Lamentations 2:18

18 Their ¹heart cried out to the Lord, "O ²wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your ³tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.

Lamentations 2:18 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 2:18

Their heart cried unto the Lord
Either the heart of their enemies, as Aben Ezra; which cried against the Lord, and blasphemed him; or rather the heart of the Jews in their distress, when they saw the walls of the city breaking down, they cried unto the Lord for help and protection, whether sincerely or not; no doubt some did; and all were desirous of preservation: O wall of the daughter of Zion!
this seems to be an address of the prophet to the people of Jerusalem carried captive, which was now without houses and inhabitants, only a broken wall standing, some remains and ruins of that; which is mentioned to excite their sorrow and lamentation: let tears run down like a river, day and night;
incessantly, for the destruction and desolation made: give thyself no rest;
or intermission; but weep continually: let not the apple of thine eye cease;
from pouring out tears; or from weeping, as the Targum; or let it not "be silent" ^F2, or asleep; but be open and employed in beholding the miseries of the nation, and in deploring them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Mdt la) "non taceat", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "ne sileat", Calvin, Michaelis.

Lamentations 2:18 In-Context

16 All your enemies Have opened their mouths wide against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, "We have swallowed her up! Surely this is the day for which we waited; We have reached it, we have seen it."

17 The LORD has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without sparing, And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the might of your adversaries.

18 Their heart cried out to the Lord , "O wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.

19 "Arise, cry aloud in the night At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord ; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who are faint because of hunger At the head of every street."

20 See, 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 ?

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 119:145; Hosea 7:14
• 2. Lamentations 2:8; Habakkuk 2:11
• 3. Psalms 119:136; Jeremiah 9:1; Lamentations 1:2, 16; Lamentations 3:48, 49

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "the daughter of your eye"