2:14 Thy prophets have {k} seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not revealed thy iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.(k) Because the false prophets called themselves seers, as the others were called, therefore he shows that they saw amiss because they did not reprove the people’s faults, but flattered them in their sins, which was the cause of their destruction. read more
The touching significance of this book lies in the fact that it is the disclosure of the love and sorrow of Jehovah for the very people He is chastening a sorrow wrought by the Spirit in the heart of Jeremiah. Compare Jeremiah 13:7 ; Matthew 23:36-38 ; and Romans 9:1-5 . Scofield Reference Bible As regards its external structure, the composition of the book, both as a whole and in its several parts, is so artistic, that anything like it can hardly be found in any other book of Holy Scriptures.... read more
"Children of a Span Long" Lam 2:20 The English language is very rich, yet very poor. Most rich people are poor when you come to know them and want them. This English language is both a millionaire and a pauper. It is not rich in fine grades and shades of meaning It has a right hand and a left, and there is an end of it; it is black and white, and up and down, and new and old, rough divisions of that kind. So we are rough people, dealing largely in rough and rude judgments, cutting things off... read more
"Handfuls of Purpose" For All Gleaners "Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment." Lam 2:14 The prophets had degenerated into professional flatterers. Prophets soon come to understand what the people want for their own gratification, and soon come to understand whether the people are in quest of God's truth or the satisfaction of their own... read more
What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee? Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag... read more
Revelations. Hebrew Masoth, "burdens" for the enemy. This sentence ought to come before and they, &c., as it is in the Vulgate. (Haydock) read more
10-22 Causes for lamentation are described. Multitudes perished by famine. Even little children were slain by their mother's hands, and eaten, according to the threatening, Deuteronomy 28:53. Multitudes fell by the sword. Their false prophets deceived them. And their neighbours laughed at them. It is a great sin to jest at others' miseries, and adds much affliction to the afflicted. Their enemies triumphed over them. The enemies of the church are apt to take its shocks for its ruins; but they... read more
The Vanity of Human Consolation Together with a Plea for Help v. 11. Mine eyes do fail with tears, being spent, worn out, with weeping, my bowels are troubled, his heart being most deeply affected, my liver is poured upon the earth, that is, since the liver was considered the seat of the passions, all my feelings are dissolved with pain, for the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city, the fainting away of these... read more
Lamentations 2:0Lamentation Of The Poet Over The Destruction Of Zion: [the Destruction Described And Attributed To Jehovah.—W. H. H.][“The first song expresses sorrow over the disgrace of the city: the second describes the terrors of the destruction of the city and Temple” (Gerlach, Intr, p. 5), and connects them with the vengeance of God. In the first song, the city is the conspicuous object, and Zion and the holy places appear as accessories to her former honor and her present disgrace. In... read more
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Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Lamentations 2:1-22
CHAPTER 2 What the Lord Has Done The great catastrophe continues in vivid description throughout this chapter also. Not an enemy has done it, not Nebuchadrezzar and his Chaldean hordes, but the Lord is the executor of all. The beauty of Israel He cast down; He swallowed up the habitations of Jacob; He burned against Jacob like a flame; He bent His bow like an enemy; He poured out His fury like fire; He was as an enemy. These are a few of the many expressions with which the righteousness of the... read more