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LAMENTATIONS 5

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(MT versing)
A Prayer for Mercy A Prayer for Restoration A Community Psalm of Lament and Petition for Restoration A Prayer for Mercy Fifth Lamentation
5:1-22
 (1-22)		 5:1-9
 (1-3)


 (4-6)


 (7-9)


5:10-18
 (10-14)



 (15-18)



5:19-22
 (19-22) 		5:1-22
 (1-18)		 5:1-22
 (1)
 (2)
 (3)
 (4)
 (5)
 (6)
 (7)
 (8)
 (9)
 (10)
 (11)
 (12)
 (13)
 (14)
 (15)
 (16)
 (17)
 (18)
 (19)
 (20)
 (21)
 (22) 		5:1-22
 (1)
 (2)
 (3)
 (4)
 (5)
 (6)
 (7)
 (8)
 (9)
 (10)
 (11)
 (12)
 (13)
 (14)
 (15)
 (16)
 (17)
 (18)
 (19)
 (20)
 (21)
 (22)

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

  1. This is not an acrostic as
    1. chapters 1; 2; 4, where every verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet (i.e., slight variation)
    2. chapter 3, where every three verses start with the next 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet
    3. chapter 5 is not an acrostic but a prayer started with a Qal IMPERATIVE, "remember," as Lam. 3:19; it is a corporate prayer for forgiveness and restoration

  2. The fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple were devastating to the covenant people who built their hopes on YHWH's promises, but failed to see the crucial aspect of obedience (i.e., conditional covenant) to the Mosaic Covenant.

    Even the Davidic covenant (cf. 2 Samuel 7; 1 chronicles 17), which promised discipline but not total rejection, seemed to be annulled because of the loss of the king and the ark.

  3. The author of Lamentations 5 was one of the few Judeans, like Jeremiah, who was not exiled in 586 B.C. but remained in Judah. These few survivors had very hard lives of poverty, famine, and lack of security (cf. 2 Kgs. 24:14; 25:12; Jer. 39:10).

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT REQUIREMENTS OF ISRAEL

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 5:1-22
 1Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
 Look, and see our reproach!
 2Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
 Our houses to aliens.
 3We have become orphans without a father,
 Our mothers are like widows.
 4We have to pay for our drinking water,
 Our wood comes to us at a price.
 5Our pursuers are at our necks;
 We are worn out, there is no rest for us.
 6We have submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.
 7Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
 It is we who have borne their iniquities.
 8Slaves rule over us;
 There is no one to deliver us from their hand.
 9We get our bread at the risk of our lives
 Because of the sword in the wilderness.
 10Our skin has become as hot as an oven,
 Because of the burning heat of famine.
 11They ravished the women in Zion,
 The virgins in the cities of Judah.
 12Princes were hung by their hands;
 Elders were not respected.
 13Young men worked at the grinding mill,
 And youths stumbled under loads of wood.
 14Elders are gone from the gate,
 Young men from their music.
 15The joy of our hearts has ceased;
 Our dancing has been turned into mourning.
 16The crown has fallen from our head;
 Woe to us, for we have sinned!
 17Because of this our heart is faint,
 Because of these things our eyes are dim;
 18Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate,
 Foxes prowl in it.
 19You, O Lord, rule forever;
 Your throne is from generation to generation.
 20Why do You forget us forever?
 Why do You forsake us so long?
 21Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored;
 Renew our days as of old,
 22Unless You have utterly rejected us
 And are exceedingly angry with us.

5:1 "Remember" This Qal IMPERATIVE (BDB 269, KB 269, cf. Lam. 3:19) requests YHWH to take notice of the plight of His people. This word is a common element of ANE laments.

▣ "Lord" This is the special covenant name for Deity, YHWH.

SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

▣ "Look" This is a Hiphil IMPERATIVE (BDB 613, KB 661, cf. Lam. 1:11; 2:20; 3:63), which pleads with YHWH to take notice of what His judgment has allowed to happen.

▣ "see" This is a Qal IMPERATIVE (BDB 906, KB 1157, cf. Lam. 1:9,22,26; 2:20). It is the third emphatic request for YHWH to take notice (cf. Lam. 3:59-60).

▣ "reproach" This (BDB 359) is described well in Ps. 44:13-16.

5:2 "inheritance" This refers to the land of Canaan allotted to the tribes in Joshua 12-19. Notice how Moses emphasizes that Canaan is God's gift and inheritance to Israel (cf. Deut. 4:38; 25:19; 26:1; Jer. 3:18; Amos 9:15; see full note online at Deut. 26:1).

5:2b-16 But notice what has taken place in YHWH's anger.

  1. The land has been given to non-Israelites (i.e., "strangers" and "aliens"), Lam. 5:2
  2. The Judeans are like orphans (i.e., death of parents in invasions), Lam. 5:3
  3. They are forced to buy
    1. water, Lam. 5:4
    2. fuel, Lam. 5:4
  4. There is no home place (i.e., rest, cf. Neh. 9:36-37), Lam. 5:5
  5. They beg for food from other nations. Lam. 5:6
  6. They are ruled over by domineering slaves (i.e., Judean slaves paid by Babylon), Lam. 5:8
  7. They are attacked by marauding bands of raiders, Lam. 5:9 (for alternatives see note)
  8. They are experiencing famine. Lam. 5:10, cf. Lam. 4:8
  9. Their women are being abused. Lam 5:11, cf. Isa. 13:16
  10. Their tribal leaders are killed and disrespected. Lam 5:12, cf. Deut. 28:50
  11. Their young men are worked to the point of collapse. Lam. 5:13 (for alternative see note)
  12. They have no local court, no access to legal justice (or no law at all). Lam. 5:14
  13. Their normal social and religious events are silenced. Lam 5:14b-15, cf. Isa. 24:7-11; Jer. 7:34
  14. Their "crown" has fallen from their head (double word meaning of "crown," BDB 742)
    1. the king's crown
    2. festival wreath

5:3 This could refer to

  1. parents killed in invasion
  2. God as parent (i.e., Hos. 11:1-4)

5:4 The payment for these essentials was to

  1. the one who provides them
  2. the one who brings them

5:5 "at our necks" This is an ANE idiom of defeat (cf. Gen. 49:8; Josh. 10:24; 2 Sam. 22:38-39; Ps. 18:40). This very imagery is used in Deut. 28:48 (Deuteronomy 28 is the source of much of the imagery of Lamentations).

5:6
NASB  "submitted to"
NKJV, LXX  "given our hand to"
NRSV, NJB  "made a pact with"
TEV  "went begging to"
JPSOA  "hold out a hand to"
REB  "came to terms with"

The question is how to take the gesture.

  1. a hand shake agreement (NRSV, NJB, REB)
  2. a hand out for help (TEV, JPSOA)

In an invasion and takeover by Babylon, #1 seems impossible. Even #2 seems figurative, for why would a traditional enemy help a conquered people?

The very mention of "Assyria" shows the verse is imagery.

The imagery of a hand shake to seal a political ANE covenant is common (note 2 Kgs. 10:15; 2 Chr. 30:8; Ezra 10:19; Ezek. 17:18).

The Jewish Study Bible, p. 1601, and the Interpreter's Bible, vol. 6, p. 36, both suggest the two nations stand for east and west (i.e., anyone, anywhere). No one helped (cf. Jer. 2:18).

5:7 This verse sees the current crisis and judgment as the fault of past generations (cf. Jer. 14:20). This is true but must be supplemented by

  1. the sins of priest and prophet, Lam. 2:14; 4:13; Jer. 6:13; 8:10; 14:14-16; 23:9-10
  2. the current generation's continuing sins, Lam. 3:42; 5:16a; Jer. 16:12

Notice how past sins cannot be used as an excuse for current problems (cf. Jer. 31:29-31; Ezekiel 18).

▣
NASB  "It is we who. . ."
NKJV  "But we. . ."
NRSV, NJB  "we. . ."
JPSOA  "and we. . ."

The MT is reflected in NRSV and NJB, but the Masoretic scholars suggest (Qere) the addition of a waw, which would make the second line a contrast, "But we. . ." (NKJV, Targums, Peshitta, Vulgate).

5:8 This verse addresses the abuse caused by Babylonian-appointed Judean slave governmental officials (i.e., 2 Kgs. 25:24; Neh. 2:10,19; 5:15).

5:9 "our lives" This is the word nephesh (BDB 659). See full note online at Ezek. 18:4.

▣ "the sword in the wilderness" Robert Gordis, p. 195, suggests that the word "sword" (BDB 352) should be repointed (change vowels, not consonants) to "heat" (BDB 151 I, cf. Gen. 31:40; Isa. 4:6; Jer. 36:30). The lack of bread was not because of marauding Bedouins but lack of rain (cf. Deut. 28:22). The last line of Lam. 5:9 would foreshadow Lam. 4:10.

5:12 "princes" These leaders are also mentioned in Lam. 1:6; 2:2,9; 4:16; see notes there. Exactly what "hanging by the hands" refers to is uncertain (see NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 294-297).

▣ "elders" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ELDER.

5:13 This may refer to several different activities.

  1. young men doing a slave woman's work (cf. Exod. 11:5; Jdgs. 16:21)
  2. young men carrying a grinding stone (rather unusual)
  3. young men carrying the grain to the place where it is ground
  4. children forced to hard labor (Lam. 5:13b)

5:17-18 Notice the parallelism in NASB, "because" (BDB 260, only in 5:17) referring to Lam. 5:2-16.

  1. their heart is faint, cf. Lam. 2:11
  2. their eyes are dim, cf. Lam. 2:11
  3. Mt. Zion lies desolate, Lam. 5:18

5:18 "Foxes prowl in it" The presence of "foxes" (or "jackals," BDB 1043, possibly related to Lam. 4:3, BDB 1072) may be a way of describing not only a ruined city/place, but the presence of evil (cf. Isa. 13:19-22; 34:11-15; Zeph. 2:14).

▣ "Zion" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ZION.

5:19 This verse is asserting YHWH's sovereignty and eternal reign.

The LXX, Peshitta, Vulgate start the verse with "But," which is not found in the MT.

SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (NT)

▣ "rule forever" This is literally "sit" (BDB 442, KB 444, Qal IMPERFECT). YHWH is the everlasting, universal King (cf. Ps. 45:6; 93:2; Heb. 1:8).

For "forever" see SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam).

5:20 This is the theological confusion of unconditional covenant vs. conditional covenant. Judah was totally surprised by YHWH's judgment. But her hope was in the limited nature of God's punishment (see Lam. 3:31; Ps. 103:8-14; Jer. 3:5,12; Mic. 7:18).

5:21 This verse starts out with two or three commands.

  1. "Restore us to You" ‒ BDB 996, KB 1427, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
  2. NASB, "that we may be restored." The MT has a Qal PERFECT of the VERB used in #1, but the Masoretic scholars suggest a Qal COHORTATIVE.
  3. "Renew us to You" ‒ BDB 293, KB 293, Piel IMPERATIVE

The theological question is

  1. does God give repentance (cf. Ps. 85:4-7; Jer. 31:18-19; Acts 5:31; 11:18; Rom. 2:4)
  2. is it part of human covenant requirement of faith and repentance (cf. Mark 1:15; Acts 3:16,19; 20:21)

SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE IN THE OT

SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE (NT)

SPECIAL TOPIC: FAITH, BELIEVE, OR TRUST

SPECIAL TOPIC: ELECTION/PREDESTINATION AND THE NEED FOR A THEOLOGICAL BALANCE

5:22a The first line of this verse has an emphatic Hebrew grammatical form—an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and a PERFECT TENSE VERB of the same root (BDB 549, KB 540).

This shows the doubt of the author. Was God so angry that restoration was impossible or delayed? Isaiah 44:24-28 and 45:1-7 clearly show that YHWH will send Cyrus II to destroy Babylon and restore His people to be a part of Judah. The ultimate restoration will wait until Jesus!

Lamentations 5:22 starts with a CONJUNCTION (BDB 471) and a HYPOTHETICAL PARTICLE (BDB 49).

This has been translated various ways.

  1. NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NJB ‒ "unless"
  2. TEV, RSV ‒ "or" (a question)
  3. JPSOA ‒ "for truly"
  4. REB, KJV ‒ "But"
  5. NEB ‒ "For if"
  6. LXX, Peshitta, and some Hebrew MSS ‒ omitted

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. How is Lamentations 5 different from Lamentations 1-4?
  2. Why are Egypt and Assyria mentioned in Lam. 5:6?
  3. How are Lam. 5:7 and 16 related?
  4. Explain Lam. 5:12a.
  5. What is the implication of "foxes" in Jerusalem?
  6. How are Lam. 5:20,22 related to 3:16?

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