Lamentations 1:16

Lamentations 1:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.
• New International Version (NIV)“This is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to restore my spirit. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)"For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“For these things I weep; My eye, my eye overflows with water; Because the comforter, who should restore my life, Is far from me. My children are desolate Because the enemy prevailed.”

Context of Lamentations 1:16

14The yoke of my transgressions is bound; By His hand they are knit together. They have come upon my neck; He has made my strength fail. The Lord has given me into the hands Of those against whom I am not able to stand. 15The Lord has rejected all my strong men In my midst; He has called an appointed time against me To crush my young men; The Lord has trodden as in a wine press The virgin daughter of Judah. For these things I weep; My eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter, One who restores my soul. My children are desolate Because the enemy has prevailed.” 17Zion stretches out her hands; There is no one to comfort her; The Lord has commanded concerning Jacob That the ones round about him should be his adversaries; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them. 18“The Lord is righteous; For I have rebelled against His command; Hear now, all peoples, And behold my pain; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity.

Lamentations 1:16 word by word

עַל־אֵ֣לֶּה׀ אֲנִ֣י בוֹכִיָּ֗ה עֵינִ֤י׀ עֵינִי֙ יֹ֣רְדָה מַּ֔יִם כִּֽי־רָחַ֥ק מִמֶּ֛נִּי מְנַחֵ֖ם מֵשִׁ֣יב נַפְשִׁ֑י הָי֤וּ בָנַי֙ שֽׁוֹמֵמִ֔ים כִּ֥י גָבַ֖ר אוֹיֵֽב׃ סRead the interlinear

• For theseאֵ֫לֶּה'êlleh · theseH428
• weepבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• My eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• runיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• with waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• Becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• farרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
• comforterנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: comfortH5162
• One who restoresשׁוּבshûb · to return: rescueH7725
• my soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
• My childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• are desolateשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: destroyedH8074
• the enemyאָיַב'âyab · be hostileH340
• has prevailedגָּבַרgâbar · to prevailH1396

Cross-references for Lamentations 1:16

• Lamentations 1:2She weeps bitterly in the night And her tears are on her cheeks; She has none to comfort her Among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies.
• Lamentations 2:11My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, When little ones and infants faint In the streets of the city.
• Lamentations 3:48My eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
• Psalms 119:136My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your law.
• 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 to it, My soul will sob in secret for such pride; And my eyes will bitterly weep And flow down with tears, Because the flock of the Lord has been taken captive.
• Jeremiah 14:17You will say this word to them, ‘Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely infected wound.
• Luke 19:41When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,
• Romans 9:1I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,
• Hosea 9:12Though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them until not a man is left. Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
• Lamentations 1:5Her adversaries have become her masters, Her enemies prosper; For the Lord has caused her grief Because of the multitude of her transgressions; Her little ones have gone away As captives before the adversary.
• Lamentations 2:20See, O Lord, and look! With whom have You dealt thus? Should women eat their offspring, The little ones who were born healthy? Should priest and prophet be slain In the sanctuary of the Lord?
• Lamentations 4:2The precious sons of Zion, Weighed against fine gold, How they are regarded as earthen jars, The work of a potter’s hands!
• Jeremiah 9:21For death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces To cut off the children from the streets, The young men from the town squares.

Commentaries on Lamentations 1:16

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12-16Verses 12-16 The lamentation of the city, personified as a woman in grief over her fate. Lamentations 1:13 It prevaileth - Or, hath subdued. He hath turned me back - Judaea, like a hunted animal, endeavors to escape, but finds every outlet blocked by nets, and recoils from them with terror and a sense of utter hopelessness. Lamentations 1:14 Bound by his hand - As the plowman binds the yoke upon the neck of oxen, so God compels Judah to bear the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 Jerusalem, sitting dejected on the ground, calls on those that passed by, to consider whether her example did not concern them. Her outward sufferings were great, but her inward sufferings were harder to bear, through the sense of guilt. Sorrow for sin must be great sorrow, and must affect the soul. Here we see the evil of sin, and may take warning to flee from the wrath to come. Whatever may be learned from the sufferings of Jerusalem, far…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-22Chapter 1 mourns the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem, recognizing that this was God’s well-deserved judgment on Israel’s sins.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. (Jr 13:17; 14:17). Jerusalem is the speaker. mine eye, mine eye--so La 4:18, "our end ... our end"; repetition for emphasis. Pe.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Faint
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Burial
• Eye
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Pulse

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