Lamentations 1:17

Lamentations 1:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.
• New International Version (NIV)Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has decreed for Jacob that his neighbors become his foes; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the Lord has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Zion spreads out her hands, But no one comforts her; The Lord has commanded concerning Jacob That those around him become his adversaries; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.

Context of Lamentations 1:17

15The Lord has let the enemy beat all our strong men. He brought a big army to fight our young men, and the enemy won that fight. The Lord God has punished us, like people walk on grapes to break them. He has let the enemy destroy the people of Judah. 16We weep because of these things. Tears run down our faces because God is not with us. Nobody will help us. We are the children of this city and we have nothing now. The enemy has won.’ Zion's people ask for help, but nobody is their friend. They are Jacob's children. But the Lord has said that he will cause their enemies to come from every country near them. Those other people think about Jerusalem as they would think about something dirty. 18‘The Lord is right to punish us. We have not obeyed him. Listen, all people everywhere, and look at us. We are in very bad trouble. The enemy has taken away our young women and our young men to be slaves.’ 19‘We shouted to our friends. They had said that they would help us. But they did not help us. Our priests and our leaders died in the city. They were looking for food to keep themselves alive.

Lamentations 1:17 word by word

פֵּֽרְשָׂ֨ה צִיּ֜וֹן בְּיָדֶ֗יהָ אֵ֤ין מְנַחֵם֙ לָ֔הּ צִוָּ֧ה יְהוָ֛ה לְיַעֲקֹ֖ב סְבִיבָ֣יו צָרָ֑יו הָיְתָ֧ה יְרוּשָׁלִַ֛ם לְנִדָּ֖ה בֵּינֵיהֶֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
• spreadeth forthפָּרַשׂpâraώ · to spreadH6566
• her handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• none to comfortנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: comfortH5162
• her: the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• hath commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• concerning Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
• his adversariesצַרtsar tsâr · enemyH6862
• round aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · around: neighoursH5439
• him: Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• is as a menstruous womanנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079

Cross-references for Lamentations 1:17

• 1 Kings 8:22Then Solomon stood in front of the Lord's altar. All the Israelite people who had come together there could see him. He lifted up his hands towards the sky.
• Isaiah 1:15When you lift up your hands to pray to me, I have to look away. Even if you pray very many times to me, I do not listen to you, because your hands are full of blood.
• Jeremiah 4:31I can hear people who are calling out. It sounds like a woman who is giving birth to her first baby. She is calling out with great pain. It is Jerusalem who is crying! She is calling out for help. She says, ‘Help me! I am very weak. These murderers have come to kill me!’
• Lamentations 1:2She weeps in the night and there are tears on her face. Not one of her lovers comforts her. All her friends have left her. They have gone against her and they are now her enemies.
• Lamentations 2:1The Lord was very angry. He wanted Zion's people to be ashamed. Zion was the most beautiful city in Israel. But he has put it down to the ground from its high place. Zion was like a place where he had rested his feet. Now that he is angry, he has forgotten about that.
• 2 Kings 24:2The Lord sent groups of soldiers to attack towns in Judah. The soldiers came from Babylon, Syria, Moab and Ammon. The Lord sent them to destroy Judah. He had already sent his servants, the prophets, to warn the people of Judah about this.
• 2 Kings 25:1Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched with all his army to attack Jerusalem. He arrived on the 10th day of the 10th month, in the 9th year when Zedekiah had ruled Judah. His soldiers made their camp all around the city. They built heaps of earth all around Jerusalem's walls.
• Jeremiah 6:3Kings will come to attack the city. They will bring their armies, like shepherds with their sheep. They will make their camps all around the city. Each of them will take their own piece of land.
• Jeremiah 16:6When people die, nobody will bury them, whether they are rich people or poor people. Nobody will weep for them. People will not cut their bodies because they are upset. They will not cut the hair from their heads.
• Jeremiah 21:4“Your soldiers have gone outside the city to fight against the king of Babylon and his soldiers. But I will make the weapons of your soldiers useless. You will have to bring them all back into the city.
• Jeremiah 34:22I will command Babylon's army to return to this city. They will fight against it and they will take it. They will burn the city down. I will also cause the other towns of Judah to become heaps of stones. Nobody will live in them any more.’
• Ezekiel 7:23Prepare chains to tie my people. The whole land is full of murder and violence.
• Hosea 8:8Israel will become lost among the other nations. It will be like a useless pot that nobody needs.
• Luke 19:43As a result, days of trouble will come to you. Your enemies will build a wall round you. They will shut you in completely, and they will not let you leave.
• Lamentations 1:9Jerusalem seemed dirty because the people were so bad. They never thought that the end would be like this. But their enemies destroyed the city. They do not have anyone who can comfort them. God did not listen any longer when they asked for his help. ‘Lord, see our troubles. See how happy our enemies are,’ the people pray.
• Lamentations 4:15‘Go away!’ people shouted at them. ‘Do not touch us! You are too dirty to be among God's people!’ So they went away to other countries, but the people there did not want them. ‘They cannot stay here with us!’ those people said.

Commentaries on Lamentations 1:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Zion spreadeth forth her hands - Extending the hands is the form in supplication. Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman - To whom none dared to approach, either to help or comfort, because of the law, Leviticus 15:19-27.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Spreadeth forth her hands - In prayer Exodus 9:29, Exodus 9:33, but Zion entreats in vain. There is no one to comfort her - not God, for He is chastising her, nor man, for all the neighboring nations have become her enemies. See Lamentations 1:2. That his adversaries … - Rather, that those round about him should be his adversaries; all the neighboring states should regard him with aversion. Jerusalem is … - i. e. is become an abomination. The words are…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 Jerusalem, sitting dejected on the ground, calls on those that passed by, to consider whether her example did not concern them. Her outward sufferings were great, but her inward sufferings were harder to bear, through the sense of guilt. Sorrow for sin must be great sorrow, and must affect the soul. Here we see the evil of sin, and may take warning to flee from the wrath to come. Whatever may be learned from the sufferings of Jerusalem, far…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-22Chapter 1 mourns the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem, recognizing that this was God’s well-deserved judgment on Israel’s sins.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Like a woman in labor-throes (Jr 4:31). menstruous woman--held unclean, and shunned by all; separated from her husband and from the temple (compare La 1:8; Le 14:19, &c.). Tzaddi.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 1:17

• Menstruation

In the dictionaries

• Jacob
• Jerusalem
• Jacob, Israel
• Faint
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of

Commentaries on Lamentations 1

• 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
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings