God’s Word Translation
Lamentations 5:13
13⌞Our⌟ young men work at the mill, and ⌞our⌟ boys stagger under loads of wood.
Lamentations 5:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.
- New International Version (NIV)Young men toil at the millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Young men are compelled to grind at the mill, and boys stagger under loads of wood.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Young men ground at the millstones; Boys staggered under loads of wood.
Context of Lamentations 5:13
11Women in Zion are raped, so are the girls in the cities of Judah. 12⌞Our⌟ leaders are hung by their hands. ⌞Our⌟ older leaders are shown no respect. ⌞Our⌟ young men work at the mill, and ⌞our⌟ boys stagger under loads of wood. 14⌞Our⌟ older leaders have stopped meeting at the city gate, and ⌞our⌟ young men no longer play their music. 15There is no joy left in our hearts. Our dancing has turned into mourning.
Read all of Lamentations 5Lamentations 5:13 word by word
בַּחוּרִים֙ טְח֣וֹן נָשָׂ֔אוּ וּנְעָרִ֖ים בָּעֵ֥ץ כָּשָֽׁלוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Lamentations 5:13
- Exodus 11:5Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who rules the land, to the firstborn children of female slaves who use their handmills, including every firstborn domestic animal.
- Judges 16:21The Philistines grabbed him. They poked out his eyes and took him to the prison in Gaza. They tied him up with double chains and made him grind grain in the mill there.
- Job 31:10⌞then⌟ let my wife grind for another ⌞man⌟, and let other ⌞men⌟ kneel over her.
- Isaiah 47:2Take millstones and grind flour. Remove your veil. Take off your skirt. Uncover your legs, and cross the river.
- Exodus 1:11So the Egyptians put slave drivers in charge of them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh.
- Exodus 2:11In the course of time Moses grew up. Then he went to ⌞see⌟ his own people and watched them suffering under forced labor. He saw a Hebrew, one of his own people, being beaten by an Egyptian.
- Exodus 23:5Whenever you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, don’t leave it there. Be sure to help him with his animal.
- Nehemiah 5:1Then some of the people, the men and their wives, complained publicly about their Jewish relatives.
- Isaiah 58:6This is the kind of fasting I have chosen: Loosen the chains of wickedness, untie the straps of the yoke, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke.
- Matthew 23:4They make loads that are hard to carry and lay them on the shoulders of the people. However, they are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Commentaries on Lamentations 5:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13They took the young men to grind - This was the work of female slaves. See the note on Isaiah 47:2.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13They took the young men to grind - Or, “The young men” have borne the mill, a menial and laborious task usually performed by slaves (compare Isaiah 47:2). The children fell under the wood - Or, lads have stumbled under burdens of wood. By lads are meant youths up to the age of military service; another form of menial labor.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-17These terrible things happened because the people had sinned (see Isaiah 24:7–12; Jeremiah 7:24; Jeremiah 13:18; Jeremiah 25:10–11; Amos 8:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. young men ... grind--The work of the lowest female slave was laid on young men (Jud 16:21; Job 31:10). children fell under ... wood--Mere children had to bear burdens of wood so heavy that they sank beneath them.Read the comment
Topics related to Lamentations 5:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Lamentations 5
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries