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

1“Look how deserted Jerusalem is! Once the city was crowded with people. Once it was important among the nations. Now it is a widow. Once it was a princess among the provinces. Now it does forced labor. 2Jerusalem cries bitterly at night with tears running down its cheeks. Out of all those who love the city, no one offers it comfort. All of Jerusalem’s friends have betrayed it and become its enemies. “Judah has been exiled after ⌞much⌟ suffering and harsh treatment. Its ⌞people⌟ live among the nations; they find no rest. Those who chased them caught up with them in places where there was no way out. 4“The roads to Zion are deserted. No one comes to the annual festivals. No one passes through any of its gates. Its priests are groaning. Its young women are made to suffer. Zion is bitter. 5Its opponents are now in control. Its enemies have no worries. The Lord made Zion suffer for its many rebellious acts. Its children go ahead of their opponents into captivity.

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 24:14He captured all Jerusalem, all the generals, all the soldiers (10,000 prisoners), and all the craftsmen and smiths. Only the poorest people of the land were left.
• 2 Kings 25:11Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.
• 2 Chronicles 36:20The king of Babylon took those who weren’t executed to Babylon to be slaves for him and his sons. They remained captives until the Persian Empire began to rule.
• Jeremiah 39:9Nebuzaradan, Babylon’s captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to him, and the rest of the people.
• Jeremiah 52:15Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, captured the few people left in the city, those who surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population.
• Lamentations 2:9“⌞Zion’s⌟ gates have sunk into the ground. ⌞The Lord⌟ destroyed and shattered the bars across its ⌞gates⌟. Its king and influential people are ⌞scattered⌟ among the nations. There is no longer any instruction ⌞from Moses’ Teachings⌟. Its prophets can find no visions from the Lord.
• Leviticus 26:36I will fill with despair those who are left in the land of their enemies. The sound of a windblown leaf will make them run. They will run away and fall, but no one will be chasing them.
• Deuteronomy 28:64Then the Lord will scatter you among all the people of the world, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve gods made of wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors ever knew.
• Jeremiah 24:9I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. They will be a disgrace and an example. They will become something ridiculed and cursed wherever I scatter them.
• Ezekiel 5:12One-third of you will die in plagues and be devoured in famines. Another third will die in battles against those around you. I will scatter the remaining third to the wind, and I will pursue them with a sword.
• Lamentations 4:18⌞The enemy⌟ kept tracking us down, so we couldn’t even go out into the streets. Our end was near. Our time was up. Our end had come.
• Jeremiah 16:16“I’m going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch the people of Israel. After that, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt for them on every mountain and hill and even in the cracks in the rocks.
• Jeremiah 52:8The Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the plain of Jericho. His entire army had deserted him.
• Amos 9:1I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: Strike the tops of the pillars so that the foundations shake. Cut off everyone’s head. I will kill with a sword all who are left. None of them will be able to get away. None of them will be able to 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