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.
• 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.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)“For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me; any who might encourage me are far away. My children have no future, for the enemy has conquered us.”

Context of Lamentations 1:16

14“My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands they were woven together. They have been hung on my neck, and the Lord has sapped my strength. He has given me into the hands of those I cannot withstand. 15“The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah. “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.” 17Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has decreed for Jacob that his neighbors become his foes; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them. 18“The Lord is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command. Listen, all you peoples; look on my suffering. My young men and young women have gone into exile.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• I weepבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• mine eyeעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• runneth downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• with waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• because the comforterנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: comfortH5162
• that should relieveשׁוּבshûb · to return: rescueH7725
• my soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
• is farרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
• from me: my childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• are desolateשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: destroyedH8074
• because the enemyאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
• prevailedגָּבַרgâbar · to prevailH1396

Cross-references for Lamentations 1:16

• Lamentations 1:2Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
• Lamentations 2:11My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.
• Lamentations 3:48Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.
• Psalms 119:136Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.
• Jeremiah 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.
• Jeremiah 13:17If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.
• Jeremiah 14:17“Speak this word to them: “ ‘Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for the Virgin Daughter, my people, has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow.
• Luke 19:41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
• Romans 9:1I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—
• Hosea 9:12Even if they rear children, I will bereave them of every one. Woe to them when I turn away from them!
• Lamentations 1:5Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.
• Lamentations 2:20“Look, Lord, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
• Lamentations 4:2How the precious children of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!
• Jeremiah 9:21Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses; it has removed the children from the streets and the young men from the public 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