Lamentations 1:6

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6 All her splendor^[a] has vanished from Daughter Zion.^[b] Her leaders are like stags that find no pasture; they walk away exhausted before the hunter.

Lamentations 1:6 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 1:6

And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed
The kingdom removed; the priesthood ceased; the temple, their beautiful house, burnt; the palaces of their king and nobles demolished; and everything in church and state that was glorious were now no more: her princes are become like harts [that] find no pasture;
that are heartless and without courage, fearful and timorous, as harts are, especially when destitute of food. The Targum is

``her princes run about for food, as harts run about in the wilderness, and find no place fit for pasture:''

and they are gone without strength before the pursuer;
having no spirit nor courage to oppose the enemy, nor strength to flee from him, they fell into his hands, and so were carried captive; see ( Jeremiah 52:8-10 ) . Jarchi observes, that the word for "pursuer" has here all its letters, and nowhere else; and so denotes the full pursuit of the enemy, and the complete victory obtained by him.

Lamentations 1:6 In-Context

4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the appointed festivals. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she herself is bitter.

5 Her adversaries have become [her] masters; her enemies are at ease, for the Lord has made her suffer because of her many transgressions. Her children have gone away as captives before the adversary.

6 All her splendor has vanished from Daughter Zion. Her leaders are like stags that find no pasture; they walk away exhausted before the hunter.

7 During the days of her affliction and homelessness Jerusalem remembers all her precious belongings that were [hers] in days of old. When her people fell into the adversary's hand, she had no one to help. The adversaries looked at her, laughing over her downfall.

8 Jerusalem has sinned grievously; therefore, she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her [now] despise her, for they have seen her nakedness. She herself groans and turns away.

Footnotes

• [a]. Ezk 27:10
• [b]. Lm 2:1,4,8; 4:22