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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Cry aloud before the Lord, O walls of beautiful Jerusalem! Let your tears flow like a river day and night. Give yourselves no rest; give your eyes no relief.

Context of Lamentations 2:18

16All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry: "We have swallowed her! Ah, this is the day we longed for; now we have it; we see it!" 17The Lord has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes. 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! 19"Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street." 20Look, O Lord, and see! With whom have you dealt thus? Should women eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?

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 heart I cry; answer me, O Lord! I will keep your statutes.
• Isaiah 26:16O Lord, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them.
• Hosea 7:14They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me.
• Lamentations 2:8The Lord determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out the measuring line; he did not restrain his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to lament; they languished together.
• Habakkuk 2:11For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.
• Lamentations 1:2She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.
• Lamentations 3:48my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
• Psalms 119:136My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.
• Jeremiah 4:31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, "Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers."
• Jeremiah 9:1Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
• Jeremiah 13:17But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock has been taken captive.
• Jeremiah 14:17"You shall say to them this word: 'Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound, with a very grievous blow.

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