GOD'S RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT

Passage: Lamentations 1:1-22

Key verse: 5b

NIV

1 [a]How deserted(A) lies the city,
    once so full of people!(B)
How like a widow(C) is she,
    who once was great(D) among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave.(E)

2 Bitterly she weeps(F) at night,
    tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers(G)
    there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed(H) her;
    they have become her enemies.(I)

3 After affliction and harsh labor,
    Judah has gone into exile.(J)
She dwells among the nations;
    she finds no resting place.(K)
All who pursue her have overtaken her(L)
    in the midst of her distress.

4 The roads to Zion mourn,(M)
    for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate,(N)
    her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
    and she is in bitter anguish.(O)

5 Her foes have become her masters;
    her enemies are at ease.
The Lord has brought her grief(P)
    because of her many sins.(Q)
Her children have gone into exile,(R)
    captive before the foe.(S)

6 All the splendor has departed
    from Daughter Zion.(T)
Her princes are like deer
    that find no pasture;
in weakness they have fled(U)
    before the pursuer.

7 In the days of her affliction and wandering
    Jerusalem remembers all the treasures
    that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into enemy hands,
    there was no one to help her.(V)
Her enemies looked at her
    and laughed(W) at her destruction.

8 Jerusalem has sinned(X) greatly
    and so has become unclean.(Y)
All who honored her despise her,
    for they have all seen her naked;(Z)
she herself groans(AA)
    and turns away.

9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts;
    she did not consider her future.(AB)
Her fall(AC) was astounding;
    there was none to comfort(AD) her.
“Look, Lord, on my affliction,(AE)
    for the enemy has triumphed.”

10 The enemy laid hands
    on all her treasures;(AF)
she saw pagan nations
    enter her sanctuary(AG)—
those you had forbidden(AH)
    to enter your assembly.

11 All her people groan(AI)
    as they search for bread;(AJ)
they barter their treasures for food
    to keep themselves alive.
“Look, Lord, and consider,
    for I am despised.”

12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?(AK)
    Look around and see.
Is any suffering like my suffering(AL)
    that was inflicted on me,
that the Lord brought on me
    in the day of his fierce anger?(AM)

13 “From on high he sent fire,
    sent it down into my bones.(AN)
He spread a net(AO) for my feet
    and turned me back.
He made me desolate,(AP)
    faint(AQ) all the day long.

14 “My sins have been bound into a yoke[b];(AR)
    by his hands they were woven together.
They have been hung on my neck,
    and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has given me into the hands(AS)
    of those I cannot withstand.

15 “The Lord has rejected
    all the warriors in my midst;(AT)
he has summoned an army(AU) against me
    to[c] crush my young men.(AV)
In his winepress(AW) the Lord has trampled(AX)
    Virgin Daughter(AY) Judah.

16 “This is why I weep
    and my eyes overflow with tears.(AZ)
No one is near to comfort(BA) me,
    no one to restore my spirit.
My children are destitute
    because the enemy has prevailed.”(BB)

17 Zion stretches out her hands,(BC)
    but there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has decreed for Jacob
    that his neighbors become his foes;(BD)
Jerusalem has become
    an unclean(BE) thing(BF) among them.

18 “The Lord is righteous,(BG)
    yet I rebelled(BH) against his command.
Listen, all you peoples;
    look on my suffering.(BI)
My young men and young women
    have gone into exile.(BJ)

19 “I called to my allies(BK)
    but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
    perished(BL) in the city
while they searched for food
    to keep themselves alive.

20 “See, Lord, how distressed(BM) I am!
    I am in torment(BN) within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,(BO)
    for I have been most rebellious.(BP)
Outside, the sword bereaves;
    inside, there is only death.(BQ)

21 “People have heard my groaning,(BR)
    but there is no one to comfort me.(BS)
All my enemies have heard of my distress;
    they rejoice(BT) at what you have done.
May you bring the day(BU) you have announced
    so they may become like me.

22 “Let all their wickedness come before you;
    deal with them
as you have dealt with me
    because of all my sins.(BV)
My groans(BW) are many
    and my heart is faint.”

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Footnotes
  1. Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  2. Lamentations 1:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint He kept watch over my sins
  3. Lamentations 1:15 Or has set a time for me / when he will
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

How Lonely Sits the City

1 (A)How lonely sits the city
    that was full of people!
How like (B)a widow has she become,
    she who was great among the nations!
She who was (C)a princess among the provinces
    has become (D)a slave.

2 (E)She weeps bitterly in the night,
    with tears on her cheeks;
(F)among all her lovers
    she has (G)none to comfort her;
(H)all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
    they have become her enemies.

3 (I)Judah has gone into exile because of affliction[a]
    and hard servitude;
(J)she dwells now among the nations,
    (K)but finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
    in the midst of her distress.[b]

4 The roads to Zion mourn,
    for none come to (L)the festival;
(M)all her gates are desolate;
    her priests (N)groan;
her virgins have been afflicted,[c]
    and she herself suffers bitterly.

5 (O)Her foes have become the head;
    her (P)enemies prosper,
because (Q)the Lord has afflicted her
    (R)for the multitude of her transgressions;
(S)her children have gone away,
    captives before the foe.

6 From the daughter of Zion
    all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
    (T)that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
    before the pursuer.

7 Jerusalem remembers
    in the days of her affliction and wandering
(U)all the precious things
    that were hers from (V)days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
    and there was none to help her,
her foes gloated over her;
    they (W)mocked at her downfall.

8 (X)Jerusalem sinned grievously;
    therefore she became filthy;
all who honored her despise her,
    (Y)for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself (Z)groans
    and turns her face away.

9 Her uncleanness was (AA)in her skirts;
    (AB)she took no thought of her future;[d]
therefore her fall is terrible;
    (AC)she has no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
    for the enemy has (AD)triumphed!”

10 The enemy has stretched out his hands
    over all her (AE)precious things;
for she has seen (AF)the nations
    enter her sanctuary,
those whom you (AG)forbade
    to enter your congregation.

11 All her people (AH)groan
    as (AI)they search for bread;
they trade their (AJ)treasures for (AK)food
    to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
    for I am despised.”

12 “Is it nothing to you, all (AL)you who pass by?
    (AM)Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
    which was brought upon me,
which (AN)the Lord inflicted
    on (AO)the day of his fierce anger.

13 “From on high he (AP)sent fire;
    into my bones[e] he made it descend;
(AQ)he spread a net for my feet;
    he turned me back;
(AR)he has left me stunned,
    faint all the day long.

14 “My transgressions were bound[f] into (AS)a yoke;
    by his hand they were fastened together;
they were set upon my neck;
    he caused my strength to fail;
the Lord gave me into the hands
    of those whom I cannot withstand.

15 “The Lord rejected
    all my mighty men in my midst;
he summoned an assembly against me
    to crush my young men;
(AT)the Lord has trodden as in a winepress
    the virgin daughter of Judah.

16 “For these things (AU)I weep;
    my eyes flow with tears;
for (AV)a comforter is far from me,
    one to (AW)revive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
    for the enemy has prevailed.”

17 (AX)Zion stretches out her hands,
    but (AY)there is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
    that his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become
    a filthy thing among them.

18 (AZ)“The Lord is in the right,
    (BA)for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
    and see my suffering;
(BB)my young women and my young men
    have gone into captivity.

19 “I called to (BC)my lovers,
    but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
    perished in the city,
while (BD)they sought food
    to revive their strength.

20 “Look, O Lord, for I am in distress;
    (BE)my stomach churns;
my heart is wrung within me,
    because I have been very rebellious.
(BF)In the street the sword bereaves;
    in the house it is like death.

21 “They heard[g] (BG)my groaning,
    yet (BH)there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
    (BI)they are glad that you have done it.
You have brought[h] the day you announced;
    (BJ)now let them be as I am.

22 (BK)“Let all their evildoing come before you,
    and deal with them
as (BL)you have dealt with me
    because of all my transgressions;
for (BM)my groans are many,
    and (BN)my heart is faint.”

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Footnotes
  1. Lamentations 1:3 Or under affliction
  2. Lamentations 1:3 Or in the narrow passes
  3. Lamentations 1:4 Septuagint, Old Latin dragged away
  4. Lamentations 1:9 Or end
  5. Lamentations 1:13 Septuagint; Hebrew bones and
  6. Lamentations 1:14 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  7. Lamentations 1:21 Septuagint, Syriac Hear
  8. Lamentations 1:21 Syriac Bring
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
INTRODUCTION TO LAMENTATIONS Lamentations was written sometime after Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 587 BC but possibly before the rebuilding of the temple around 52 BC. The five poems in the book seem to have been written by someone who experienced the destruction of Jerusalem firsthand. Some scholars believe Jeremiah wrote Lamentations while others believe there were several authors. The book itself does not explicitly state an author. The first four poems are acrostics. Chapters 1, 2 and 4 each have twenty-two verses, with each verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 has sixty-six verses, with three consecutive lines beginning with the same letter, then the next three lines beginning with the next letter, and so on. Chapter 5 is not an acrostic but has twenty-two verses. The poems are laments of the tragic situation that has come upon Judah because of her sins. God punished his people but his wrath was intended to express his righteousness and to help his people to repent. The poems show us how to handle grief and tragedy. We must accept what has happened, not minimizing it, but bring it to God. Then we confess our sin and repent. Finally, we find hope in God who is faithful and good. The key verse of Lamentations is 3:23. No matter how difficult our life circumstances, let us turn to God, repent our sin and trust him. May God bless us to learn anew his great love, compassion and faithfulness. GOD'S RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT 1. Jerusalem deserted (1-12) The Babylonians had burned Jerusalem and deported most of the people. Former allies, like Egypt and Moab, had betrayed her. No one came to worship God at the appointed times. Her glory days were a distant memory. She had been stripped of all her treasures. The temple had been desecrated. The few people who remained suffered miserably as they scavenged for food. They were a despised people. God inflicted this suffering on his people because of their sins. 3. I am in torment within...." (13-22) The people's suffering was like fire in their bones. Their sin was like a yoke on their neck. God sapped their strength. He allowed enemies to crush and trample them. The writer's tears overflowed because of what he saw and experienced. His torment and suffering did not harden his heart. He humbly confessed that the LORD is righteous. God's judgment was deserved. No one could comfort him. But he called on God, confessing his sin and rebellion toward God's word.

Prayer: Lord, your judgments are right and I am sinful. Please forgive me newly by the blood of Jesus.

One Word: The LORD is righteous