Lamentations 1:20

Lamentations 1:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.
• New International Version (NIV)“See, Lord, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Look, O Lord, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“See, O Lord, that I am in distress; My soul is troubled; My heart is overturned within me, For I have been very rebellious. Outside the sword bereaves, At home it is like death.

Context of Lamentations 1:20

18“The Lord is right,” Jerusalem says, “for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere; look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands. 19“I begged my allies for help, but they betrayed me. My priests and leaders starved to death in the city, even as they searched for food to save their lives. “Lord, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have rebelled against you. In the streets the sword kills, and at home there is only death. 21“Others heard my groans, but no one turned to comfort me. When my enemies heard about my troubles, they were happy to see what you had done. Oh, bring the day you promised, when they will suffer as I have suffered. 22“Look at all their evil deeds, Lord. Punish them, as you have punished me for all my sins. My groans are many, and I am sick at heart.”

Lamentations 1:20 word by word

רְאֵ֨ה יְהוָ֤ה כִּֽי־צַר־לִי֙ מֵעַ֣י חֳמַרְמָ֔רוּ נֶהְפַּ֤ךְ לִבִּי֙ בְּקִרְבִּ֔י כִּ֥י מָר֖וֹ מָרִ֑יתִי מִח֥וּץ שִׁכְּלָה־חֶ֖רֶב בַּבַּ֥יִת כַּמָּֽוֶת׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Beholdרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• in distressצָרַרtsârar · to confineH6887
• my bowelsמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578
• are troubledחָמַרchâmar · fermentH2560
• mine heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• is turnedהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• withinקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• me; for I have grievouslyמָרָהmârâh · to rebelH4784
• abroadחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• bereavethשָׁכֹלshâkôl · be bereavedH7921
• at homeבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• as deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194

Cross-references for Lamentations 1:20

• Lamentations 1:9She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out. “Lord, see my misery,” she cries. “The enemy has triumphed.”
• Isaiah 38:14Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane, and then I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”
• Lamentations 2:11I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken. My spirit is poured out in agony as I see the desperate plight of my people. Little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets.
• Job 30:27My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me.
• Psalms 22:14My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me.
• Isaiah 16:11My heart’s cry for Moab is like a lament on a harp. I am filled with anguish for Kir-hareseth.
• Jeremiah 4:19My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain! My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still. For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets and the roar of their battle cries.
• Jeremiah 31:20“Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the Lord. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.
• Jeremiah 48:36My heart moans like a flute for Moab and Kir-hareseth, for all their wealth has disappeared.
• Hosea 11:8“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.
• Habakkuk 3:16I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us.
• Lamentations 1:18“The Lord is right,” Jerusalem says, “for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere; look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands.
• Leviticus 26:40“But at last my people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors for betraying me and being hostile toward me.
• 1 Kings 8:47But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’
• Job 33:27He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it.
• Psalms 51:3For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

Commentaries on Lamentations 1:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Abroad the sword bereaveth - War is through the country; and at home death; the pestilence and famine rage in the city; calamity in every shape is fallen upon me. Virgil represents the calamities of Troy under the same image: - - Nec soli poenas dant sanguine Teucri: Quondam etiam victis redit in praecordia virtus; Victoresque cadunt Danai. Crudelis ubique Luctus, ubique Pavor, et plurima mortis imago. Aeneid. lib. 2:366. "Not only Trojans fall; but, in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Troubled - Or, inflamed with sorrow. Turned within me - Agitated violently. At home there is as death - i. e. “in the house” there are pale pining forms, wasting with hunger, and presenting the appearance of death.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. 20The leaders and people of Judah had rebelled (Jeremiah 2:17; 5:6, 23) by rejecting the one true God and his commandments. They also resisted the invaders God had sent (2 Kings 24:1, 20; 2 Chronicles 36:13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. bowels ... troubled--(Job 30:27; Is 16:11; Jr 4:19; 31:20). Extreme mental distress affects the bowels and the whole internal frame. heart ... turned--(Ho 11:8); is agitated or fluttered. abroad ... sword ... at home ... as death--(De 32:25; Eze 7:15). The "as" does not modify, but intensifies. "Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home as it were death itself" (personified), in the form of famine and pestilence (2Ki 25:3; Jr 14:18; 52:6). So Ha 2:5, "as…Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 1:20

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Bowels
• Conviction
• Remorse
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Faint
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Bowels
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of

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