Lamentations 2:10

Lamentations 2:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.
• New International Version (NIV)The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The elders of the daughter of Zion Sit on the ground and keep silence; They throw dust on their heads And gird themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Bow their heads to the ground.

Context of Lamentations 2:10

8The Lord decided to destroy the strong walls of Zion. He carefully broke away each stone. It causes us to weep when we look at those walls. He destroyed them all. He destroyed the inside walls and he destroyed the strong outside walls. 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. Zion's leaders sit on the ground and they are saying nothing. They have dressed themselves in sackcloth and they throw dirt on their own heads. They are showing everyone that they are very sad. The young women of Jerusalem can only look down to the ground, because they are very sad too. 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. 12‘Where has all the food and drink gone?’ the hungry children ask their mothers. Then they fall down in pain on the streets of the city. They die in their mothers' arms.

Lamentations 2:10 word by word

יֵשְׁב֨וּ לָאָ֤רֶץ יִדְּמוּ֙ זִקְנֵ֣י בַת־צִיּ֔וֹן הֶֽעֱל֤וּ עָפָר֙ עַל־רֹאשָׁ֔ם חָגְר֖וּ שַׂקִּ֑ים הוֹרִ֤ידוּ לָאָ֙רֶץ֙ רֹאשָׁ֔ן בְּתוּלֹ֖ת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• of the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
• sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• upon the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• keep silenceדָּמַםdâmam · to silence: silentH1826
• they have cast upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
• dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• upon their headsרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• they have girdedחָגַרchâgar · to girdH2296
• themselves with sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• the virginsבְּתוּלָהbethûlâh · virginH1330
• of Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• hang downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381

Cross-references for Lamentations 2:10

• Lamentations 4:5There are people here who had been very rich. They ate the best foods, but now they are hungry. Now they lie in the streets with nothing to eat. They wore the best clothes, but now they sit in the ashes.
• Lamentations 5:12They hang our leaders by their hands. And they are cruel to our old men too.
• Job 2:13For a whole week, they sat on the ground near Job. They knew that his pain was very bad. So all that time, they did not say anything to him.
• Isaiah 3:26The city's gates will see all this and they will weep! The city will be empty. Zion will be like a poor woman who sits on the ground, completely alone.
• Isaiah 47:1‘Babylon, get down on the ground, and sit in the dirt! Come down off your throne, young lady! In the past, nobody has touched you, but people will no longer say that you are so pretty.
• Lamentations 1:1The 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.
• Lamentations 3:28Also, when the Lord causes them to be in trouble, they should sit alone quietly.
• Jeremiah 8:14The people say: ‘We should not sit here and do nothing. We must all go together into our strong cities. If we have to die, we will die there! The Lord our God has said that we must die. We have done bad things against him. He has decided to punish us with death. He has given us water to drink that has poison in it.
• Amos 5:13This is such an evil time that clever people say nothing. That is how they keep themselves safe.’
• Amos 8:3On the day that I come to punish them, people will not sing in the temple. Instead they will weep loudly. There will be dead bodies everywhere. Be quiet now!’ That is what the Lord God says.
• Joshua 7:6Joshua was so upset that he tore his clothes. He fell with his face to the ground in front of the Lord's Covenant Box. He stayed there until evening time, together with the Israelite leaders. They all put dirt on their heads.
• 2 Samuel 13:19Now Tamar put ashes on her head. She tore the beautiful dress that she was wearing. She covered her head with her hands. She wept loudly as she went home.
• Job 2:12When they could see Job from far away, they did not easily recognize him. They began to weep very loudly. They were so upset that they tore their clothes. They threw dust into the air and on their heads.
• Revelation 18:19They will throw dirt from the ground on their heads because they are so sad. They will weep and they will shout, ‘Bad trouble has come to you, Babylon! Great city! It is very bad for you! Everyone who had ships on the sea became rich because of you. You used your money to buy their expensive things. But in one single hour God has destroyed that city.’
• Isaiah 15:3They are wearing rough sackcloth in the streets. On the roofs of their houses and in the open places in their towns, they are weeping. They fall to the ground as they weep.
• Isaiah 36:22Then King Hezekiah's three officers, Eliakim, Shebna and Joah, went back to Hezekiah. They had torn their clothes because they were very upset. They told the king what the Assyrian officer had said.

Commentaries on Lamentations 2:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Sit upon the ground - See the note on Lamentations 1:1. Keep silence - No words can express their sorrows: small griefs are eloquent, great ones dumb.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-22Verses 10-22 Causes for lamentation are described. Multitudes perished by famine. Even little children were slain by their mother's hands, and eaten, according to the threatening, Deut. 28:53. Multitudes fell by the sword. Their false prophets deceived them. And their neighbours laughed at them. It is a great sin to jest at others' miseries, and adds much affliction to the afflicted. Their enemies triumphed over them. The enemies of the church are apt to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10Burlap, also known as sackcloth, was made from goat or camel hair. People often used it for grain sacks or to carry items on pack animals. Poor people wore it as clothing because it was cheap. People in mourning wore it to show their deep sorrow. Its dark color matched their mood, and its roughness matched their discomfort. Throwing dust on their heads and clothing signaled to neighbors that a family member had died.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. (Job 2:12, 13). The "elders," by their example, would draw the others to violent grief. the virgins--who usually are so anxious to set off their personal appearances to advantage. Caph.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 2:10

• Sackcloth
• Virgin

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Bosom
• Cord
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Dust
• Head
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew

Commentaries on Lamentations 2

• 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