New English Translation
Lamentations 1:3
3Judah has departed into exile under affliction and harsh oppression. She lives among the nations; she has found no resting place. All who pursued her overtook her in narrow straits. ד (Dalet)
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
1Alas! The city once full of people now sits all alone! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer! ב (Bet) 2She weeps bitterly at night; tears stream down her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. ג (Gimel) Judah has departed into exile under affliction and harsh oppression. She lives among the nations; she has found no resting place. All who pursued her overtook her in narrow straits. ד (Dalet) 4The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels to the festivals. All her city gates are deserted; her priests groan. Her virgins grieve; she is in bitter anguish! ה (He) 5Her foes subjugated her; her enemies are at ease. For the Lord afflicted her because of her many acts of rebellion. Her children went away captive before the enemy. ו (Vav)
Read all of Lamentations 1Lamentations 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 deported all the residents of Jerusalem, including all the officials and all the soldiers (10,000 people in all). This included all the craftsmen and those who worked with metal. No one was left except for the poorest among the people of the land.
- 2 Kings 25:11Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, deported the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen.
- 2 Chronicles 36:20He deported to Babylon all who escaped the sword. They served him and his sons until the Persian kingdom rose to power.
- Jeremiah 39:9Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took captive the rest of the people who were left in the city. He carried them off to Babylon along with the people who had deserted to him.
- Jeremiah 52:15Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, took into exile some of the poor, the rest of the people who remained in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the rest of the craftsmen.
- Lamentations 2:9Her city gates have fallen to the ground; he smashed to bits the bars that lock her gates. Her king and princes were taken into exile; there is no more guidance available. As for her prophets, they no longer receive a vision from the Lord. י (Yod)
- Leviticus 26:36“‘As for the ones who remain among you, I will bring despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a blowing leaf will pursue them, and they will flee as one who flees the sword and fall down even though there is no pursuer.
- Deuteronomy 28:64The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone.
- Jeremiah 24:9I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses. That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them.
- Ezekiel 5:12A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them.
- Lamentations 4:18Our enemies hunted us down at every step so that we could not walk about in our streets. Our end drew near, our days were numbered, for our end had come! ק (Qof)
- Jeremiah 16:16But for now I, the Lord, say: “I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks.
- Jeremiah 52:8But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and his entire army deserted him.
- Amos 9:1I saw the sovereign One standing by the altar and he said, “Strike the tops of the support pillars, so the thresholds shake! Knock them down on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the survivors with the sword. No one will be able to run away; no one 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
In the dictionaries
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries