Lamentations 1:20
in Lamentations 1See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am churning within; my heart is pounding within me, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, O Jehovah; for I am in distress; my heart is troubled; My heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.
KJV
Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.
⋯
This verse in Lamentations 1
Commentary
12 notes on this verseAbroad the sword bereaveth - War is through the country; and at home death; the pestilence and famine rage in the city; calamity in every shape is fallen upon me. Virgil represents the calamities of Troy under the same image: - - Nec soli poenas dant sanguine Teucri: Quondam etiam victis redit in praecordia virtus; Victoresque cadunt Danai. Crudelis ubique Luctus, ubique Pavor, et plurima mortis imago. Aeneid. lib. 2:366. “Not only Trojans fall; but, in their turn, The vanquished triumph, and the victors mourn. Ours take new courage from despair and night; Confused the fortune is, confused the fight.
This site's exposition
See, O LORD, how distressed I am
on Lamentations 1:20-22
The chapter closes as prayer, “See, O LORD, how distressed I am!” The prayer asks Him to “deal with them as You have dealt with me”, laying the case before the Judge. The acrostic ends on “my heart is faint”, still spoken to the God who sent the affliction.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Jerusalem begins to be captured by the divine king himself. About this notion three further views are proposed. First is expressed the precise distress, second, Judah (Jerusalem) is accused of faults by enemies. As Verse 21 later declares: "Hear how I groan; there is none …
BEHOLD, O LORD: the fourteenth or rather fifth topic of complaint, as all misfortunes are presented to the judge one by one, so that he, as if he saw the things themselves and not only heard the words, should be moved to pity. Historical interpretation …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Abroad the sword bereaves and slays all that comes in its way, and at home all provisions are cut off by the besiegers, so that there is as death, that is, famine, which is as bad as the pestilence, or worse-- the sword without and terror within, Deut. xxxii.
), I have grievously rebelled. We cannot speak ill enough of sin, and we must always speak worst of our own sin, must call it rebellion, grievous rebellion; and very grievous sins is to all true penitents.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), in which he is justified in their affliction and is humbly solicited to justify himself in their deliverance. The Miseries of Jerusalem; Grief for the Loss of Ordinances.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): " Behold, O Lord! for I am in distress; take cognizance of my case, and take such order for my relief as thou pleasest." Note, It is matter of comfort to us that the troubles which oppress our spirits are open before God's eye.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Is it nothing - The prophet speaks in the name of the Jewish church. Fire - A judgment as consuming, and afflictive as fire. Is bound - Put upon my neck on account of my transgressions.
Behold, O Lord, for I am in distress,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
bowels . . . troubled-- (Job 30:27; Extreme mental distress affects the bowels and the whole internal frame. heart . . . turned-- (Ho 11:8); is agitated or fluttered. abroad . . . sword . . . at home . . . as death-- (De 32:25; The "as" does not modify, but intensifies.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Troubled - Or, inflamed with sorrow. Turned within me - Agitated violently. At home there is as death - i. e. “in the house” there are pale pining forms, wasting with hunger, and presenting the appearance of death.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רְאֵ֨ה | reeh | see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| צַר־ | tzar- | distress | H6862 → | 109 times |
| לִי֙ | li | [belongs] to me | ||
| מֵעַ֣י | meai | inward parts my | H4578 → | |
| חֳמַרְמָ֔רוּ | chomarmaru | they are in turmoil | H2560 → | |
| נֶהְפַּ֤ךְ | nehpakh | it has been overturned | H2015 → | 94 times |
| לִבִּי֙ | libi | heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
| בְּקִרְבִּ֔י | bekirbi | in inner being my | H7130 → | 227 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מָר֖וֹ | maro | extremely <be rebellious> | H4784 → | 45 times |
| מָרִ֑יתִי | mariti | I have been rebellious | H4784 → | 45 times |
| מִח֥וּץ | michutz | from outside | H2351 → | 164 times |
| שִׁכְּלָה־ | shikelah- | it has bereaved | H7921 → | |
| חֶ֖רֶב | cherev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| בַּבַּ֥יִת | babayit | [is] in the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| כַּמָּֽוֶת׃ ס | kamavet | like <the> death | H4194 → |
רְאֵ֨הsee
reehH7200 →1300 times
יְהוָ֤הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
צַר־distress
tzar-H6862 →109 times
לִי֙[belongs] to me
li
מֵעַ֣יinward parts my
meaiH4578 →
חֳמַרְמָ֔רוּthey are in turmoil
chomarmaruH2560 →
נֶהְפַּ֤ךְit has been overturned
nehpakhH2015 →94 times
לִבִּי֙heart my
libiH3820 →595 times
בְּקִרְבִּ֔יin inner being my
bekirbiH7130 →227 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מָר֖וֹextremely <be rebellious>
maroH4784 →45 times
מָרִ֑יתִיI have been rebellious
maritiH4784 →45 times
מִח֥וּץfrom outside
michutzH2351 →164 times
שִׁכְּלָה־it has bereaved
shikelah-H7921 →
חֶ֖רֶבa sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
בַּבַּ֥יִת[is] in the house
babayitH1004 →2046 times
כַּמָּֽוֶת׃ סlike <the> death
kamavetH4194 →
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
Proverbs 28:13He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
it leads to
- 1 John 1:8–10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Psalms 32:3–5
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
- Job 31:33
if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,
- Luke 15:18–24
I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- Jeremiah 3:12–13
Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be…
- 1 John 1:8–10
Through
Lamentations 2:11My 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…
it leads to
- 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.
- Job 16:13
His archers surround me. He pierces my kidneys without mercy and spills my gall on the ground.
- Jeremiah 4:19
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm…
- Lamentations 1:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Lamentations
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Glossa Ordinaria, Commentary (church-history corpus); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Lamentations.