Lamentations 4:17

Lamentations 4:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
• New International Version (NIV)Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Still our eyes failed us, Watching vainly for our help; In our watching we watched For a nation that could not save us.

Context of Lamentations 4:17

15People cried to them, “Go away! Unclean! Depart! Depart! Do not touch!” So they fled, then they wandered [as fugitives]; People among the nations said, “They shall not stay here any longer with us.” 16The presence of the Lord scattered them [among the nations]; He will not continue to look after them. They did not honor the priests; They did not favor the elders. [And as for us,] yet our eyes failed, Looking in vain for help. Watching [from the towers] we watched For a nation that could not save. 18The enemy hunted our steps, So that we could not walk in our streets; Our end drew near, Our days were finished For our end had come. 19Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles of the sky; They pursued us on the mountains, They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.

Lamentations 4:17 word by word

עוֹדֵ֙ינוּ֙ תִּכְלֶ֣ינָה עֵינֵ֔ינוּ אֶל־עֶזְרָתֵ֖נוּ הָ֑בֶל בְּצִפִּיָּתֵ֣נוּ צִפִּ֔ינוּ אֶל־גּ֖וֹי לֹ֥א יוֹשִֽׁעַ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• As for us, our eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• as yet failedכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: expendH3615
• for our vainהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• helpעֶזְרָה‛ezrâh ‛ezrâth · helpH5833
• in our watchingצְפִּיָּהtsephîyâh · outlook-postH6836
• we have watchedצָפָהtsâphâh · to watchH6822
• for a nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• could not saveיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:17

• Lamentations 1:19I [Jerusalem] called to my lovers (political allies), but they deceived me. My priests and my elders perished in the city While they looked for food to restore their strength.
• 2 Kings 24:7The king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
• Isaiah 20:5Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast.
• Isaiah 30:1“Woe (judgment is coming) to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord, “Who carry out a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance [by pouring out a libation], but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin;
• Isaiah 31:1Woe (judgment is coming) to those who go down to Egypt for help, Who rely on horses And trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek and consult the Lord!
• Jeremiah 2:18Now what are you doing by going to Egypt [in search of an ally], To drink the [muddy] waters of the Nile? Or what are you doing by going to Assyria [in search of an ally], To drink the [muddy] waters of the Euphrates?
• Jeremiah 8:20“The harvest is past, the summer has ended and the gathering of fruit is over, But we are not saved,” [comes the voice of the people again].
• Jeremiah 30:7Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; It is the time of Jacob’s [unequaled] trouble, But he will be saved from it.
• Ezekiel 29:6And all the inhabitants of Egypt will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord, Because they have been [only] a staff made of [fragile] reeds to the house of Israel.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17We have watched for a nation - Viz., the Egyptians, who were their pretended allies, but were neither able nor wilting to help them against the Chaldeans.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17-20Verses 17-20 A rapid sketch of the last days of the siege and the capture of the king. Lamentations 4:17 Rather, “Still do our eyes waste away looking for our vain help.” In our watching - Or, “on our watchtower.” Lamentations 4:18 Or, They hunted “our steps that we could not go out into the streets. To hunt” means here to lie in ambush, and catch by snares; and the streets are literally “the wide places,” especially at the gates. Toward the end of the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-20Verses 13-20 Nothing ripens a people more for ruin, nor fills the measure faster, than the sins of priests and prophets. The king himself cannot escape, for Divine vengeance pursues him. Our anointed King alone is the life of our souls; we may safely live under his shadow, and rejoice in Him in the midst of our enemies, for He is the true God and eternal life.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-22Although God’s people still experience his judgment, they will soon experience restoration.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. As for us--This translation forms the best antithesis to the language of the heathen (La 4:15, 16). Calvin translates, "While as yet we stood as a state, our eyes failed," &c. watched for a nation that could not save us--Egypt (2Ki 24:7; Is 30:7; Jr 37:5-11). Tzaddi.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:17

• Confidence
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Fail
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of

Commentaries on Lamentations 4

• 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