Lamentations 1:3

Lamentations 1:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
• New International Version (NIV)After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Judah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, She finds no rest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.

Context of Lamentations 1:3

1The city that was full of people is lonely now. The city is like the wife of a dead husband. Once she was great. She was like a queen among the other places in the country. Now she is a slave. 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. The enemies have taken Judah's people away as slaves. The slaves have only trouble and difficult work. They now live among strangers. They have no rest, and they live far away from home. They cannot go away from those who do cruel things to them. 4Zion's streets are sad places now. Nobody comes to worship God there any longer. There is nothing to hear at the city gates. The priests are sad. Strangers are cruel to the young women. The people in Zion are very sad. 5The people's enemies rule them now. Those who hate them have plenty. The Lord has caused trouble for the people because they did so many wrong things. The enemies took the children away to work as slaves.

Lamentations 1:3 word by word

גָּֽלְתָ֨ה יְהוּדָ֤ה מֵעֹ֙נִי֙ וּמֵרֹ֣ב עֲבֹדָ֔ה הִ֚יא יָשְׁבָ֣ה בַגּוֹיִ֔ם לֹ֥א מָצְאָ֖ה מָנ֑וֹחַ כָּל־רֹדְפֶ֥יהָ הִשִּׂיג֖וּהָ בֵּ֥ין הַמְּצָרִֽים׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• is gone into captivityגָּלָהgâlâh · to reveal: removeH1540
• because of afflictionעֳנִי‛ŏnîy · afflictionH6040
• and because of greatרֹבrôb · abundanceH7230
• servitudeעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656
• she dwellethיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• among the heathenגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• she findethמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• no restמָנוֹחַmânôach · restingH4494
• all her persecutorsרָדַףrâdaph · to pursueH7291
• overtookנָשַׂגnâώag · to overtakeH5381
• her between the straitsמֵצַרmêtsar · straitsH4712

Cross-references for Lamentations 1:3

• 2 Kings 24:14Nebuchadnezzar took away as his prisoners all the people who lived in Jerusalem. There were 10,000 people. They included all the officers and all the soldiers. He also took away the people who had special skills to work with wood and metal. The only people who remained in Judah were the very poor people.
• 2 Kings 25:11Captain Nebuzaradan sent away as prisoners all the people who remained in Jerusalem. He also sent away those people who had agreed to serve the king of Babylon and the workers who were still there.
• 2 Chronicles 36:20Nebuchadnezzar took away to Babylon all the people in Jerusalem who were still alive. They worked as slaves for him and for his sons until the kingdom of Persia became powerful.
• Jeremiah 39:9Nebuzaradan, the captain of King Nebuchadnezzar's guards, took hold of all the people who remained in Jerusalem. He sent them away as prisoners to Babylon. He also sent away the people of Judah who had joined Babylon's army.
• Jeremiah 52:15Captain Nebuzaradan sent away as prisoners some of the poor people and the rest of the people who remained in Jerusalem. He also sent away those people who had agreed to serve the king of Babylon, and the workers who had special skills.
• Lamentations 2:9Zion's gates fell down on the ground. He destroyed them and he has broken them in pieces. The enemies have taken away our king and his sons to a foreign country. The people no longer understand God's Law. The Lord does not give messages to his prophets any more.
• Leviticus 26:36Some of Israel's people will remain in other countries. They will be frightened. A leaf that is blowing in the wind will cause them to run away. It will be like when an enemy is running after them. They will fall even if no enemy is running after them.
• Deuteronomy 28:64If that happens, the Lord will send you away to live among many other nations, all over the world. There you will worship other gods. They are gods that people have made from wood and from stone. Neither you nor your ancestors have ever known those gods before.
• Jeremiah 24:9I will send great trouble to punish them. It will make everyone afraid. The people of all the kingdoms on the earth will think that they are disgusting. People will insult them. They will use them as an example in proverbs. They will use their name as a curse. That will happen in all the places where I send my people.
• Ezekiel 5:12Illness or famine will kill one third of your people inside the city. The soldiers who are around the city will kill a third of your people. And I will chase away a third of them to all parts of the earth. I will cause their enemies to run after them with their swords.
• Lamentations 4:18Enemies ran after us, so that we could not go into the streets any longer. We knew that we would die soon. We could not live like this any longer.
• Jeremiah 16:16But now I will send enemies to catch these people. They will catch them like fishermen catch fish. They will chase after them like hunters who catch wild animals. They will find them everywhere in the mountains, in the hills and in holes in the rocks.
• Jeremiah 52:8But the soldiers of Babylon's army chased after King Zedekiah. They caught him on the flat land near Jericho. All King Zedekiah's soldiers ran away from him in many directions.
• Amos 9:1Then I saw a vision of the Lord. He was standing beside the altar in the temple. The Lord said, ‘Hit the tops of the pillars so that the whole foundation shakes! Cause the building to fall on the heads of all the people. If anyone is still alive after that, I will cause them to die in battle. Nobody will escape!

Commentaries on Lamentations 1:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Between the straits - She has been brought into such difficulties, that it was impossible for her to escape. Has this any reference to the circumstances in which Zedekiah and the princes of Judah endeavored to escape from Jerusalem, by the way of the gates between the two walls? Jeremiah 52:7.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Because of … - i. e. the people, not of Jerusalem only, but of the whole land, “is gone into exile to escape from the affliction and laborious servitude,” to which they are subject in their own land. Persecutors … between the straits - Rather, “pursuers … in the midst of her straits.” The Jews flee like deer to escape from the invading Chaldaeans, but are driven by them into places from where there is no escape.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The woman in Lamentations 1:1 represents the nation of Judah. The writer describes Judah as a woman who now sits alone and suffers. gone into exile: The people of Judah were led away into captivity (forced to leave their land and live in another country). This happened four times: In 605 BC, some young men were taken to Babylon (Daniel 1:3–4). In 597 BC, King Jehoiachin and many others were taken away (2 Kings 24:12–16; Jeremiah 52:28; Ezekiel 1:2–3). In…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. (Jr 52:27). because of great servitude--that is, in a state "of great servitude," endured from the Chaldeans. "Because" is made by Vatablus indicative of the cause of her captivity; namely, her having "afflicted" and unjustly brought into "servitude" the manumitted bond-servants (Jr 34:8-22). Maurer explains it, "Judah has left her land (not literally 'gone into captivity') because of the yoke imposed on it by Nebuchadnezzar." no rest--(De 28:64, 65)…Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 1:3

• Captivity
• Persecution
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Judah
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Faint
• Heathen
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew

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