Jerusalem's Lament over Her Desolation
Lamentations 1:1-22
Lam.1.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- איכה: INTJ
- ישבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- רבתי: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- עם: PREP
- היתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- כאלמנה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רבתי: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- בגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שרתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- במדינות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- היתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- למס: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 137:1–4 (thematic): Both portray exile and lament: Israelites sitting desolate in a foreign land, weeping and remembering Zion—echoes the image of the city ‘sitting solitary’ among nations.
- Isaiah 47:1 (allusion): A once‑mighty city humbled to ‘sit in the dust’ (daughter of Babylon). Parallels Lamentations’ motif of a formerly great city reduced to widowhood and shame.
- Ezekiel 16:39–41 (thematic): Ezekiel’s allegory of Jerusalem’s humiliation and exposure after judgment (the unfaithful city made desolate) parallels Lamentations’ depiction of the city as a lonely, shamed widow.
- Jeremiah 52:12–16 (structural): Historical report of the siege, capture and exile of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar. Provides the historical background for Lamentations’ lament over the ruined city and dispersed people.
- Revelation 18:2–4 (allusion): The New Testament proclamation ‘Babylon is fallen’ and the mournful fallout of the city recalls the motif of a great urban center judged and left desolate, resonating with Lamentations’ imagery.
Alternative generated candidates
- How lonely sits the city, once full of people! She has become like a widow; great among the nations, a princess among the provinces—she has become tributary.
- How lonely sits the city, once full of people! She has become like a widow; great among the nations, a princess among provinces—she has become a slave.
Lam.1.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בכו: PREP
- תבכה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- בלילה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ודמעתה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss3f
- על: PREP
- לחיה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- מנחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מכל: PREP
- אהביה: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,f,sg
- כל: DET
- רעיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss3f
- בגדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- לאיבים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 69:20-21 (verbal): Speaks of a broken heart and seeking pity/comfort but finding none—echoes Lamentations’ line that ‘among all her lovers there is none to comfort her.’
- Psalm 42:3 (thematic): Uses the image of continual tears by night and day (‘My tears have been my food day and night’), paralleling the motif of nocturnal weeping in Lamentations 1:2.
- Jeremiah 9:1 (thematic): A sorrowful wish for abundant tears (‘Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears’)—similar lamenting and tear imagery found in Lamentations 1:2.
- Lamentations 2:11 (structural): An internal parallel within Lamentations that intensifies the same theme—expressions of failing eyes and abundant tears, underlining communal desolation and lack of comfort.
Alternative generated candidates
- In tears she weeps by night; her tears are on her cheeks; there is none to comfort her among all her lovers; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.
- She weeps bitterly in the night; her tears are on her cheeks—there is none to comfort her. All her lovers have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
Lam.1.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גלתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- מעני: PREP+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ומרב: CONJ+PREP
- עבדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- ישבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- מצאה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- מנוח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- רדפיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON.3,f,sg
- השיגוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl+PRON.3,f,sg
- בין: PREP
- המצרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 (verbal): Describes Judah removed to Babylon and made servants there—paralleling Lamentations' language of exile, hard service (עבדה) and dwelling among the nations.
- Psalm 137:1-4 (thematic): A communal lament of exiles by the rivers of Babylon—echoes the theme of dwelling in a foreign land, mourning Zion, and lack of rest among the nations.
- Deuteronomy 28:64-66 (thematic): Part of the covenant curse predicting scattering among the nations, no resting place and continual fear—parallels the motifs of exile, 'no rest,' and pursuit in Lam. 1:3.
- 2 Kings 25:21 (structural): Narrative report of Nebuzaradan carrying the remnant of the people into exile—correlates with Lamentations' depiction of Judah carried off and overtaken by pursuers.
- Jeremiah 52:4-7 (allusion): Jeremiah's account of the siege and removal of Judah to Babylon provides the historical backdrop for Lamentations' lament about exile, servitude, and being overtaken.
Alternative generated candidates
- Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells among the nations; she finds no rest; all her pursuers overtook her between the straits.
- Judah is gone into exile because of affliction and heavy servitude; she dwells among the nations and finds no rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in the passes.
Lam.1.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דרכי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,1,_,sg
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- אבלות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מבלי: PREP
- באי: PREP+VERB,qal,ptcp,m,pl
- מועד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- שעריה: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- שוממין: VERB,qal,part,3,m,pl
- כהניה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נאנחים: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- בתולתיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נוגות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- והיא: CONJ+PRON,3,f,sg
- מר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 3:26 (verbal): Speaks of the gates lamenting and the city sitting desolate — language and image closely parallel the mourning/desolation of Zion and its gates in Lam. 1:4.
- Isaiah 64:10 (thematic): Declares Zion and Jerusalem a wilderness and desolation, echoing the theme of ruined Jerusalem and the abandonment pictured in Lam. 1:4.
- Lamentations 2:9 (structural): Within the same poem, describes the destruction of Jerusalem’s gates and the removal of protection/barriers — a direct thematic and narrative continuation of the desolation noted in 1:4.
- Jeremiah 52:12–13 (thematic): Historical report of the city's capture and the burning of the house of the Lord; provides the historical/causal background for the lament over desolate gates and mourning priests in Lam. 1:4.
- Psalm 74:3–9 (thematic): Portrays the sanctuary laid waste, enemies roaring in the sanctuary, and the communal cry over the ruin — parallels the image of priests/virgins mourning and the desolation of the city in Lam. 1:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- The ways of Zion mourn, because none come to her appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate; her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is bitter in soul.
- The ways of Zion mourn, for none come to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate. Her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is bitter in soul.
Lam.1.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- צריה: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- איביה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- שלו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הוגה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- רב: ADJ,m,sg
- פשעיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עולליה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הלכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שבי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- לפני: PREP
- צר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:25 (thematic): Covenantal curse language: because of disobedience the LORD lets enemies prevail over Israel — echoes Lamentations’ note that Yahweh afflicted the city and its foes became dominant.
- 2 Kings 25:21 (structural): Historical report of the Babylonian deportation of Jerusalem’s inhabitants — parallels Lamentations’ image of the city’s children being led away into captivity before the enemy.
- Jeremiah 52:4-5 (allusion): Describes the Babylonian siege and fall of Jerusalem and explicitly links the destruction to the LORD’s purpose — mirrors Lamentations’ attribution of the disaster to Yahweh’s judgment for transgression.
- Psalm 137:1-4 (thematic): Exilic lament over defeat, foreign domination, and mourning in Babylon — thematically resonates with Lamentations’ portrayal of a defeated city whose people are in captivity and shamed before enemies.
Alternative generated candidates
- Her foes are chief, her enemies prosper—because the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children went away captive before the adversary.
- Her adversaries have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions. Her children went captive before the foe.
Lam.1.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויצא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מבת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- הדרה: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3fs
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שריה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כאילים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- מצאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מרעה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וילכו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- בלא: PREP
- כח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לפני: PREP
- רודף: PART,qal,act,ms,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 3:16-26 (thematic): Both passages portray the 'daughter/Zion' stripped of her beauty and the collapse or humiliation of her leaders—loss of honor and the failure of princes in the face of judgment.
- Jeremiah 10:21 (thematic): Uses shepherd/leadership imagery to describe leaders who fail their people and whose flocks are scattered—paralleling the motif of princes who lack pasture and strength.
- Ezekiel 34:5-6 (thematic): Speaks of shepherds abandoning and scattering the flock because there was no shepherd—echoing the pastoral image of leaders like harts that find no pasture and the consequent ruin of the people.
- Psalm 42:1 (verbal): Shares the vivid simile of a hart panting for water/food; Lamentations' 'princes like harts that find no pasture' recalls the same animal imagery of desperate lack of sustenance.
Alternative generated candidates
- From daughter Zion all her majesty has departed; her princes are like harts that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
- From the daughter of Zion all her splendor has departed; her princes are like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
Lam.1.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זכרה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3fs
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- עניה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ומרודיה: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3fs
- כל: DET
- מחמדיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3fs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מימי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- קדם: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בנפל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ביד: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- צר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- עוזר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ראוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- צרים: ADJ,m,pl
- שחקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- על: PREP
- משבתה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3fs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 25:8-10 (structural): Narrative account of Jerusalem’s capture and destruction by the enemy—temple burned, city taken—paralleling Lamentations’ depiction of precious things lost and the city fallen into enemy hands.
- Jeremiah 52:12-13 (structural): Parallel report (in Jeremiah’s appendix) of the fall of Jerusalem and the taking/destruction of the city’s valuables, echoing the image of former glories seized by the foe and no helper remaining.
- Psalm 137:1-7 (thematic): Exilic remembrance of Zion (‘we remembered Zion’) and a plea for vindication; verse 7 in particular recalls enemies’ taunts to ‘raze it,’ resonating with Lamentations’ note that foes saw and mocked her downfall.
- Psalm 79:1-5 (thematic): Lament over nations profaning God’s inheritance and Jerusalem’s desolation—images of slaughter, defilement, and the community’s helplessness before mocking enemies parallel Lamentations’ themes of loss and derision.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in days of old; when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, there was none to help her; the foes looked on and mocked at her sabbaths.
- Remember, O Jerusalem, your affliction and your wandering, all your pleasant things that were from of old; when your people fell into the hand of the foe, there was no one to help her. The foes saw and mocked at her ruin.
Lam.1.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חטא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חטאה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- לנידה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- כל: DET
- מכבדיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הזילוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- ראו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- ערותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גם: ADV
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- נאנחה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ותשב: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אחור: ADV
Parallels
- Nahum 3:5 (verbal): God threatens to ‘discover thy skirts… show the nations thy nakedness,’ a direct use of exposure/shame language parallel to Jerusalem’s nakedness and public humiliation in Lam. 1:8.
- Isaiah 47:3 (verbal): Addresses a once‑honored city laid naked and humbled because of its sins (‘thy nakedness shall be uncovered’), echoing the motif of sin leading to exposure and disgrace in Lam. 1:8.
- Ezekiel 16:37‑43 (thematic): Ezekiel portrays Jerusalem’s prostitution and consequent judgment—abandonment, shame, and exposure—closely paralleling Lamentations’ themes of sin, loss of honor, and public disgrace.
- Ezekiel 23:37‑43 (thematic): The two‑sisters allegory depicts Israel/Judah’s sexual infidelity and the resulting humiliation and handing over to enemies; parallels Lam. 1:8’s connection of sin with national disgrace and being despised by former honorers.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she has become an object of reproach; all who honored her despise her, for they saw her nakedness; she herself sighs and turns away.
- Jerusalem has sinned grievously; therefore she is become unclean. All who honored her despised her; when they saw her nakedness, she herself sighed and turned away.
Lam.1.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טמאתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3fs
- בשוליה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3fs
- לא: PART_NEG
- זכרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אחריתה: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- ותרד: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- פלאים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- מנחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- עניי: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss,1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- הגדיל: VERB,hif,perf,3,m,sg
- אויב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 16:37-43 (verbal): Uses similar imagery of Jerusalem's sexual uncleanness, exposure and consequent humiliation—paralleling 'filthiness in her skirts' and shame leading to downfall.
- Isaiah 47:7-11 (thematic): Depicts a proud city that forgot its latter end and is suddenly brought low with no helper—echoes 'she remembered not her last end' and the sudden humiliation and lack of comforter.
- Jeremiah 8:1-2 (verbal): Speaks of burials without lamentation and 'no one to comfort' the dead—directly parallels the motif of having 'no comforter' in the face of calamity.
- Psalm 44:9-16 (thematic): Laments that God has allowed the people to be put to shame and become a byword among nations while enemies boast—parallels the complaint 'behold my affliction; for the enemy hath magnified himself.'
Alternative generated candidates
- Her uncleanness is in her skirts; she remembers not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully—there is no comforter for her. O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy has magnified himself.
- Her uncleanness is in her skirts; she forgot her latter end and sank to dreadful depths; there is none to comfort her. The LORD has seen her affliction, for the enemy was exalted.
Lam.1.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ידו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- פרש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- צר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- מחמדיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3fs
- כי: CONJ
- ראתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- גוים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- באו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מקדשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3fs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צויתה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- יבאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בקהל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 74:7-8 (verbal): Speaks of enemies setting Your sanctuary on fire and trampling down its dwellings—parallels the defilement and violation of the holy place by foreign nations.
- Psalm 79:1-3 (verbal): Laments nations entering and defiling Jerusalem and God’s sanctuary and laying the city in heaps—theme of foreign profanation of the sanctuary like Lamentations 1:10.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17-19 (structural): Describes Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment: handing Judah to Babylon, burning the house of the Lord, and carrying the people into exile—historical background for nations entering and profaning the sanctuary.
- 2 Kings 25:9 (structural): Reports the burning and destruction of the temple by the Babylonians—directly echoes the image of the sanctuary being violated and its people removed.
- Ezekiel 8:6-7 (allusion): The prophet is shown abominations and defilement within the house of the Lord—an oracle about profanation of the sanctuary that resonates with the lament over nations entering the holy place.
Alternative generated candidates
- The hand of the enemy is upon all her treasures; for she has seen the nations enter into her sanctuary—those whom you commanded should not enter into your congregation.
- Her adversary stretched out his hand over all her desirable things, for she saw the nations enter her sanctuary—those whom you commanded not to enter your assembly.
Lam.1.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כל: DET
- עמה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- נאנחים: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- מבקשים: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נתנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- מחמדיהם: NOUN,m,pl,prsuf,3,m
- באכל: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- להשיב: VERB,qal,inf
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- והביטה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- זוללה: VERB,nifal,ptcp,3,f,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 6:25-29 (thematic): Siege-famine narrative in Samaria: extreme hunger, people selling/consuming what is precious (even children), parallels Lamentations’ image of people seeking bread and giving up prized possessions to live.
- Ezekiel 7:19 (verbal): Prophetic scene where people 'cast their silver into the streets' because gold and silver cannot save them — echoes Lamentations’ note that people have given their valuable goods for food in a time of judgment.
- Lamentations 4:4 (structural): Within the same book: children beg for bread and none is given (4:4). Both verses depict acute hunger, the breakdown of provision, and communal suffering during Jerusalem’s fall.
- Psalm 102:9 (Hebrew v.8) (verbal): The psalmist speaks of eating 'ashes like bread' and mingling drink with weeping — a vivid metaphor of humiliation and dire need that parallels the Lamentations motif of desperate sustenance and personal abasement ('become vile').
Alternative generated candidates
- All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their precious things for food to revive life. See, O LORD, and consider, for I am become a reproach.
- All her people sigh and seek bread; they traded their treasures for food to revive their souls. See, O LORD, and behold—for I am despised.
Lam.1.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לוא: NEG
- אליכם: PREP+PRON,2,pl
- כל: DET
- עברי: ADJ,m,sg
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הביטו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- וראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אם: CONJ
- יש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מכאוב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כמכאבי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,const,poss:1,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עולל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הוגה: VERB,hiph,perf,3,ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ביום: PREP
- חרון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אפו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff3ms
Parallels
- Lam.2.1 (verbal): Both verses attribute Jerusalem's devastation to the LORD's fierce anger; Lamentations 2:1 likewise describes the Lord covering Zion in his wrath, echoing the 'day of his fierce anger' language.
- Isa.13.9 (verbal): Isaiah speaks of the coming 'day of the LORD's wrath'—cruel and with fierce anger—using near-identical imagery of divine punitive fury as in Lam. 1:12.
- Joel 2:1,11 (thematic): Joel's announcement of the terrible 'day of the LORD' and the Lord's mighty, wrathful presence parallels Lamentations' depiction of a calamity inflicted by God's fierce anger.
- Jer.9:1 (thematic): Jeremiah's personal lament over Jerusalem ('would that my head were waters...') resonates with Lam. 1:12's appeal to passersby to witness unparalleled sorrow; both express deep, individual grief for the city's fate.
- Luke 19:41-42 (thematic): Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and laments its coming judgment; the public display of grief and the call to behold the city's impending calamity echo the lament's invitation to 'look and see' the unique sorrow.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which has been brought upon me, which the LORD has inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.
- Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.
Lam.1.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ממרום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בעצמתי: PREP
- וירדנה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- פרש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- רשת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לרגלי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cs,1
- השיבני: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- אחור: ADV
- נתנני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,suff:1cs
- שממה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- דוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 20:9 (verbal): Both verses use the striking phrase of a burning in the bones—Jeremiah: “there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones,” echoing Lamentations’ ’sent fire into my bones’ (similar verbal image, different theological function).
- Psalm 102:3 (verbal): Psalmist: “my bones are burned like a hearth,” which parallels Lamentations’ image of fire in the bones as a picture of consuming suffering and affliction.
- Job 18:10 (verbal): Job describes a man whose feet are caught in a net/snare—‘His feet are caught in a net’—a direct verbal parallel to Lamentations’ ‘He spread a net for my feet’ (same trap/net imagery).
- Psalm 35:7 (thematic): Enemies ‘hide for me their net in a pit’ (Psalm 35:7); this theme of enemies setting a net/trap for the sufferer echoes Lamentations’ depiction of a net spread for the speaker’s feet.
Alternative generated candidates
- From on high he sent fire into my bones; it prevailed; he spread a net for my feet and turned me back; he has made me desolate; fainting all the day.
- From on high he sent fire into my bones; it prevailed against them. He spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has made me desolate—continually I bow down.
Lam.1.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נשקד: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- פשעי: NOUN,m,sg,suff,1,sg
- בידו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ישתרגו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עלו: PREP+3ms_suff
- על: PREP
- צוארי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+suff-1cs
- הכשיל: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- כחי: NOUN,m,sg,poss,1,sg
- נתנני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,suff:1cs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- בידי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff1s
- לא: PART_NEG
- אוכל: VERB,qal,part,1,m,sg
- קום: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 5:22 (verbal): Uses the image of a person’s own iniquities binding or ensnaring him (ʼthe cords of his sin are wrapped around him'), paralleling Lamentations' 'my transgressions were bound about my neck.'
- Psalm 38:4-8 (thematic): A penitential psalm where the psalmist attributes physical weakness and oppression to sin and God’s heavy hand—'your hand is heavy upon me' and inability to stand—echoing Lamentations' sense of being bowed down and unable to rise.
- Psalm 32:3-4 (thematic): Speaks of the burden of unconfessed sin and God's hand weighing on the sufferer—'day and night your hand was heavy upon me'—similar to Lamentations' linking of sin, divine punishment, and physical collapse.
- Psalm 69:2 (thematic): Describes sinking where there is no standing and being overwhelmed by troubles ('I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold'), resonating with Lamentations' language of being delivered into others' hands and unable to rise.
Alternative generated candidates
- The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand; they are wreathed and come up upon my neck; he has made my strength to fall; the LORD has delivered me into their hands, and I am not able to rise up.
- He has laid my sins before him; they were bound together and have mounted upon my neck. The Lord has delivered me into hands I cannot withstand; my strength fails me.
Lam.1.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- סלה: MISC
- כל: DET
- אבירי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- בקרבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מועד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשבר: VERB,qal,inf
- בחורי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- גת: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- לבתולת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
Parallels
- Lam.2.15 (verbal): Same Lament tradition of public mockery of Jerusalem/daughter Zion—passers-by ‘hiss’ and ‘shake their heads,’ echoing the humiliation of the ‘virgin daughter of Judah.’
- Ps.79:4-5 (thematic): Like Lam.1.15, Psalm 79 depicts Jerusalem plundered and made a derision to the nations—insult, shame, and communal suffering at the hands of enemies.
- Isa.3:16-26 (thematic): Isaiah’s oracle against the ‘daughters of Zion’ anticipates the stripping, shame, and public humiliation of Jerusalem that Lamentations laments.
- Ezek.16:37-43 (allusion): Ezekiel’s extended allegory of Jerusalem as a woman shamed and punished by the nations parallels Lamentations’ portrayal of the city’s dishonor and devastation.
- Ps.137:1-4 (thematic): The exilic lament in Psalm 137—captivity, yearning for Zion, and taunts by captors—resonates with Lamentations’ themes of siege, exile, and humiliation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Selah. All the mighty ones of my honor are gone; their breath is taken from me; they cried, ‘‘Set a time to crush the young at the wine-press’’—thus the LORD has trampled the virgin daughter of Judah.
- Selah. All the glory of my people is gone; my lords and warriors in my midst cried out against me and set an appointed time to break the young men; they marched off to Gath. The LORD has humbled the virgin daughter of Judah.
Lam.1.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- בוכיה: VERB,qal,part,-,f,sg
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- ירדה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כי: CONJ
- רחק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
- מנחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משיב: VERB,hif,ptc,2,m,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- שוממים: ADJ,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- גבר: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- אויב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Lam.2.11 (structural): Within Lamentations the same image of overflowing eyes and rivers of tears for Jerusalem's destruction—an internal parallel in tone and imagery.
- Jer.9.1 (verbal): Jeremiah longs that his head were waters and his eyes fountains of tears—very similar language of profuse weeping (same prophetic tradition/authorial milieu).
- Ps.6.6 (thematic): The psalmist says his bed is drenched with tears—shared motif of continuous weeping as expression of deep grief and despair.
- Ps.77.2 (allusion): ‘My soul refused to be comforted’ echoes Lamentations’ theme that a comforter is far off and the soul is without consolation.
- Isa.49.14 (thematic): Zion’s cry that the Lord has forsaken and forgotten her parallels the sense of abandonment and absence of comfort in Lamentations 1:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- For these things I weep; my eyes run down with water; because the comforter is far from me who would restore my life; my children are desolate because the enemy prevailed.
- For these things I weep; my eyes pour out water, for far from me is one who could comfort and restore my soul. My children are desolate, for the enemy prevailed.
Lam.1.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פרשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- בידיה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,f,sg
- אין: PART,neg
- מנחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- צוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ליעקב: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg
- סביביו: NOUN,m,pl,pr_3ms
- צריו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,m,sg
- היתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לנדה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ביניהם: PREP,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:7-8 (thematic): Both portray Zion/Jerusalem desolate among nations—'your country is desolate... daughter Zion is left'—echoing Lamentations’ image of Jerusalem abandoned and exposed.
- Jeremiah 8:19–9:1 (structural): Close prophetic lament language and setting (Jeremiah/Lamentations tradition): expression of acute grief and lack of comfort for Zion parallels 'there is none to comfort her'.
- Psalm 137:1-4 (thematic): Exilic lament over Zion—weeping and longing with no consolers—matches Lamentations’ theme of Zion stretching out hands with no comforter.
- Ezekiel 36:20-23 (allusion): Speaks of Israel/Jerusalem becoming a reproach among the nations and God’s name profaned—parallels Lamentations’ note that Jerusalem has become a thing of scorn among surrounding peoples.
- Zephaniah 3:1-7 (verbal): Denounces Jerusalem as rebellious/defiled and surrounded by enemies; language and motifs of pollution, abandonment and hostility echo Lamentations’ 'Jerusalem a polluted/abhorred thing among them'.
Alternative generated candidates
- Zion spread out her hands—there is none to comfort her. The LORD has commanded concerning Jacob that his adversaries surround him; Jerusalem has become a reproach among them.
- Zion stretched out her hands—there is none to comfort her. The LORD has commanded concerning Jacob that his adversaries surround him; Jerusalem has become a taunt among them.
Lam.1.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- צדיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- פיהו: NOUN,m,sg,pr3ms
- מריתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- נא: PART
- כל: DET
- העמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מכאבי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,sg
- בתולתי: NOUN,f,pl,abs+1cs
- ובחורי: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cs
- הלכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בשבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Lamentations 3:39-42 (verbal): Same first‑person confession and call to examine sin: 'let us search and try our ways... we have transgressed and rebelled,' echoing 'for I have rebelled' and the appeal to see the suffering.
- Psalm 51:4 (verbal): Personal confession of guilt before the righteous LORD ('Against you, you only, have I sinned'), paralleling Lamentations' admission 'The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled.'
- 2 Chronicles 6:36-39 (structural): Solomon's prayer outlines the pattern of sin, exile, and plea for mercy—if the people are carried captive for sin—closely paralleling Lamentations' acknowledgement of sin and the ensuing captivity of young men and maidens.
- Psalm 79:1-4 (thematic): Lament over a humbled, defiled Jerusalem and a people made a reproach among the nations—like 'Hear, all ye peoples, and behold my sorrow' and the description of youth taken into captivity.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD is righteous, for I have rebelled against his command. Hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.
- The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his word. Hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering—my virgins and my youths have gone into captivity.
Lam.1.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קראתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- למאהבי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- רמוני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl+PRON,1,_,sg
- כהני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- וזקני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- בעיר: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גועו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- בקשו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- אכל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- וישיבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- נפשם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 34:2-4 (thematic): Condemns Israel's shepherds (leaders/priests) for feeding themselves rather than the flock—parallels the charge that priests and elders have failed/‘sought food’ and perished.
- Micah 3:11 (thematic): Accuses heads and priests of corrupt practice—'they eat the bread of wickedness'—echoing the motif of leaders seeking personal gain and failing their people.
- Psalm 55:12-14 (thematic): Laments betrayal by close companions ('my companion, my friend')—connects with 'I called to my lovers, they deceived me' (betrayal by intimates/allies).
- Jeremiah 5:31 (verbal): States that 'the prophets prophesy lies, and the priests bear rule by their means,' reflecting the condemnation of priests/elders who act corruptly and harm the community.
- Lam.2:9 (structural): Within Lamentations itself: princes and leaders are described as broken and without strength—an internal parallel to 1:19's depiction of priests and elders perishing in the city.
Alternative generated candidates
- I called to my lovers, and they deceived me; my priests and my elders have perished in the city, while they sought food to revive their strength.
- I called to my lovers, but they betrayed me; my priests and my elders perished in the city, for they sought food to revive their lives.
Lam.1.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- צר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מעי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- חמרמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- נהפך: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- לבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- בקרבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- כי: CONJ
- מרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl,m
- מריתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- מחוץ: PREP
- שכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- כמות: ADV
Parallels
- Psalm 22:14-15 (verbal): Both verses use imagery of internal collapse ('my heart is like wax; it is melted within me' / 'my heart is turned within me') and depict physical/psychological breakdown in the face of calamity.
- Lamentations 2:11 (verbal): Within the same book: Lamentations 2:11 likewise speaks of weeping, tortured bowels and poured-out inward parts — a near-verbal parallel emphasizing bodily metaphors for grief over Jerusalem’s fall.
- Jeremiah 4:19 (allusion): A Jeremiah-era lament that cries out over inner anguish ('my bowels... my heart within me'), providing a prophetic precedent for the same inward, bodily language of distress found in Lam. 1:20.
- Psalm 31:9-10 (thematic): Both are direct pleas to Yahweh in extreme distress ('Look, O LORD; for I am in distress' / 'Be merciful unto me, O LORD, for I am in trouble') and portray inner ruin and suffering as grounds for appeal to God.
Alternative generated candidates
- See, O LORD, for I am in distress; my inward parts are disturbed; my heart is turned within me because I grievously rebelled; abroad the sword bereaves—at home there is as death.
- See, O LORD, for my inward parts are in anguish; my heart turns within me because I have grievously rebelled. Outside, the sword bereaves; within the house it is like death.
Lam.1.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- נאנחה: VERB,qal,impf,1,f,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אין: PART,neg
- מנחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- כל: DET
- איבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss=1s
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- רעתי: NOUN,f,sg,suff1s
- ששו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- עשית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- הבאת: VERB,hifil,perf,2,m,sg
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קראת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ויהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כמוני: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Lamentations 1:12 (verbal): Both verses address passersby/witnesses with an imperative to heed/see the city’s affliction; similar rhetoric of public lament and appeal for recognition.
- Lamentations 2:15 (thematic): Same book parallel describing passersby and enemies who mock, clap, and rejoice over Jerusalem’s downfall—reinforces the motif of public scorn and derision.
- Psalm 79:4-5 (thematic): Describes foreign nations mocking and rejoicing over Jerusalem’s devastation and the people’s abandonment—parallels the enemies’ gloating and the absence of comfort.
- Psalm 44:13-16 (thematic): Speaks of God handing the people over to shame and neighbours’ mockery; echoes Lamentations’ idea that God’s action brought the day and enemies rejoice that he has done it.
- John 16:20 (thematic): Jesus contrasts the disciples’ sorrow with the world’s rejoicing; thematically parallels the experience of suffering while others gloat over that suffering.
Alternative generated candidates
- All my enemies hear of my trouble and are glad that you have done it; they sing and are glad, for you have brought the day that they called for—let them be like me.
- Hear, all my enemies, for I am in great distress—there is no comforter for me. Let them rejoice and be glad over my ruin, which you have brought; call it, and let it be upon them as it is upon me.
Lam.1.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תבא: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- כל: DET
- רעתם: NOUN,f,sg,suff-3mp
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- ועולל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כאשר: CONJ
- עוללת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- פשעי: NOUN,m,sg,suff,1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- רבות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- אנחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- ולבי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,_,sg
- דוי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Lam.3:64-66 (structural): Same book and section: a petition that God bring disaster on Jerusalem’s enemies and repay them as He has judged the city—direct continuation of the imprecatory/request motif in 1:22.
- Psalm 35:1 (thematic): An imprecatory plea—'Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me'—parallels the request that God bring the wickedness of Israel’s foes before Him and act against them.
- Psalm 38:8 (verbal): ’For I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart’ closely echoes the language of many sighs and a faint heart in Lamentations 1:22.
- Psalm 6:6 (verbal): ’I am weary with my groaning; every night I flood my bed with tears’ — another lament expressing abundant sighing and distress similar to the emotional tone of 1:22.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 (allusion): ’Vengeance is mine, and recompense’ provides the theological background for asking God to bring perpetrators’ iniquity before Him and to execute justice as requested in 1:22.
Alternative generated candidates
- Bring all their wickedness before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me for all my transgressions; for my sighing is many, and my heart is faint.
- Bring all their evil before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me for all my transgressions; for my sighs are many and my heart is faint.
How lonely sits the city, once full of people! She has become like a widow; she who was great among the nations and a princess among the provinces has become a slave.
She weeps bitterly in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks; there is no one to comfort her among all her lovers; all her friends have betrayed her and become her enemies.
Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and great servitude; she dwells among the nations; she finds no rest; all her pursuers overtook her between the straits.
The roads of Zion mourn, for no one comes to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate; her priests sigh, her young women groan; she is bitter in soul.
Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper; the LORD has punished her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children went away captive before the foe.
From daughter Zion all her splendor has departed; her princes are like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
Jerusalem remembers the days of her affliction and of her wanderings— all her precious things that were from ancient times. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, there was no helper; the enemies saw her and mocked at her appointed times.
Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became an object of reproach; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself sighs and turns away.
Her uncleanness is in her skirts; she has remembered not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully— there is none to comfort her. The LORD has seen her affliction, for the enemy has become exalted.
The hand of the foe is stretched out upon all her precious things; for they have seen the nations enter her sanctuary— those whom you commanded not to enter your assembly.
All her people groan, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for food to sustain life. ‘See, O LORD, and consider, for I have become contemptible.’
Is it nothing to you, all who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.
From on high he sent fire into my bones; it prevailed against them; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has made me desolate— all the day I mourn.
He has laid my guilt upon me, they are bound together— they press upon my neck; the LORD has delivered me into the hands of those who pursue me; I cannot rise.
Selah. All my valiant ones are put to shame; the LORD called for a time to break the young men; he has trodden the daughter of Judah as in a winepress.
For these things I weep; my eyes, my eyes flow with water, because far from me is one who would give comfort to restore my life; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.
Zion has stretched out her hands; there is no comforter for her. The LORD has commanded against Jacob that his adversaries surround him; Jerusalem has become an object of scorn among them.
The LORD is righteous, for I have rebelled against his command. Hear, all you peoples, and behold my pain: my virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.
I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and my elders perished in the city, for they sought food to revive their lives.
See, O LORD, for I am in distress; my inward parts are troubled, my heart is turned within me because I have grievously rebelled; outside the sword bereaveth, and at home there is like death.
Hear, all my enemies, for I moan and there is no comforter for me. All who trouble me have heard of my calamity; they are glad that you have done it— bring on the day you have called, and let them be like me.
Let all their wickedness come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me for all my transgressions; for my sighing is many and my heart is faint.