Lamentations 1:20

Lamentations 1:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.
• New International Version (NIV)“See, Lord, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Look, O Lord, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“See, O Lord, that I am in distress; My soul is troubled; My heart is overturned within me, For I have been very rebellious. Outside the sword bereaves, At home it is like death.

Context of Lamentations 1:20

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. Look, Lord, we are in a lot of trouble. We are very sad. We are weak deep inside ourselves because we have done so many bad things. They are killing our people in the streets. People are dying in the houses.’ 21‘Everybody knows that we are very sad. Nobody wants to help us. All our enemies know about our trouble. They are happy, God, that you caused that trouble. Please cause trouble for those enemies too, as you promised. 22You know that they have done many bad things. Punish them as you have punished us. You punished us because we did many bad things. Now we are ashamed and we are very sad.’

Lamentations 1:20 word by word

רְאֵ֨ה יְהוָ֤ה כִּֽי־צַר־לִי֙ מֵעַ֣י חֳמַרְמָ֔רוּ נֶהְפַּ֤ךְ לִבִּי֙ בְּקִרְבִּ֔י כִּ֥י מָר֖וֹ מָרִ֑יתִי מִח֥וּץ שִׁכְּלָה־חֶ֖רֶב בַּבַּ֥יִת כַּמָּֽוֶת׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Beholdרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• in distressצָרַרtsârar · to confineH6887
• my bowelsמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578
• are troubledחָמַרchâmar · fermentH2560
• mine heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• is turnedהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• withinקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• me; for I have grievouslyמָרָהmârâh · to rebelH4784
• abroadחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• bereavethשָׁכֹלshâkôl · be bereavedH7921
• at homeבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• as deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194

Cross-references for Lamentations 1:20

• 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.
• Isaiah 38:14I cry like a swallow. I make a sad noise like a dove. My eyes are weak as I look up to heaven for help. Lord God, save me from my trouble!
• Lamentations 2:11I have cried so much that my eyes are red now. Even the parts inside my body hurt, because my people are dying. I feel ill because I am so sad. The children and babies fall in the city's streets because they are so weak.
• Job 30:27I hurt inside me all the time. Every day I suffer from pain.
• Psalms 22:14My strength has gone, like water that is poured away. My bones do not join together properly. I feel weak inside and hope has disappeared.
• Isaiah 16:11So I cry deep inside me for Moab. I cry like the sad music of a harp. I am very upset for Kir-Hareseth.
• Jeremiah 4:19I am so upset! My body is shaking with pain. My heart beats hard inside me. I cannot keep still. I cannot keep quiet. I have heard the noise of the enemy's trumpets and the shouts of their soldiers.
• Jeremiah 31:20But Israel's people are my own dear children. I still love them, even when I have to speak against them. I can never forget them. I only want to help them. I will certainly be kind to them.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Jeremiah 48:36So I am very sad for the people of Moab. I weep like a flute that plays a funeral song. I am sad for the people of Kir-Heres, because all their riches will disappear.
• Hosea 11:8Israel, I cannot leave you alone. I cannot let you belong to someone else. I cannot destroy you, as I did to Admah and Zeboiim. I now realize that I love you too much. I could never destroy you completely.
• Habakkuk 3:16I listened to this and I was very afraid. My lips shook with fear when I heard the sound. My bones became weak. My legs would not let me walk. But I will be patient. I will wait for the day of trouble that will come. Yes, punishment will come to the people who are attacking us.
• Lamentations 1:18‘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.’
• Leviticus 26:40Your sons and your grandsons must tell me, the Lord, that they are sorry. They must be sorry because they did not obey my rules. They must be sorry that they turned away from me.
• 1 Kings 8:47Then your people may think about the bad things that they have done. While they are prisoners in their enemy's country, they may be sorry about their sins. They may pray to you and ask you to forgive them. They may say, “We have turned away from God and we have done wicked things.”
• Job 33:27That person will say clearly to everyone, “I did things that were not right. I did wrong things, but God did not punish me as I deserved.
• Psalms 51:3I know that I have not obeyed you. I cannot forget that I am guilty.

Commentaries on Lamentations 1:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Abroad the sword bereaveth - War is through the country; and at home death; the pestilence and famine rage in the city; calamity in every shape is fallen upon me. Virgil represents the calamities of Troy under the same image: - - Nec soli poenas dant sanguine Teucri: Quondam etiam victis redit in praecordia virtus; Victoresque cadunt Danai. Crudelis ubique Luctus, ubique Pavor, et plurima mortis imago. Aeneid. lib. 2:366. "Not only Trojans fall; but, in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Troubled - Or, inflamed with sorrow. Turned within me - Agitated violently. At home there is as death - i. e. “in the house” there are pale pining forms, wasting with hunger, and presenting the appearance of death.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. 20The leaders and people of Judah had rebelled (Jeremiah 2:17; 5:6, 23) by rejecting the one true God and his commandments. They also resisted the invaders God had sent (2 Kings 24:1, 20; 2 Chronicles 36:13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. bowels ... troubled--(Job 30:27; Is 16:11; Jr 4:19; 31:20). Extreme mental distress affects the bowels and the whole internal frame. heart ... turned--(Ho 11:8); is agitated or fluttered. abroad ... sword ... at home ... as death--(De 32:25; Eze 7:15). The "as" does not modify, but intensifies. "Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home as it were death itself" (personified), in the form of famine and pestilence (2Ki 25:3; Jr 14:18; 52:6). So Ha 2:5, "as…Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 1:20

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Bowels
• Conviction
• Remorse
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Faint
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Bowels
• 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