Lamentations 2:3 Komentář

The second alphabetical elegy is set to the same mournful tune with the former, and the substance of it is much the same; it begins with Ecah, as that did, "How sad is our case! Alas for us!" I. Here is the anger of Zion's God taken notice of as the cause of her calamities (Lam 2:1-9). II. Here is the sorrow of Zion's children taken notice of as the effect of her calamities (Lam 2:10-19). III. The complaint is made to God, and the matter referred to his compassionate consideration (Lam 2:20-22). The hand that wounded must make whole.

INTRODUCTION TO LAMENTATIONS 2 This chapter contains another alphabet, in which the Prophet Jeremiah, or those he represents, lament the sad condition of Jerusalem; the destruction of the city and temple, and of all persons and things relative to them, and to its civil or church state; and that as being from the hand of the Lord himself, who is represented all along as the author thereof, because of their sins, Lam 2:1; and then the elders and virgins of Zion are represented as in great distress, and weeping for those desolations; which were very much owing to the false prophets, that had deceived them, Lam 2:10; and all this occasioned great rejoicing in the enemies of Zion, Lam 2:15; but sorrow of heart to Zion herself, who is called to weeping, Lam 2:18; and the chapter is concluded with an address to the Lord, to take this her sorrowful case into consideration, and show pity and compassion, Lam 2:20.

He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel,.... All its power and strength, especially its kingly power, which is often signified by a horn in Scripture; see Dan 7:24; this the Lord took away in his fierce anger, and left the land destitute of all relief, help, defence and protection; whether from its king and princes, or from its men of war or fortified places; all being cut off and destroyed: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy; either his own right hand, with which he had used to fight for his people, and protect them, but now withdrawing it, left them to the mercy of their enemies; or Israel's right hand, which he so weakened, that they had no power to resist the enemy, and defend themselves: and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire which devoureth round about; that is, his wrath was like a burning flaming fire, which consumes all around, wherever it comes; thus the Lord in his anger consumed Jacob, and left neither root nor branch.

Herein Verse 3 is expressed the impotency for resisting. First is excluded human strength, or power. As said: "all the might of Israel." For, Psalm 75:10 claims: "All the horns of the wicked he will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted." Second is excluded any divine power. As Verse 3 continues: "he has withdrawn from them his right hand in the face of the enemy." That is, like any defense by which (the Lord God) came down upon them. Psalm 74:11 so refers: "Why dost thou hold back thy hand, why dost thou keep thy right hand in thy bosom?" Third, Verse 3 concludes regarding the fire of Jacob on the earth. It says: "he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around." Also Isaiah 42:25 records: "it set him on fire round about, but he did not understand; it burned him, but he did not take it to heart."

The prophet shows the dire effects of the Divine anger in the miseries brought on his country; the unparalleled calamities of which he charges, on a great measure, on the false prophets, Lam 2:1-14. In thus desperate condition, the astonishment and by-word of all who see her, Jerusalem is directed to sue earnestly for mercy and pardon, Lam 2:15-22.

The horn of Israel - His power and strength. It is a metaphor taken from cattle, whose principal strength lies in their horns. Hath drawn back his right hand - He did not support us when our enemies came against us.

(Lam. 2:1-22) How--The title of the collection repeated here, and in Lam 4:1. covered . . . with a cloud--that is, with the darkness of ignominy. cast down from heaven unto . . . earth-- (Mat 11:23); dashed down from the highest prosperity to the lowest misery. beauty of Israel--the beautiful temple (Psa 29:2; Psa 74:7; Psa 96:9, Margin; Isa 60:7; Isa 64:11). his footstool--the ark (compare Ch1 28:2, with Psa 99:5; Psa 132:7). They once had gloried more in the ark than in the God whose symbol it was; they now feel it was but His "footstool," yet that it had been a great glory to them that God deigned to use it as such.

horn--worn in the East as an ornament on the forehead, and an emblem of power and majesty (Sa1 2:10; Psa 132:17; see on Jer 48:25). drawn back . . . fight hand-- (Psa 74:11). God has withdrawn the help which He before gave them. Not as HENDERSON, "He has turned back his (Israel's) right hand" (Psa 89:43).

Lamentation over the Judgment of Destruction That Has Come on Zion and the Desolation of Judah 1 Alas! how the Lord envelopes the daughter of Zion in His wrath! He hath cast down the glory of Israel from heaven to earth; Nor hath He remembered His footstool in the day of His wrath. 2 The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, He hath not spared: He hath broken down, in His anger, the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He hath smitten [them] down to the earth. He hath profaned the kingdom and its princes. 3 He hath cut off, in the burning of wrath, every horn of Israel; He hath drawn back His right hand from before the enemy, And hath burned among Jacob like a flaming fire, [which] devours round about. 4 He hath bent His bow like an enemy, standing [with] His right hand like an adversary, And He slew all the desires of the eye; On the tent of the daughter of Zion hath He poured out His fury like fire. 5 The Lord hath become like an enemy; He hath swallowed up Israel. He hath swallowed up all her palaces, He hath destroyed his strongholds, And hath increased on the daughter of Judah groaning and moaning. 6 And He hath violently treated His own enclosure, like a garden; He hat destroyed His own place of meeting: Jahveh hath caused to be forgotten in Zion the festival and the Sabbath, And in the fierceness of His wrath He hath rejected king and priest. 7 The Lord hath spruned His own altar, He hath abhorred His own sanctuary; He hath delivered into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; They have made a noise in the house of Jahvey, as [on] the day of a festival. 8 Jahveh hath purposed to destroy the walls of the daughter of Zion: He hath stretched out a line, He hath not drawn back His hand from demolishing; And He hath made the rampart and the [city] wall to mourn; they sorrow together. 9 Her gates have sunk into the earth; He hath destroyed and broken her bars: Her king and her princces are among the nations; there is no law. Her prophets also find no vision from Jahveh. 10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they silent; They have cast up dust upon their head, they have clothed themselves with sackcloth garments: The virgins of Jerusalem have brought down their head to the earth. 11 Mine eyes waste away with tears, My bowels glow, My liver is poured out on the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people; Because the young child and the suckling pine away in the streets of the city. 12 They said to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? When they were fainting like one wounded in the streets of the city, When their soul was poured out into the bosom of their mothers. 13 What slall I testify against thee? what shall I compare to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I liken to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? For thy destruction is great, like the sea; who can heal thee? 14 Thy prophets have seen for thee vanity and absurdity, And have not revealed thine iniquity, to turn thy captivity; But they have seen for thee burdens of vanity, and expulsion. 15 All that pass by the way clap [their] hands against thee; They hiss and shake their head against the daughter of Jerusalem [saying, "Is] this the city that they call "The perfection of beauty, a joy of the whole earth?'" 16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: They hiss and gnash the teeth; they say, "We have swallowed [her]; Assuredly this is the day that we have expected; we have found [it], we have seen [it]." 17 Jahveh hath done what He hath purposed: He hath executed His word which He commanded from the days of yore: He hath broken down, and hath not spared: And He hath made the enemy rejoice over thee; He hath raised up the horn of thine adversaries. 18 Their heart crieth out unto the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a stream by day and by night: Give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease. 19 Arise, wail in the night; at the beginning of the watches, Pour out thy heart like water before the face of the Lord: Lift up thine hands to Him for the soul of thy young children, That faint for hunger at the head of every street. 20 See, O Jahveh, and consider to whom Thou hast acted thus! Shall women eat their [body's] fruit, the children of their care? Or shall priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? 21 The boy and the old man lie without, on the ground; My virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword: Thou hast slain in the day of Thy wrath, Thou hast slaughtered, Thou hast not spared. 22 Thou summonest, as on a feast-day, my terrors round about; And in the day of wrath of Jahveh there was no fugitive or survivor Whom I would have nursed and brought up; mine enemy destroyed them. This second poem contains a new and more bitter lamentation regarding the fall of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah; and it is distinguished from the first, partly by the bitterness of the complaint, but chiefly by the fact that while, in the first, the oppressed, helpless, and comfortless condition of Jerusalem is the main feature, - here, on the other hand, it is the judgment which the Lord, in His wrath, has decreed against Jerusalem and Judah, that forms the leading thought in the complaint, as is shown by the prominence repeatedly given to the wrath, rage, burning wrath, etc. (Lam 2:1.). The description of this judgment occupies the first part of the poem (Lam 2:1-10); then follows, in the second part (Lam 2:11-19), the lamentation over the impotency of human consolation, and over the scoffing of enemies at the misfortunes of Jerusalem (Lam 2:11-16). It was the Lord who sent this judgment; and it is He alone who can give comfort and help in this distress. To Him must the daughter of Zion betake herself with her complaint (Lam 2:17-19); and this she actually does in the concluding portion (Lam 2:20-22). Lamentations 2:1-22 Description of the judgment. - Lam 2:1. The lamentation opens with signs for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The first member of the verse contains the general idea that the Lord (אדני, the Lord κατ ̓ ἐξοχὴν, very suitably used instead of יהוה) has, in His wrath, enveloped Jerusalem with clouds. This thought is particularized in the two members that follow, and is referred to the overthrow of Jerusalem and the temple. יעיב, from עוּב (which is ἅπ. λεγ. as a verb, and is probably a denominative from עב, a cloud), signifies to cover or surround with clouds. בּאפּו does not mean "with His wrath" (Ewald, Thenius), but "in His wrath," as is shown by Lam 2:3, Lam 2:6, Lam 2:21, Lam 2:22. "The daughter of Zion" here means the city of Jerusalem, which in the second member is called "the glory (or ornament) of Israel," by which we are to understand neither res Judaeorum florentissimae in general (Rosenmller), nor the temple in special, as the "splendid house," Isa 64:10 (Michaelis, Vaihinger). Jerusalem is called the glory or ornament of Israel, in the same way as Babylon in Isa 64:10 is called "the glory of the splendour of the Chaldeans" (Thenius, Gerlach). In the figurative expression, "He cast down from heaven to earth," we are not to think there is any reference to a thunderbolt which knocks down an object, such as a lofty tower that reaches to heaven (Thenius); "from heaven" implies that what is to be thrown down was in heaven, as has been already remarked by Raschi in his explanation, postquam sustulisset eos (Judaeos) usque ad coelum, eosdem dejecit in terram, where we have merely to substitute "Jerusalem," for eos, which is too vague. Gerlach has rightly remarked that the expression "cast down from heaven" is to be accounted for by the fact that, in the first member of the verse, Jerusalem is compared to a star, in the same way as Babylon is expressly called a tar in Isa 14:12; nay, what is more, Jerusalem is here compared to a star that has fallen from heaven; the reference to that passage thus becomes unmistakeable. Moreover, the casting down from heaven means something more than deprivation of the glory that had come on the city in consequence of God's dwelling in the midst of it (Gerlach); it signifies, besides, the destruction of the city, viz., that it would be laid in ashes. In all this, the Lord has not been thinking of, i.e., paid any regard to, His footstool, i.e., the ark of the covenant (Ch1 28:2; Psa 99:5), - not the temple (Ewald), although we cannot think of the ark without at the same thinking of the temple as the house in which it was kept. The ark, and not the temple, is named, because the temple became a habitation of the Lord, and a place where He revealed Himself, only through the ark of the covenant, with which the Lord had graciously connected His presence among His people. It is further implied, in the fact that God does not think of His footstool, that the ark itself was destroyed along with the temple and the city.

In Lam 2:3 and Lam 2:4, the writer describes the hostile conduct of the Lord towards Israel, by which the kingdom of Judah was destroyed. Thenius utterly mistakes the poetic character of the description given, and evidently finds in it the several events that occurred up to the taking of the city, all mentioned in their natural order; according to this, the perfects would require to be translated as preterites. But this view can be made out only by giving an arbitrary meaning to the several figures used; e.g., it is alleged that "every horn" means the frontier fortresses, that the expression "before the enemy" refers to the time when the latter turned his face against Jerusalem, and so on. The three members of Lam 2:3 contain a climax: deprivation of the power to resist; the withdrawal of aid; the necessary consequence of which was the burning like a flame of fire. "To cut down the horn" means to take away offensive and defensive power; see on Jer 48:25. "Every horn" is not the same as "all horns," but means all that was a horn of Israel (Gerlach). This included not merely the fortresses of Judah, but every means of defence and offence belonging to the kingdom, including men fit for war, who are neither to be excluded nor (with Le Clerc) to be all that is understood by "every horn." In the expression ימינו...השׁיב, the suffix, as in קשׁתּו, Lam 2:4, refers to Jahveh, because the suffix joined to יד always points back to the subject of the verb השׁיב; cf. Psa 74:11. God drew back His hand before the enemy, i.e., He withdrew from the people His assistance in the struggle against the enemy. Such is the meaning given long ago by the Chaldee: nec auxiliatus est populo suo coram hoste. ויּבער בּיעקב does not mean "He consumed Jacob;" but He burned (i.e., made a conflagration) in Jacob; for, in every passage in which בּער is construed with בּ, it does not mean to "burn something," but to burn in or among, or to kindle a fire (cf. Job 1:16, where the burning up is only expressed by ותּאכלם, Num 11:3; Psa 106:18), or to set something on fire, Isa 42:25. The burning represents devastation; hence the comparison of יבער with "like fire of flame (= flaming, brightly blazing fire, cf. Isa 4:5; Psa 105:32) that devours round about." The subject of יבער is Jahveh, not ira Jovae (Rosenmller), or להבה (Neumann), or the enemy (Gerlach). The transition from the perfect with ו consec. does not cause any change of the subject; this is shown by Lam 2:4 and Lam 2:5, where also the second clause is connected with the first by means of ו consec. But the statement of Gerlach - that if Jahveh and not the enemy be the subject, then the consecutive sentence (the burning among Jacob as the result of the withdrawal of Jahveh's hand before the enemy) would be inexplicable - gives no evidence of its truth. The kindling or making of the fire in Jacob is, of course, represented as a result of what is previously stated, yet not as the consequence merely of the withdrawal of his hand, but also of the cutting off of every horn. In both of these ways, God has kindled in Jacob a fire which grows into a destructive conflagration. - In Lam 2:4 the idea is still further developed: God not merely delivered up His people to the enemy, leaving them defenceless and helpless, but also came forward Himself to fight against them as an enemy. He bent His bow like a warrior, showing Himself, in reference to His claims, as an adversary or oppressor. The specification "His right hand" is added, not so much for the purpose of defining more exactly the activity of the right hand (using it to shoot the arrows or wield the sword; cf. Deu 32:41., Psa 7:13.), as rather with the view of expressing more precisely the hostile attitude of God, since the right hand of God is at other times represented as the instrument of help. The expression "and He slew," which follows, does not require us to think of a sword in the right hand of God, since we can also kill with arrows. God slew as an enemy; He destroyed everything that was precious in men's sight, i.e., to merely omnes homines aetate, specie, dignitate conspicuos (C. B. Michaelis, Rosenmller, Thenius); for, in Psa 78:47, חרג is also used with reference to the effect of hail on the vine; and the arrows shot from the bow are merely named by synecdoche, and by way of specification, as instruments of war for destruction. Still less can מחמדּי־עין signify omnia ea templi ornamenta, quibus merito gloriabatur populus (Kalkschmidt), since it is not till Lam 2:6. that the temple is spoken of. "The word is to be taken in its widest generality, which is indicated by 'all;' accordingly, it comprehends everything that can be looked upon as dear," including children (cf. Eze 24:25) and the sanctuary, though all these do not exhaust the meaning of the word (Gerlach). Upon the tent of the daughter of Zion He poured out His fury in fire. The daughter of Zion means the inhabitants of Jerusalem: her tent is not the temple (Kalkschmidt, Ewald), which is never called the tent of the daughter of Zion, but only that of Jahveh (Kg1 2:28, etc.); but her house, i.e., the city as a collection of dwellings. The figure of the outpouring of wrath is often used, not only in Jer 6:11; Jer 10:25; Jer 42:18, etc., but also in Hos 5:10; Zep 3:8; Psa 69:25; Psa 76:6, etc.