Lamentations 2:19

19 KOPH. Arise, rejoice in the night at the beginning of thy watch: pour out thy heart as water before the face of the Lord; lift up thy hands to him for the life of thine infants, who faint for hunger at the top of all the streets.

Lamentations 2:19 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 2:19

Arise, cry out in the night
That is, O daughter of Zion, or congregation of Israel, as the Targum; who are addressed and called upon by the prophet to arise from their beds, and shake off their sleep, and sloth, and stupidity, and cry to God in the night season; and be earnest and importunate with him for help and assistance. Aben Ezra rightly observes, that the word used signifies a lifting up of the voice both in singing and in lamentation; here it is used in the latter sense; and denotes great vehemency and earnestness in crying unto God, arising from deep distress and sorrow, which prevents sleep: in the beginning of the watches;
either at the first of them; so Broughton renders it, "at the first watch"; which began at the time of going to bed: or at the beginning of each of them; for with the ancient Jews there were three of them; in later times four: or in the beginning of the morning watch, as the Targum; very early in the morning, before sun rising; as they are called upon to pray late at night, so betimes in the mottling: pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord;
use the utmost freedom with him; tell him, in the fullest manner, thy whole case, fit thy complaints; unbosom thyself to him; keep nothing from him; speak out freely all lily soul needs; do all this publicly, and in the most affectionate way and manner, thy soul melted in floods of tears, under a sense of sin, and pressing evils for it. The Targum is,

``pour out as water the perverseness of thine heart, and return by repentance, and pray in the house of the congregation (or synagogue) before the face of the Lord:''

lift up thine hands towards him;
in prayer, as the Targum adds; for this is a prayer gesture, as in ( Lamentations 3:41 ) ( 1 Timothy 2:8 ) ; for the life of thy young children that faint for hunger in the top of
every street;
pray for them, that they might have food and sustenance, to preserve them alive; who, for want of it, were ready to swoon and die the public streets; in the top of them, where they met, and where was the greatest concourse of people, and yet none able to relieve them.

Lamentations 2:19 In-Context

17 PHE. The Lord has done that which he purposed; he has accomplished his word, the things which he commanded from the ancient days: he has thrown down, and has not spared: and he has caused the enemy to rejoice over thee, he has exalted the horn of him that afflicted thee.

18 TSADE. Their heart cried to the Lord, Ye walls of Sion, pour down tears like torrents day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eyes cease.

19 KOPH. Arise, rejoice in the night at the beginning of thy watch: pour out thy heart as water before the face of the Lord; lift up thy hands to him for the life of thine infants, who faint for hunger at the top of all the streets.

20 RHECHS. Behold, O Lord, and see for whom thou has gathered thus. Shall the women eat the fruit of their womb? the cook has made a gathering: shall the infants sucking at the breasts be slain? wilt thou slay the priest and prophet in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 CHSEN. The child and old man have lain down in the street: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity: thou hast slain with the sword and with famine; in the day of thy wrath thou hast mangled , thou has not spared.