Logos Bible Study

Lamentations 5:10–18

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5:10Our skin is hot as an oven

due to a fever from hunger.26

5:11They raped27 women in Zion,

virgins in the towns of Judah.

5:12Princes were hung by their hands;

elders were mistreated.28

5:13The young men perform menial labor;29

boys stagger from their labor.30

5:14The elders are gone from the city gate;

the young men have stopped playing their music.

5:15Our hearts no longer have any joy;31

our dancing is turned to mourning.

5:16The crown has fallen from our head;

woe to us, for we have sinned!

5:17Because of this, our hearts are sick;32

because of these things, we can hardly see33 through our tears.34

5:18For wild animals35 are prowling over Mount Zion,

which lies desolate.

Read in Logos
Lamentations 5:16: The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned!

Footnotes

  1. 26 Heb “because of the burning heat of famine.”
  2. 27 Heb “ravished.”
  3. 28 Heb “elders were shown no respect.” The phrase “shown no respect” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression of understatement: to show no respect to elders = to terribly mistreat elders.
  4. 29 The text is difficult. Word by word the has “young men hand mill(?) they take up” Perhaps it means “they take [our] young men for mill grinding,” or perhaps it means “the young men take up [the labor of] mill grinding.” This expression is an example of synecdoche where the mill stands for the labor at the mill and then that labor stands for performing menial physical labor as servants. The surface reading, “young men carry hand mills,” does not portray any great adversity for them. The translates as an abusive sexual metaphor (see D. R. Hillers, Lamentations [], ), but this gives no known parallel to the second part of the verse.
  5. 30 Heb “boys trip over wood.” This phrase makes little sense. The translation adopts D. R. Hillers’ suggestion (Lamentations [], ) of בְּעֶצֶב כָּשָׁלוּ (bé’etsev kashalu). Due to letter confusion and haplography the final ב (bet) of בְּעֶצֶב (bé’etsev) which looks like the ך (kaf) beginning the next word, was dropped. This verb can have an abstract noun after the preposition ב (bet) meaning “from, due to” rather than “over.”
  6. 31 Heb “the joy of our heart has ceased.”
  7. 32 Heb “are faint” or “are sick.” The adjective דַּוָּי (davvay, “faint”) is used in reference to emotional sorrow (e.g., Isa 1:5; Lam 1:22; Jer 8:18). The related adjective דָּוֶה (daveh) means “(physically) sick” and “(emotionally) sad,” while the related verb דָּוָה (davah) means “to be sad.” The cognate Aramaic term means “sorrow,” and the cognate term refers to “misery.”
  8. 33 Heb “our eyes are dim.” The physical description of losing sight is metaphorical, perhaps for being blinded by tears or more abstractly for being unable to see (= envision) any hope. The collocation “darkened eyes” is too rare to clarify the nuance.
  9. 34 The phrase “through our tears” is added in the translation for the sake of clarification.
  10. 35 Heb “jackals.” The term “jackals” is a synecdoche of species (= jackals) for general (= wild animals).

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Our skin is hot as an oven

with the burning heat of famine.

Women are raped in Zion,

young women in the towns of Judah.

Princes are hung up by their hands;

no respect is shown to the elders.

Young men are compelled to grind at the mill,

and boys stagger under loads of wood.

The old men have left the city gate,

the young men their music.

The joy of our hearts has ceased;

our dancing has been turned to mourning.

The crown has fallen from our head;

woe to us, for we have sinned!

For this our heart has become sick,

for these things our eyes have grown dim,

for Mount Zion which lies desolate;

jackals prowl over it.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Our skin is hot as an oven,

feverish from hunger.

Women have been violated in Zion,

and virgins in the towns of Judah.

Princes have been hung up by their hands;

elders are shown no respect.

Young men toil at the millstones;

boys stagger under loads of wood.

The elders are gone from the city gate;

the young men have stopped their music.

Joy is gone from our hearts;

our dancing has turned to mourning.

The crown has fallen from our head.

Woe to us, for we have sinned!

Because of this our hearts are faint,

because of these things our eyes grow dim

for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,

with jackals prowling over it.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Our skin is as hot as an oven

from the ravages of hunger.

Women have been raped in Zion,

virgins in the cities of Judah.

Princes have been hung up by their hands;

elders are shown no respect.

Young men labor at millstones;

boys stumble under loads of wood.

The elders have left the city gate,

the young men, their music.

Joy has left our hearts;

our dancing has turned to mourning.

The crown has fallen from our head.

Woe to us, for we have sinned.

Because of this, our heart is sick;

because of these, our eyes grow dim:

because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate

and has jackals prowling in it.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

The famine has blackened our skin

as though baked in an oven.

Our enemies rape the women in Jerusalem

and the young girls in all the towns of Judah.

Our princes are being hanged by their thumbs,

and our elders are treated with contempt.

Young men are led away to work at millstones,

and boys stagger under heavy loads of wood.

The elders no longer sit in the city gates;

the young men no longer dance and sing.

Joy has left our hearts;

our dancing has turned to mourning.

The garlands have fallen from our heads.

Weep for us because we have sinned.

Our hearts are sick and weary,

and our eyes grow dim with tears.

For Jerusalem is empty and desolate,

a place haunted by jackals.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Our skin is hot like an oven

because of the scorching famine.

They raped women in Zion,

young women in the cities of Judah.

They hang princes by their hand;

they do not show respect before elders.

Young men must carry a hand-mill

and boys stumble under the wood.

Elders are no longer at the gate,

young men no longer play stringed instruments.

The joy of our hearts has stopped;

our circle-dancing has changed to a mourning ceremony.

The crown has fallen from our head;

woe to us, for we have sinned!

Because of this, our heart has become faint,

because of these, our eyes have become dim.

Because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate,

foxes tread on it.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Our skin was black like an oven

Because of the terrible famine.

They ravished the women in Zion,

And the maids in the cities of Judah.

Princes are hanged up by their hand:

The faces of elders were not honoured.

They took the young men to grind,

And the children fell under the wood.

The elders have ceased from the gate,

The young men from their musick.

The joy of our heart is ceased;

Our dance is turned into mourning.

The crown is fallen from our head:

Woe unto us, that we have sinned!

For this our heart is faint;

For these things our eyes are dim.

Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate,

The foxes walk upon it.

Public Domain