Lamentazioni 1:20

20 O Eterno, guarda, ch’io sono in angoscia! Le mie viscere si commuovono, il cuore mi si sconvolge in seno, perché la mia ribellione è stata grave. Fuori, la spada mi orba de’ miei figliuoli; dentro, sta la morte.

Lamentazioni 1:20 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 1:20

Behold, O Lord, for I [am] in distress
Thus she turns from one to another; sometimes she addresses strangers, people that pass by; sometimes she calls to her lovers; and at other times to God, which is best of all, to have pity and compassion on her in her distress; and from whom it may be most expected, who is a God of grace and mercy: my bowels are troubled;
as the sea, agitated by winds, which casts up mire and dirt; or as any waters, moved by anything whatsoever, become thick and muddy; or like wine in fermentation; so the word <arabic> ^F12, in the Arabic language, signifies, expressive of great disturbance, confusion, and uneasiness: mine heart is turned within me;
has no rest nor peace: for I have grievously rebelled;
against God and his word; her sins were greatly aggravated, and these lay heavy on her mind and conscience, and greatly distressed her: abroad the sword bereaveth;
this, and what follows in the next clause, describe the state and condition of the Jews, while the city was besieged; without it, the sword of the Chaldeans bereaved mothers of their children, and children of their parents, and left them desolate: at home [there is] as death;
within the city, and in the houses of it, the famine raged, which was as death, and worse than immediate death; it was a lingering one: or, "in the house [was] certain death" ^F13; for the "caph" here is not a mere note of similitude, but of certainty and reality; to abide at home was sure and certain death, nothing else could be expected. The Targum is

``within the famine kills like the destroying angel that is appointed over death;''

see ( Hebrews 2:14 ) ; and Jarchi interprets it of the fear of demons and noxious spirits, and the angels of death.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 <arabic> "fermentavit, commiscuit, alteravit, turbavique [mentem]", Castel. col. 1294.
F13 (twmk tybb) "in domo mors ipsa", Munster; "plane mors"; Junius & Tremellius.

Lamentazioni 1:20 In-Context

18 "L’Eterno è giusto, poiché io mi son ribellata alla sua parola. Deh, ascoltate, o popoli tutti, e vedete il mio dolore! Le mie vergini ed i miei giovani sono andati in cattività.

19 Io ho chiamato i miei amanti, ma essi m’hanno ingannata; i miei sacerdoti e i miei anziani hanno esalato l’anima nella città, mentre cercavan del cibo per rianimarsi la vita.

20 O Eterno, guarda, ch’io sono in angoscia! Le mie viscere si commuovono, il cuore mi si sconvolge in seno, perché la mia ribellione è stata grave. Fuori, la spada mi orba de’ miei figliuoli; dentro, sta la morte.

21 M’odon sospirare… non v’è chi mi consoli. Tutti i miei nemici hanno udita la mia sciagura, e si rallegrano che tu l’abbia cagionata; tu farai venire il giorno che hai annunziato, e allora saranno come me.

22 Venga dinanzi a te tutta la loro malvagità, e trattali come hai trattato me a motivo di tutte le mie trasgressioni! Poiché i miei sospiri son numerosi, e il mio cuore è languente".