Ratapan 1:2

ב (Bet)

1:2 She weeps bitterly at night;

tears stream down her cheeks. ¹ 

She has no one to comfort her

among all her lovers. ² 

All her friends have betrayed her;

they have become her enemies.

Ratapan 4:18

צ (Tsade)

4:18 Our enemies ³  hunted us down at every step ⁴ 

so that we could not walk about in our streets.

Our end drew near, our days were numbered, ⁵ 

for our end had come!

[1:2]  ¹ tn Heb “her tears are on her cheek.”

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “lovers.” The term “lovers” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis), comparing Jerusalem’s false gods and foreign political alliances to sexually immoral lovers. Hosea uses similar imagery (Hos 2:5, 7, 10, 13). It may also function as a double entendre, first evoking a disconcerting picture of a funeral where the widow has no loved ones present to comfort her. God also does not appear to be present to comfort Jerusalem and will later be called her enemy. The imagery in Lamentations frequently capitalizes on changing the reader’s expectations midstream.

[4:18]  ³ tn Heb “they”; this has been specified in the translation as “our enemies” for clarity.

[4:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “they hunted our steps.”

[4:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “our days were full.”