Lamentations 1

Lamed.

12. The pathetic appeal of Jerusalem, not only to her neighbors, but even to the strangers "passing by," as her sorrow is such as should excite the compassion even of those unconnected with her. She here prefigures Christ, whom the language is prophetically made to suit, more than Jerusalem. Compare Israel, that is, Messiah, Isaiah 49:3 . Compare with "pass by," Matthew 27:39 , 15:29 . As to Jerusalem, Daniel 9:12 . MAURER, from the Arabic idiom, translates, "do not go off on your way," that is, stop, whoever ye are that pass by. English Version is simpler.

Mem.

13. bones--a fire which not only consumes the skin and flesh, but penetrates even to my "bones" (that is, my vital powers).
prevaileth against--not as ROSENMULLER, "He (Jehovah) hath broken them"; a sense not in the Hebrew.
net--( Ezekiel 12:13 ); image from hunting wild beasts. He has so entangled me in His judgments that I cannot escape.
turned me back--so that I cannot go forward and get free from His meshes.

Nun.

14. yoke . . . is bound by his hand--( Deuteronomy 28:48 ). Metaphor from husbandmen, who, after they have bound the yoke to the neck of oxen, hold the rein firmly twisted round the hand. Thus the translation will be, "in His hand." Or else, "the yoke of my transgressions" (that is, of punishment for my transgressions) is held so fast fixed on me "by" God, that there is no loosening of it; thus English Version, "by His hand."
wreathed--My sins are like the withes entwined about the neck to fasten the yoke to.
into their hands, from whom--into the hands of those, from whom, &c. MAURER translates, "before whom I am not able \ to stand."

Samech.

15. trodden, &c.--MAURER, from Syriac root, translates, "cast away"; so 2 Kings 23:27 . But Psalms 119:118 , supports English Version.
in . . . midst of me--They fell not on the battlefield, but in the heart of the city; a sign of the divine wrath.
assembly--the collected forces of Babylon; a very different "assembly" from the solemn ones which once met at Jerusalem on the great feasts. The Hebrew means, literally, such a solemn "assembly" or feast (compare Lamentations 2:22 ).
trodden . . . virgin . . . in a wine-press--hath forced her blood to burst forth, as the red wine from the grapes trodden in the press ( Isaiah 63:3 , Revelation 14:19 Revelation 14:20 , 19:15 ).

Ain.

16. ( Jeremiah 13:17 , 14:17 ). Jerusalem is the speaker.
mine eye, mine eye--so Lamentations 4:18 , "our end . . . our end"; repetition for emphasis.

Pe.

17. Like a woman in labor-throes ( Jeremiah 4:31 ).
menstruous woman--held unclean, and shunned by all; separated from her husband and from the temple (compare Lamentations 1:8 , Leviticus 14:19 , &c.).

Tzaddi.

18. The sure sign of repentance; justifying God, condemning herself ( Nehemiah 9:33 , Psalms 51:4 , Daniel 9:7-14 ).
his commandment--literally, "mouth"; His word in the mouth of the prophets.

Koph.

19. lovers--( Lamentations 1:2 , Jeremiah 30:14 ).
elders--in dignity, not merely age.
sought . . . meat--Their dignity did not exempt them from having to go and seek bread ( Lamentations 1:11 ).

Resh.

20. bowels . . . troubled--( Job 30:27;,Isa 16:11 Job 30:27;,Isa 16:11 , Jeremiah 4:19 , 31:20 ). Extreme mental distress affects the bowels and the whole internal frame.
heart . . . turned--( Hosea 11:8 ); is agitated or fluttered.
abroad . . . sword . . . at home . . . as death--( Deuteronomy 32:25 , Ezekiel 7:15 ). The "as" does not modify, but intensifies. "Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home as it were death itself" (personified), in the form of famine and pestilence ( 2 Kings 25:3 , Jeremiah 14:18 , 52:6 ). So Habakkuk 2:5 , "as death" [MICHAELIS].

Schin.

21. they are glad that thou hast done it--because they thought that therefore Judah is irretrievably ruined ( Jeremiah 40:3 ).
the day . . . called--(but) thou wilt bring on them the day of calamity which thou hast announced, namely, by the prophets ( Jeremiah 50:1-46 , 48:27 ).
like . . . me--in calamities ( Psalms 137:8 Psalms 137:9 , Jeremiah 51:25 , &c.).

Tau.

22. Such prayers against foes are lawful, if the foe be an enemy of God, and if our concern be not for our own personal feeling, but for the glory of God and the welfare of His people.
come before thee--so Revelation 16:19 , "Babylon came in remembrance before God" (compare Psalms 109:15 ).