jerusalem on any of the three solemn feasts of passover
pentecost
and tabernacles. The Targum paraphrases it very foreign to the
sense;
"thou
shall proclaim liberty to thy people
the house of Israel
by the Messiah
as
thou didst by Moses and Aaron on the day of the passover:'
so that in the day of the Lord's anger none escaped or remained; in the city
of Jerusalem
and in the land of Judea; either they were put to death
or were
carried captive; so that there was scarce an inhabitant to be found
especially
after Gedaliah was slain
and the Jews left in the land were carried into
Egypt:
those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed; or "whom
I could span"
as Broughton; or "handled"; whose limbs she had
stroked with her hands
whom she had swathed with bands
and had carried in her
arms
and had most carefully and tenderly brought up: by those she had
"swaddled" are meant the little ones; and by those she had
"brought up" the greater ones
as Aben Ezra observes; but both the
enemy
the Chaldeans
consumed and destroyed without mercy
without regard to
their tender years
or the manner in which they were brought up; but as if they
were nourished like lambs for the day of slaughter.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)