Lamentations 2:10
in Lamentations 2The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence; They have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.
KJV
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.
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This verse in Lamentations 2
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe destruction of the miserable is mourned, due to reverence for their status. First, regarding elders who: "sit on the ground in silence." Namely, as signs of great sadness. Like Job 2:13: "And they sat with him on the ground seven days and nights and …
This site's exposition
The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence
on Lamentations 2:10-12
“The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence”, men whose place was speech at the city gate. The young women bow beside them, so the grief crosses every rank. The famine is then stated plainly: children “cry out to their mothers” for grain and wine.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Ploratur lachrymis amissa pecunia veris--Genuine are the tears which we shed over lost property. The young ladies, who used to dress themselves so richly, and walk with stretched-forth necks ( Isa. iii. The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground; those are made to know sorrow who seemed to bid defiance to it and were always disposed to be merry.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, and keep silence,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Sit upon the ground - See the note on Lam 1:1. Keep silence - No words can express their sorrows: small griefs are eloquent, great ones dumb.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The "elders," by their example, would draw the others to violent grief. the virgins--who usually are so anxious to set off their personal appearances to advantage.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
They sit on the ground, etc. According to its apparent meaning. But the Midrash Aggadah [states] that Nevuchadnetzar sat them on the ground when Tzidkiyahu rebelled against him and transgressed his oath. He came and stationed himself in Dophnei. Nevuchadnetzar’s headquarters was situated in Rivlah as indicated in Yirmiyahu:5.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Shriveled. Regrezilerent [shriveled up] in O.F. Intestines— when a person casts them into a fire— shrivel up and burn.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֵשְׁב֨וּ | yeshevu | they sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לָאָ֤רֶץ | laaretz | to the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יִדְּמוּ֙ | yidemu | they are silent | H1826 → | 30 times |
| זִקְנֵ֣י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| בַת־ | vat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| צִיּ֔וֹן | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| הֶֽעֱל֤וּ | heelu | they have caused to rise | H5927 → | |
| עָפָר֙ | ʾafar | dust | H6083 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹאשָׁ֔ם | rosham | head their | H7218 → | 599 times |
| חָגְר֖וּ | chageru | they have girded on | H2296 → | |
| שַׂקִּ֑ים | sakim | sackcloth<s> | H8242 → | |
| הוֹרִ֤ידוּ | horidu | they have brought down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| לָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | laaretz | to the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| רֹאשָׁ֔ן | roshan | head their | H7218 → | 599 times |
| בְּתוּלֹ֖ת | betulot | [the] virgins of | H1330 → | 50 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ ס | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
יֵשְׁב֨וּthey sit
yeshevuH3427 →1079 times
לָאָ֤רֶץto the ground
laaretzH776 →2504 times
יִדְּמוּ֙they are silent
yidemuH1826 →30 times
זִקְנֵ֣י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
בַת־[the] daughter of
vat-H1323 →588 times
צִיּ֔וֹןZion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
הֶֽעֱל֤וּthey have caused to rise
heeluH5927 →
עָפָר֙dust
ʾafarH6083 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹאשָׁ֔םhead their
roshamH7218 →599 times
חָגְר֖וּthey have girded on
chageruH2296 →
שַׂקִּ֑יםsackcloth<s>
sakimH8242 →
הוֹרִ֤ידוּthey have brought down
horiduH3381 →381 times
לָאָ֙רֶץ֙to the ground
laaretzH776 →2504 times
רֹאשָׁ֔ןhead their
roshanH7218 →599 times
בְּתוּלֹ֖ת[the] virgins of
betulotH1330 →50 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ סJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 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
Lamentations 3:28Let him sit alone in silence, for God has disciplined him.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 15:17
I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.
- Jeremiah 15:17
Through
Lamentations 1:1How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.
it leads to
- Isaiah 3:26
And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
- Revelation 18:16–17
saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
- Ezra 4:20
And mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem and exercised authority over the whole region west of the Euphrates; and tribute, duty, and toll were paid to them.
- 1 Kings 4:21
And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of…
- Isaiah 54:4
Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember…
- Isaiah 3:26
Through
Isaiah 3:26And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:2
“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
- Lamentations 1:4
The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she herself is bitter with anguish.
- Jeremiah 14:2
Where this verse is studied
About Lamentations
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceJerusalemZionThe eastern ridge David took from the Jebusites and made his stronghold, the name the Psalms and the prophets give the city the LO…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Lamentations.