Lamentations 2:18

Lamentations 2:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
• New International Version (NIV)The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. You walls of Daughter Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!
• New King James Version (NKJV)Their heart cried out to the Lord, “O wall of the daughter of Zion, Let tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief; Give your eyes no rest.

Context of Lamentations 2:18

16All your enemies Have opened their mouths wide against you; They [scornfully] hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, “We have swallowed her up! Certainly this is the day for which we waited; We have reached it, we have seen it!” 17The Lord has done what He planned; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has demolished without sparing, And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the power of your enemies. Their hearts cried out to the Lord. “O wall of the Daughter of Zion, Let your tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest. 19Arise, cry aloud in the night, At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who are faint from hunger At the head of every street.” 20See, O Lord, and look! With whom have You dealt this way? Should women eat their offspring, The little ones who were born healthy and beautiful? Should priest and prophet be killed In the sanctuary of the Lord?

Lamentations 2:18 word by word

צָעַ֥ק לִבָּ֖ם אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֑י חוֹמַ֣ת בַּת־צִ֠יּוֹן הוֹרִ֨ידִי כַנַּ֤חַל דִּמְעָה֙ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַ֔יְלָה אַֽל־תִּתְּנִ֤י פוּגַת֙ לָ֔ךְ אַל־תִּדֹּ֖ם בַּת־עֵינֵֽךְ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Their heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• criedצָעַקtsâ‛aq · to cryH6817
• unto the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
• O wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
• of the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
• let tearsדִּמְעָהdim‛âh · tearsH1832
• run downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• like a riverנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: riverH5158
• dayיוֹמָםyômâm · by dayH3119
• and nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• thyself no restפּוּגַתpûgâh · cessationH6314
• of thine eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• ceaseדָּמַםdâmam · to silence: stationaryH1826

Cross-references for Lamentations 2:18

• Psalms 119:145I cried with all my heart; answer me, O Lord! I will observe Your statutes.
• Isaiah 26:16O Lord, they sought You in distress; They managed only a prayerful whisper When Your discipline was upon them.
• Hosea 7:14They do not cry out to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds [in unbelieving despair]; For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves [as if worshiping Baal]; They rebel against Me.
• Lamentations 2:8The Lord determined to lay in ruins The [city] wall of the Daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not stopped His hand from destroying. He has caused the rampart and the wall to lament (mourn in grief); They have languished together.
• Habakkuk 2:11For the stone will cry out from the wall [to accuse you—built in sin!] And the rafter will answer it out of the woodwork.
• Lamentations 1:2She weeps bitterly in the night And her tears are [constantly] on her cheeks; Among all her lovers (political allies) She has no one to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies.
• Lamentations 3:48My eyes overflow with streams of tears Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people (Jerusalem).
• Psalms 119:136My eyes weep streams of water Because people do not keep Your law.
• Jeremiah 4:31For I heard a cry like a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), who gasps for breath, Who stretches out her hands, saying, “Woe is me [my judgment comes]! I faint [in fear] before the murderers.”
• Jeremiah 9:1Oh that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
• Jeremiah 13:17But if you will not listen and obey, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And flow with tears, Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
• Jeremiah 14:17Therefore [Jeremiah] you will say this word to them, ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them never cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a great blow, With a very serious and severely infected wound.

Commentaries on Lamentations 2:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18O wall of the daughter of Zion - ציון בת חומת chomath bath tsiyon, wall of the daughter of Zion. These words are probably those of the passengers, who appear to be affected by the desolations of the land; and they address the people, and urge them to plead with God day and night for their restoration. But what is the meaning of wall of the daughter of Zion? I answer I do not know. It is certainly harsh to say "O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Their heart - That of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The prophet bids the wall, as the representative of the people who had dwelt secure under its protection, shed floods of tears on their behalf. Broken up by the enemy, it could be their guardian no longer, but by its ruins it might still cry unto the Lord in their behalf. A river - Or, a brook or torrent. Rest - Properly, the torpor and numbness which follows upon excessive grief. Apple of thine eye…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-22Verses 10-22 Causes for lamentation are described. Multitudes perished by famine. Even little children were slain by their mother's hands, and eaten, according to the threatening, Deut. 28:53. Multitudes fell by the sword. Their false prophets deceived them. And their neighbours laughed at them. It is a great sin to jest at others' miseries, and adds much affliction to the afflicted. Their enemies triumphed over them. The enemies of the church are apt to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19Repentance and prayer are the proper responses when facing the devastation of God’s judgment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. wall--(La 2:8). Personified. "Their heart," that is, the Jews'; while their heart is lifted up to the Lord in prayer, their speech is addressed to the "wall" (the part being put for the whole city). let tears, &c.--(Jr 14:17). The wall is called on to weep for its own ruin and that of the city. Compare the similar personification (La 1:4). apple--the pupil of the eye (Psa 17:8). Koph.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 2:18

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Famine

In the dictionaries

• Day and Night
• Bosom
• Cord
• Poetry
• River
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Apple, of the Eye
• Cry, Crying
• Eye

Commentaries on Lamentations 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings