Lamentations 1:1-16

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:8

(8) Therefore she is removed.—The verb is used technically for the separation of a woman under ceremonial defilement; and the daughter of Zion in her sin and shame is compared (as in Lamentations 1:17) to such a woman. The figure is continued with a startling boldness. Like a woman exposed to the gaze of scorners, Jerusalem would fain turn her back upon those who exult in the twofold nakedness of her sin and of its punishment. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:9

(9) Her filthiness.—The picture of pollution is pushed to its most loathsome extreme. The very skirts of the garment are defiled.She remembereth not . . .—Better, she remembered not. It was her recklessness as to the future (comp. Deuteronomy 32:29, for the phrase) which brought her down to this “wonderful” and extreme prostration.O Lord, behold my affliction.—The words are not those of the prophet, but of Zion, anticipating the dramatic personation which begins systematically at Lamentations... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:10

(10) Upon all her pleasant things . . .—The use of a like phrase in 2 Chronicles 36:10; 2 Chronicles 36:19, of the vessels of the Temple, leads us to think primarily or them; but the word itself has a wider range, and includes all works of art and ornamentation.Whom thou didst command.—Stress is laid on the profanation rather than the plunder of the sanctuary. Ammonites and Moabites were excluded from the congregation in Deuteronomy 23:3, and yet they and other heathen nations now rushed even... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:11

(11) All her people sigh. . . .—The words which describe the famine at Jerusalem are in the present tense, either as painting the sufferings of the past with the vividness of the historic present, or because the sufferings still continued even after the capture of the city. The remnant that was left had to bring out their treasures, jewels, and the like, and offer them for bread.To relieve the soul.—Better, to revive, literally, to bring back. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:12

(12) Is it nothing to you . . .—Literally, Not to you, ye passers by, which the Authorised version takes as a question. The LXX. and Vulg., however, seem to have taken the adverb as an interjection: “O all ye that pass by . . .” And some interpreters have taken the negative but not the question, “Nor to you . . . (do I say this).” The Authorised version, however, has most to commend it. What the mourning city felt most keenly was that her unparalleled sufferings were met with an unparalleled... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:13

(13) From above . . .—The words are probably figurative. The judgments that had fallen on Jerusalem were as a fire from heaven, piercing even to “the joints and marrow,” the innermost recesses of life.He hath turned me back . . .—The phrase points not to the defeat and flight of battle, but, completing the figure of the net, paints the failure of every effort to escape. The word for “desolate” implies, as in the case of Tamar (2 Samuel 13:20), an utter, hopeless misery. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:14

(14) Is bound by his hand . . .—The verb is not found elsewhere, but was probably a technical term for the twisting of the thongs by which the yoke was fastened, the “yoke” in this case being the transgressions of Judah, which were as a sore burden too heavy to be borne.He hath made.—Better, it hath made; i.e., the yoke which was above her strength to bear.The Lord.—It is noticeable that here, and in thirteen other passages in this book, the word Adonai is used instead of the more usual... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:15

(15) Trodden under foot.—Better, hath made contemptible, as those who are weighed in the balance and found wanting.All my mighty men . . .—The adjective is used elsewhere of bulls (Psalms 22:12; Isaiah 34:7), but stands here for the heroes of Judah, who fell, not in open battle, but ignominiously “in the midst” of the captured city.He hath called an assembly.—The point of the phrase lies in its being that commonly used for proclaiming a religious festival (Leviticus 23:4). Here the festival is... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Lamentations 1:16

(16) For these things . . .—The unparalleled misery finds vent in a flood of bitterest tears. We note the emphasis of iteration in “mine eye, mine eye.” On “relieve,” see Note on Lamentations 1:11; and on “desolate,” see Note on Lamentations 1:13. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Lamentations 1:1-22

Civic Apathy (a Sermon for Women) Lamentations 1:12 I. The Home-Side of Patriotism. Is it not a serious matter to find such multitudes in all our large towns and cities who have little or no sense of what it means to belong to a great community, who have little or no idea of the life in common and of the responsibility and duty which all share? There are many around us who do not care anything for the problems of a great city; do not indeed realize that there are any problems at all, except... read more

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