Ratapan 3:54

3:54 The waters closed over my head;

I thought ¹  I was about to die. ² 

Ratapan 5:16

5:16 The crown has fallen from our head;

woe to us, for we have sinned!

Ratapan 2:10

י (Yod)

2:10 The elders of Daughter Zion

sit ³  on the ground in silence. ⁴ 

They have thrown dirt on their heads;

They have dressed in sackcloth. ⁵ 

Jerusalem’s young women ⁶  stare down at the ground. ⁷ 

Ratapan 2:15

ס (Samek)

2:15 All who passed by on the road

clapped their hands to mock you. ⁸ 

They sneered and shook their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem.

“Ha! Is this the city they called ⁹ 

‘The perfection of beauty, ¹⁰ 

the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ¹¹ 

Ratapan 1:5

ה (He)

1:5 Her foes subjugated her; ¹² 

her enemies are at ease. ¹³ 

For the Lord afflicted her

because of her many acts of rebellion. ¹⁴ 

Her children went away

captive ¹⁵  before the enemy.

[3:54]  ¹ tn Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”

[3:54]  ² tn Heb “I was about to be cut off.” The verb נִגְזָרְתִּי (nigzarti), Niphal perfect 1st person common singular from גָּזַר (gazar, “to be cut off”), functions in an ingressive sense: “about to be cut off.” It is used in reference to the threat of death (e.g., Ezek 37:11). To be “cut off” from the hand of the living means to experience death (Ps 88:6).

[2:10]  ³ tc Consonantal ישׁבו (yshvy) is vocalized by the MT as יֵשְׁבוּ (yeshvu), Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from יָשַׁב (yashav, “to sit”): “they sit on the ground.” However, the ancient versions (Aramaic Targum, Greek Septuagint, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate) reflect an alternate vocalization tradition of יָשְׁבוּ (yashvu), Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”): “they return to the ground (= the grave).” The parallelism with the following line favors the MT.

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “they sit on the ground, they are silent.” Based on meter, the two verbs יִדְּמוּ…יֵשְׁבוּ (yeshvu…yidÿmu, “they sit…they are silent”) are in the same half of the line. Joined without a ו (vav) conjunction they form a verbal hendiadys. The first functions in its full verbal sense while the second functions adverbially: “they sit in silence.” The verb יִדְּמוּ (yidÿmu) may mean to be silent or to wail.

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “they have girded themselves with sackcloth.”

[2:10]  sn Along with putting dirt on one’s head, wearing sackcloth was a sign of mourning.

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “the virgins of Jerusalem.” The term “virgins” is a metonymy of association, standing for single young women who are not yet married. These single women are in grief because their potential suitors have been killed. The elders, old men, and young women function together as a merism for all of the survivors (F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp, Lamentations [IBC], 92).

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “have bowed down their heads to the ground.”

[2:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).

[2:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “of which they said.”

[2:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.

[2:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.

[1:5]  ¹² tn Heb “her foes became [her] head” (הָיוּ צָרֶיהָ לְרֹאשׁ, hayu tsareha lÿro’sh) or more idiomatically “have come out on top.” This is a Semitic idiom for domination or subjugation, with “head” as a metaphor for leader.

[1:5]  ¹³ tn The nuance expressed in the LXX is that her enemies prosper (cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “because of her many rebellions.” The plural פְּשָׁעֶיהָ (pÿsha’eha, “her rebellions”) is an example of the plural of repeated action or characteristic behavior (see IBHS 121 §7.4.2c). The 3rd person feminine singular suffix (“her”) probably functions as a subjective genitive: “her rebellions” = “she has rebelled.”

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn The singular noun שְׁבִי (shÿvi) is a collective singular, meaning “captives, prisoners.” It functions as an adverbial accusative of state: “[they] went away as captives.”