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Lamentations 1:17

in Lamentations 1

Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The LORD has decreed against Jacob that his neighbors become his foes. Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Zion spreadeth forth her hands; there is none to comfort her; Jehovah hath commanded concerning Jacob, that they that are round about him should be his adversaries: Jerusalem is among them as an unclean thing.

KJV

Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.

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This verse in Lamentations 1

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
Zion spreadeth forth her hands,.... Either as submitting to the conqueror, and imploring mercy; or rather as calling to her friends to help and relieve her. The Targum is, "Zion spreadeth out her hands through distress, as a woman spreads out her hands upon the seat to bring forth;'' see Jer 4:

This site's exposition

Zion stretches out her hands

on Lamentations 1:17-19

“Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her”, the refrain of 1:2, 1:9, 1:16 and 1:21. The Hebrew word behind “an unclean thing” is the Law's term for a woman's ritual impurity in Leviticus 15:19. Zion confesses, “I have rebelled against His command”.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Glossa Ordinaria

Commentary (church-history corpus) · Written before 1274.

proposed

SION HAS SPREAD FORTH HER HANDS: the fourth topic of complaint. Historical interpretation ZION HAS SPREAD FORTH HER HANDS: this signifies pain as that of a woman in labor, whence it is said elsewhere: As he that swims stretches forth his hands to swim, likewise …

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Lamentations · Written before 1274.

proposed

Here is first a loud lamentation, second, it is due to a captivity during the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, when the people were totally captive. As to this situation three more ideas are proposed. First, is the siege, or blockade, as …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Upon all these accounts it cannot be wondered at, nor can she be blamed, that her sighs are many, in grieving for what is, and that her heart is faint (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

And what is it that you say unto me? The church here grieves excessively; for, says she, the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me. God is the comforter; he used to be so to her; he only can administer effectual comforts; it is his word that speaks them; it is his Spirit that speaks them to us.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Spreadeth forth her hands - In prayer Exo 9:29, Exo 9:33, but Zion entreats in vain. There is no one to comfort her - not God, for He is chastising her, nor man, for all the neighboring nations have become her enemies. See Lam 1:2. That his adversaries ... - Rather, that those round about him should be his adversaries; all the neighboring states should regard him with aversion. Jerusalem is ... - i. e. is become an abomination. The words are virtually the same as in Lam 1:8.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Zion spreadeth forth her hands - Extending the hands is the form in supplication. Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman - To whom none dared to approach, either to help or comfort, because of the law, Lev 15:19-27.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • פֵּֽרְשָׂ֨הit has spread out

    peresahH6566 →67 times

  • צִיּ֜וֹןZion

    tziyonH6726 →154 times

  • בְּיָדֶ֗יהָ<in> hands its

    beyadeihaH3027 →1618 times

  • אֵ֤יןnot

    ʾeinH369 →789 times

  • מְנַחֵם֙a comforter

    menachemH5162 →108 times

  • לָ֔הּ[belongs] to it

    lah

  • צִוָּ֧הhe has commanded

    tzivahH6680 →494 times

  • יְהוָ֛הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • לְיַעֲקֹ֖בof Jacob

    leyaakoH3290 →350 times

  • סְבִיבָ֣יו[those] around him

    sevivavH5439 →336 times

  • צָרָ֑יו[will be] opponents his

    tzaravH6862 →109 times

  • הָיְתָ֧הit has become

    hayetahH1961 →3559 times

  • יְרוּשָׁלִַ֛םJerusalem

    yerushalimH3389 →643 times

  • לְנִדָּ֖ה<into> an impure thing

    lenidahH5079 →

  • בֵּינֵיהֶֽם׃ סbetween them

    beineihemH996 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 4:31For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the murderers!”6 worksIsaiah 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.5 worksLamentations 1:9Her uncleanness stains her skirts; she did not consider her end. Her downfall was astounding; there was no one to comfort her. Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!4 worksLamentations 1:16For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one nearby to comfort me, no one to revive my soul. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.3 worksLamentations 1:19I called out to my lovers, but they have betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.3 worksJeremiah 21:4–5this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will turn against you the weapons of war in your hands, with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the wall, and I will assemble their forces in the center of this city.3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Kings 25:1So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.3 works2 Kings 24:2–4And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.3 worksJeremiah 34:22Behold, I am going to give the command, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”3 worksEzekiel 7:23–24Forge the chain, for the land is full of crimes of bloodshed, and the city is full of violence.2 worksLeviticus 15:19–27When a woman has a discharge consisting of blood from her body, she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.2 worksLuke 19:43–44For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.2 worksLamentations 2:1–8How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of His anger! He has cast the glory of Israel from heaven to earth. He has abandoned His footstool in the day of His anger.2 works1 Kings 8:22Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,2 worksJeremiah 16:6“Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.2 worksEzekiel 36:17“Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. Their behavior before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman’s impurity.2 worksLamentations 1:21People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that You have caused it. May You bring the day You have announced, so that they may become like me.2 worksLamentations 2:17–22The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and exalted the horn of your foes.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Isaiah 1:15

    When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

    it leads to

    • Micah 3:4

      Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.

    • Isaiah 59:2–3

      But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.

    • Proverbs 1:28

      Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.

    • Zechariah 7:13

      And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.

    • Jeremiah 7:8–10

      But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

  • Through

    Lamentations 1:16

    For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one nearby to comfort me, no one to revive my soul. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.

    it leads to

    • Lamentations 1:2

      She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Lamentations 1:9

    Her uncleanness stains her skirts; she did not consider her end. Her downfall was astounding; there was no one to comfort her. Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 32:29

      If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.

    • Isaiah 47:7

      You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or consider their outcome.

Where this verse is studied

About Lamentations

People Mourn over the Destruction of Jerusalem — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
People Mourn over the Destruction of Jerusalem — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Lamentations: the study guide →Read Lamentations 1 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Lamentations; Glossa Ordinaria, Commentary (church-history corpus); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Lamentations.

Read on in Lamentations 1 →