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

15“Stay away! Unclean!” people shouted at them. “Away, away! Don’t touch us!” So they wandered aimlessly. It was said among the nations, “They can stay here no longer.” 16The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are not respected; the elders find no favor. All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help; we watched from our towers for a nation that would not save us. 18Our steps were closely followed so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end approached; our time ran out. Our end had come! 19Those who chased us were swifter than eagles in the sky; they relentlessly pursued us over the mountains and ambushed 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 called to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while searching for food to keep themselves alive.
• 2 Kings 24:7Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, for the king of Babylon took everything that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
• Isaiah 20:5Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.
• Isaiah 30:1Woe to the rebellious children! This is the Lord’s declaration. They carry out a plan, but not mine; they make an alliance, but against my will, piling sin on top of sin.
• Isaiah 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses! They trust in the abundance of chariots and in the large number of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel, and they do not seek the Lord.
• Jeremiah 2:18Now what will you gain by traveling along the way to Egypt to drink the water of the Nile? What will you gain by traveling along the way to Assyria to drink the water of the Euphrates?
• Jeremiah 8:20Harvest has passed, summer has ended, but we have not been saved.
• Jeremiah 30:7How awful that day will be! There will be no other like it! It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
• Ezekiel 29:6“‘Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord, for they have been a staff made of reed 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