---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Lamentations 1"
description: "CHAPTER (ELEGY) 1   :-. Aleph. 1. how is she . . . widow! she that
was great, c.—English Version is according to the
accents. But the members of each sent"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/lamentations/1"
---

CHAPTER (ELEGY) 1

.
*Aleph.*

**1. how is she . . . widow! she that
was great,** c.—*English Version* is according to the
accents. But the members of each sentence are better balanced in
antithesis, thus, "how is she that was great among the nations
become as a widow! (how) she who was princess among the provinces
(that is, she who ruled over the surrounding provinces from the Nile
to the Euphrates, [Genesis 15:18](../../../kjv/genesis/15/18)
[1 Kings 4:21](../../../kjv/1-kings/4/21); [2 Chronicles 9:26](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/9/26);
[Ezra 4:20](../../../kjv/ezra/4/20)) become tributary!"
[MAURER].
**sit**—on the ground; the
posture of mourners ([Lamentations 2:10](../../../kjv/lamentations/2/10);
[Ezra 9:3](../../../kjv/ezra/9/3)). The coin struck on the
taking of Jerusalem by Titus, representing Judea as a female sitting
solitary under a palm tree, with the inscription, *Judæa Capta,*
singularly corresponds to the image here; the language therefore must
be prophetical of her state subsequent to Titus, as well as referring
retrospectively to her Babylonian captivity.
*Beth.*

**2. in the night**—even in the
night, the period of rest and oblivion of griefs ().
**lovers . . . friends**—the
heathen states allied to Judah, and their idols. The idols whom she
"loved" () *could* not comfort her. Her former allies *would*
not: nay, some "treacherously" joined her enemies against
her ([2 Kings 24:2](../../../kjv/2-kings/24/2); [2 Kings 24:7](../../../kjv/2-kings/24/7);
[Psalms 137:7](../../../kjv/psalms/137/7)).
*Gimel.*

**3.** ().
**because of great
servitude**—that is, in a state "of great servitude,"
endured from the Chaldeans. "Because" is made by VATABLUS
indicative of the *cause* of her captivity; namely, her having
"afflicted" and unjustly brought into "servitude"
the manumitted bond-servants (). MAURER
explains it, "Judah has *left her land* (not literally
'gone into captivity') because of the yoke imposed on it by
Nebuchadnezzar."
**no rest**— ([Deuteronomy 28:64](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/28/64);
[Deuteronomy 28:65](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/28/65)).
**overtook her between . . .
straits**—image from robbers, who in the East intercept
travellers at the narrow passes in hilly regions.
*Daleth.*

**4. feasts**—the passover,
pentecost (or the feast of weeks), and the feast of tabernacles.
**gates**—once the place of
concourse.
*He.*

**5. the chief**—rule her ([Deuteronomy 28:43](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/28/43);
[Deuteronomy 28:44](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/28/44)).
**adversaries . . . prosper;
for the Lord**—All the foes' attempts would have failed, had not
God delivered His people into their hands ([Deuteronomy 28:44](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/28/44)).
*Vau.*

**6. beauty . . . departed**—her
temple, throne, and priesthood.
**harts that find no pasture**—an
animal timid and fleet, especially when seeking and not able to "find
pasture."
*Zain.*

**7. remembered**—rather,
"remembers," now, in her afflicted state. In the days of
her prosperity she did not appreciate, as she ought, the favors of
God to her. Now, awakening out of her past lethargy, she feels from
what high privileges she has fallen.
**when her people fell,**
&c.—that is, after which days of prosperity "her people
fell."
**mock at her sabbaths**—The
heathen used to mock at the Jews' Sabbath, as showing their idleness,
and term them *Sabbatarians* [MARTIAL,
4.4]. Now, said they ironically, ye may keep a continuous Sabbath. So
God appointed the length of the captivity (seventy years) to be
exactly that of the sum of the Sabbaths in the four hundred ninety
years in which the land was denied its Sabbaths (). MAURER
translates it "ruin." But *English Version* better
expresses the point of their "mocking," namely, their
involuntary "Sabbaths," that is, the *cessation* of
all national movements. A fourth line is added in this stanza,
whereas in all the others there are but three. So in .
*Cheth.*

**8.** ().
**is removed**—as a woman
separated from the congregation of God for legal impurity, which is a
type of moral impurity. So [Lamentations 1:17](../../../kjv/lamentations/1/17);
[Leviticus 12:2](../../../kjv/leviticus/12/2); [Leviticus 15:19](../../../kjv/leviticus/15/19),
&c.
**her nakedness**—They have
treated her as contumeliously as courtesans from whom their clothes
are stripped.
**turneth backward**—as
modest women do from shame, that is, she is cast down from all hope
of restoration [CALVIN].
*Teth.*

**9.** Continuation of the image in
[Lamentations 1:8](../../../kjv/lamentations/1/8). Her ignominy and misery
cannot be concealed but are apparent to all, as if a woman were
suffering under such a flow as to reach the end of her skirts.
**remembereth not . . . last
end**— ([Deuteronomy 32:29](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/32/29); [Isaiah 47:7](../../../kjv/isaiah/47/7)).
She forgot how fatal must be the end of her iniquity. Or, as the
words following imply: She, in despair, cannot lift herself up to lay
hold of God's promises as to her "latter end" [CALVIN].
**wonderfully**—*Hebrew,*
"wonders," that is, with amazing dejection.
**O Lord, behold**—Judah
here breaks in, speaking for herself.
**for the enemy hath magnified
himself**—What might seem ground for despair, the elated
insulting of the enemy, is rather ground for good hope.
*Jod.*

**10. for**—*surely* she hath
seen, c.
**heathen . . . command . . .
not enter . . . congregation**—for instance, the Ammonites and
Moabites ([Deuteronomy 23:3](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/23/3) [Nehemiah 13:1](../../../kjv/nehemiah/13/1);
[Nehemiah 13:2](../../../kjv/nehemiah/13/2)). If the heathen, as
such, were not allowed to enter the sanctuary for worship, much less
were they allowed to enter in order to rob and destroy.
*Caph.*

**11.** ([Jeremiah 37:21](../../../kjv/jeremiah/37/21);
[Jeremiah 38:9](../../../kjv/jeremiah/38/9); [Jeremiah 52:6](../../../kjv/jeremiah/52/6)).
**given . . . pleasant things
for meat**— ([2 Kings 6:25](../../../kjv/2-kings/6/25);
[Job 2:4](../../../kjv/job/2/4)).
**relieve . . . soul**—literally,
"to cause the soul or life to return."
**for I am become vile**—Her
sins and consequent sorrows are made the plea in craving God's mercy.
Compare the like plea in [Psalms 25:11](../../../kjv/psalms/25/11).
*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, . Compare with "pass by," [Matthew 27:39](../../../kjv/matthew/27/39);
[Mark 15:29](../../../kjv/mark/15/29). As to Jerusalem, [Mark 15:29](../../../kjv/mark/15/29). M AURER, 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**— (); 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](../../../kjv/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 . But [Psalms 119:118](../../../kjv/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](../../../kjv/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](../../../kjv/isaiah/63/3);
[Revelation 14:19](../../../kjv/revelation/14/19); [Revelation 14:20](../../../kjv/revelation/14/20);
[Revelation 19:15](../../../kjv/revelation/19/15)).
*Ain.*

**16.** ([Jeremiah 13:17](../../../kjv/jeremiah/13/17);
[Jeremiah 14:17](../../../kjv/jeremiah/14/17)). Jerusalem is the
speaker.
**mine eye, mine eye**—so
[Lamentations 4:18](../../../kjv/lamentations/4/18), "our end . . .
our end"; repetition for emphasis.
*Pe.*

**17.** Like a woman in labor-throes
([Jeremiah 4:31](../../../kjv/jeremiah/4/31)).
**menstruous woman**—held
unclean, and shunned by all; separated from her husband and from the
temple (compare [Lamentations 1:8](../../../kjv/lamentations/1/8); [Leviticus 14:19](../../../kjv/leviticus/14/19),
&c.).
*Tzaddi.*

**18.** The sure sign of repentance;
justifying God, condemning herself ([Nehemiah 9:33](../../../kjv/nehemiah/9/33);
[Psalms 51:4](../../../kjv/psalms/51/4); [Daniel 9:7-14](../../../kjv/daniel/9/7-14)).
**his commandment**—literally,
"mouth"; His word in the mouth of the prophets.
*Koph.*

**19. lovers**— ([Lamentations 1:2](../../../kjv/lamentations/1/2);
[Jeremiah 30:14](../../../kjv/jeremiah/30/14)).
**elders**—in dignity, not
merely age.
**sought . . . meat**—Their
dignity did not exempt them from having to go and seek bread ([Jeremiah 30:14](../../../kjv/jeremiah/30/14)).
*Resh.*

**20. bowels . . . troubled**—
([Job 30:27](../../../kjv/job/30/27); [Isaiah 16:11](../../../kjv/isaiah/16/11);
[Jeremiah 4:19](../../../kjv/jeremiah/4/19); [Jeremiah 31:20](../../../kjv/jeremiah/31/20)).
Extreme mental distress affects the bowels and the whole internal
frame.
**heart . . . turned**— ([Jeremiah 31:20](../../../kjv/jeremiah/31/20)); is agitated or fluttered.
**abroad . . . sword . . . at
home . . . as death**— ([Deuteronomy 32:25](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/32/25);
[Ezekiel 7:15](../../../kjv/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](../../../kjv/2-kings/25/3);
[Jeremiah 14:18](../../../kjv/jeremiah/14/18); [Jeremiah 52:6](../../../kjv/jeremiah/52/6)).
So [Habakkuk 2:5](../../../kjv/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](../../../kjv/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](../../../kjv/jeremiah/50/1-46);
[Jeremiah 48:27](../../../kjv/jeremiah/48/27)).
**like . . . me**—in
calamities ([Psalms 137:8](../../../kjv/psalms/137/8); [Psalms 137:9](../../../kjv/psalms/137/9);
[Jeremiah 51:25](../../../kjv/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 , "Babylon *came* in remembrance *before God*"
(compare [Psalms 109:15](../../../kjv/psalms/109/15)).

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