Lamentations 2:18
in Lamentations 2The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears run down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief, and your eyes no rest.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Their heart cried unto the Lord: O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; Give thyself no respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
KJV
Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
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This verse in Lamentations 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThink how great that weeping must be that deserves to be compared with a flood of waters. Whoever so weeps and says with the prophet Jeremiah, "let not the apple of my eye cease," shall straightway find the words fulfilled of him: "mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." If righteousness and truth terrify him, mercy and peace may encourage him to seek salvation.
This site's exposition
Their heart cried unto the Lord
on Lamentations 2:18-19
Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, is addressed as much to the reader as to the wall itself, an instruction to let tears run down like a river day and night rather than seek a quicker comfort. Arise, cry out in the night, pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord, gives grief a discipline of its own, prayer in the watches rather than despair without an object. The last plea in the unit names exactly who the prayer is for, the life of thy young children that faint for hunger in the top of every street, the famine's victims kept in view rather than left as background.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
O wall of the daughter of Zion - חומת בת ציון chomath bath tsiyon, wall of the daughter of Zion. These words are probably those of the passengers, who appear to be affected by the desolations of the land; and they address the people, and urge them to plead with God day and night for their restoration. But what is the meaning of wall of the daughter of Zion? I answer I do not know.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"Their heart," that is, the Jews'; while their heart is lifted up to the Lord in prayer, their speech is addressed to the "wall" (the part being put for the whole city). let tears, &c.-- (Jer 14:17).
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צָעַ֥ק | tzaak | it has cried out | H6817 → | |
| לִבָּ֖ם | libam | heart their | H3820 → | 595 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֑י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| חוֹמַ֣ת | chomat | O wall of | H2346 → | 133 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| צִ֠יּוֹן | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| הוֹרִ֨ידִי | horidi | send down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| כַנַּ֤חַל | khanachal | like <the> river | H5158 → | |
| דִּמְעָה֙ | dimah | tear[s] | H1832 → | 23 times |
| יוֹמָ֣ם | yomam | by day | H3119 → | |
| וָלַ֔יְלָה | valaylah | and night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| אַֽל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּתְּנִ֤י | titeni | you give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| פוּגַת֙ | fugat | rest | H6314 → | |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | to yourself | ||
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּדֹּ֖ם | tidom | it be still | H1826 → | 30 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| עֵינֵֽךְ׃ ס | ʾeinekh | eye your | H5869 → | 887 times |
צָעַ֥קit has cried out
tzaakH6817 →
לִבָּ֖םheart their
libamH3820 →595 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲדֹנָ֑י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
חוֹמַ֣תO wall of
chomatH2346 →133 times
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
צִ֠יּוֹןZion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
הוֹרִ֨ידִיsend down
horidiH3381 →381 times
כַנַּ֤חַלlike <the> river
khanachalH5158 →
דִּמְעָה֙tear[s]
dimahH1832 →23 times
יוֹמָ֣םby day
yomamH3119 →
וָלַ֔יְלָהand night
valaylahH3915 →233 times
אַֽל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּתְּנִ֤יyou give
titeniH5414 →2011 times
פוּגַת֙rest
fugatH6314 →
לָ֔ךְto yourself
lakh
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּדֹּ֖םit be still
tidomH1826 →30 times
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
עֵינֵֽךְ׃ סeye your
ʾeinekhH5869 →887 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 13:17
But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Lamentations 2:11
My eyes fail from weeping; I am churning within. My heart is poured out in grief over the destruction of the daughter of my people, because children and infants faint in the streets of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 13:17
Through
Psalms 119:136My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
- Ezekiel 9:4
“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”
- Jeremiah 9:18
Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water.
- 1 Samuel 15:11
“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all…
- Psalms 119:53
Rage has taken hold of me because of the wicked who reject Your law.
- Jeremiah 9:1
Through
Psalms 119:145I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD! I will obey Your statutes.
it leads to
- Psalms 119:10
With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
- Psalms 119:10
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About Lamentations
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Lamentations; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, LETTER 122.3 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.