Lamentations 4:17

Lamentations 4:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
• New International Version (NIV)Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Still our eyes failed us, Watching vainly for our help; In our watching we watched For a nation that could not save us.
• New Living Translation (NLT)We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.

Context of Lamentations 4:17

15"Away! Unclean!" people cried at them. "Away! Away! Do not touch!" So they became fugitives and wanderers; people said among the nations, "They shall stay with us no longer." 16The Lord himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders. Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save. 18They dogged our steps so that we could not walk in our streets; our end drew near; our days were numbered, for our end had come. 19Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles in the heavens; they chased us on the mountains; they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

Lamentations 4:17 word by word

עוֹדֵ֙ינוּ֙ תִּכְלֶ֣ינָה עֵינֵ֔ינוּ אֶל־עֶזְרָתֵ֖נוּ הָ֑בֶל בְּצִפִּיָּתֵ֣נוּ צִפִּ֔ינוּ אֶל־גּ֖וֹי לֹ֥א יוֹשִֽׁעַ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• As for us, our eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• as yet failedכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: expendH3615
• for our vainהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• helpעֶזְרָה‛ezrâh ‛ezrâth · helpH5833
• in our watchingצְפִּיָּהtsephîyâh · outlook-postH6836
• we have watchedצָפָהtsâphâh · to watchH6822
• for a nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• could not saveיָשַׁעyâsha‛ · to saveH3467

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:17

• Lamentations 1:19"I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city, while they sought food to revive their strength.
• 2 Kings 24:7And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
• Isaiah 20:5Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast.
• Isaiah 30:1"Ah, stubborn children," declares the Lord, "who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;
• Isaiah 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!
• Jeremiah 2:18And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
• Jeremiah 8:20"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
• Jeremiah 30:7Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.
• Ezekiel 29:6Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord. "Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel,

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17We have watched for a nation - Viz., the Egyptians, who were their pretended allies, but were neither able nor wilting to help them against the Chaldeans.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17-20Verses 17-20 A rapid sketch of the last days of the siege and the capture of the king. Lamentations 4:17 Rather, “Still do our eyes waste away looking for our vain help.” In our watching - Or, “on our watchtower.” Lamentations 4:18 Or, They hunted “our steps that we could not go out into the streets. To hunt” means here to lie in ambush, and catch by snares; and the streets are literally “the wide places,” especially at the gates. Toward the end of the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-20Verses 13-20 Nothing ripens a people more for ruin, nor fills the measure faster, than the sins of priests and prophets. The king himself cannot escape, for Divine vengeance pursues him. Our anointed King alone is the life of our souls; we may safely live under his shadow, and rejoice in Him in the midst of our enemies, for He is the true God and eternal life.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-22Although God’s people still experience his judgment, they will soon experience restoration.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. As for us--This translation forms the best antithesis to the language of the heathen (La 4:15, 16). Calvin translates, "While as yet we stood as a state, our eyes failed," &c. watched for a nation that could not save us--Egypt (2Ki 24:7; Is 30:7; Jr 37:5-11). Tzaddi.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:17

• Confidence
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Fail
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of

Commentaries on Lamentations 4

• 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