Lamentations 2:18

Lamentations 2:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
• New International Version (NIV)The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. You walls of Daughter Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!
• New King James Version (NKJV)Their heart cried out to the Lord, “O wall of the daughter of Zion, Let tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief; Give your eyes no rest.

Context of Lamentations 2:18

16All your enemies make noises through their teeth because they are very happy. ‘We have won!’ they say. ‘We have waited for this day. Now we have beaten you! Now we have seen it!’ 17The Lord has done what he decided to do. Yes, he has done what he told you about a long time ago. He has destroyed your city and he has not felt sorry about it. He has caused your enemies to be happy. He has made them strong so that they could win against you. Day and night, cause your tears to run like a river round the walls of Zion. Cry to the Lord all the time, you people. Do not rest. Do not let your eyes stop crying. 19Stand up and pray for God's help. Talk to God all night. Pour out your words and thoughts to the Lord as you pour out water from a jar. Lift up your hands to him, and ask him to save the lives of your children. They fall down to die at the end of every street because they are so hungry. 20‘Look at us, Lord,’ you should say. ‘You have done all this to your people. Women eat their own children now! They eat the children that they took care of. People have killed your own priests and prophets in your holy house!

Lamentations 2:18 word by word

צָעַ֥ק לִבָּ֖ם אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֑י חוֹמַ֣ת בַּת־צִ֠יּוֹן הוֹרִ֨ידִי כַנַּ֤חַל דִּמְעָה֙ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַ֔יְלָה אַֽל־תִּתְּנִ֤י פוּגַת֙ לָ֔ךְ אַל־תִּדֹּ֖ם בַּת־עֵינֵֽךְ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Their heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• criedצָעַקtsâ‛aq · to cryH6817
• unto the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
• O wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
• of the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
• let tearsדִּמְעָהdim‛âh · tearsH1832
• run downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• like a riverנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: riverH5158
• dayיוֹמָםyômâm · by dayH3119
• and nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• thyself no restפּוּגַתpûgâh · cessationH6314
• of thine eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• ceaseדָּמַםdâmam · to silence: stationaryH1826

Cross-references for Lamentations 2:18

• Psalms 119:145With my whole being, I call to you, ‘Answer me, Lord! I will obey your commands.’
• Isaiah 26:16Lord, when your people had trouble, they came to you for help. When you punished them, they turned to you and they prayed.
• Hosea 7:14They do not pray and trust me to help them. Instead, they lie down on their beds and they weep loudly. They cut their bodies to get grain and wine. They turn away from me.
• Lamentations 2:8The 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.
• Habakkuk 2:11The stones in the walls of your houses will cry out against you. The beams in your roof will also shout aloud.
• 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 3:48I weep, and my eyes are red with all my tears. It is because the enemy has killed my people.
• Psalms 119:136I weep with streams of tears, because people do not obey your Law.
• 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!’
• Jeremiah 9:1‘My head should be like a pool of water. My eyes should be like a river of tears. Then I would never stop crying for my dear people who have died in war.
• Jeremiah 13:17If you refuse to listen to God's message, I will hide myself and I will weep. Because you are so proud, tears will pour from my eyes. I will cry because the Lord has sent his own people away as prisoners to a foreign land.
• Jeremiah 14:17Say this to the people, Jeremiah: “Tears pour from my eyes all the time. I weep through each day and each night. I am sad about my own dear people. A great trouble has knocked them to the ground. They have received a very bad wound.

Commentaries on Lamentations 2:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18O wall of the daughter of Zion - ציון בת חומת chomath bath tsiyon, wall of the daughter of Zion. These words are probably those of the passengers, who appear to be affected by the desolations of the land; and they address the people, and urge them to plead with God day and night for their restoration. But what is the meaning of wall of the daughter of Zion? I answer I do not know. It is certainly harsh to say "O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Their heart - That of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The prophet bids the wall, as the representative of the people who had dwelt secure under its protection, shed floods of tears on their behalf. Broken up by the enemy, it could be their guardian no longer, but by its ruins it might still cry unto the Lord in their behalf. A river - Or, a brook or torrent. Rest - Properly, the torpor and numbness which follows upon excessive grief. Apple of thine eye…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. 18-19Repentance and prayer are the proper responses when facing the devastation of God’s judgment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. wall--(La 2:8). Personified. "Their heart," that is, the Jews'; while their heart is lifted up to the Lord in prayer, their speech is addressed to the "wall" (the part being put for the whole city). let tears, &c.--(Jr 14:17). The wall is called on to weep for its own ruin and that of the city. Compare the similar personification (La 1:4). apple--the pupil of the eye (Psa 17:8). Koph.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 2:18

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Famine

In the dictionaries

• Day and Night
• Bosom
• Cord
• Poetry
• River
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Apple, of the Eye
• Cry, Crying
• Eye

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