What does Lamentations 1:2 mean?

"She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies." - Lamentations 1:2

Lamentations 1:2 - "She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies."

Lamentations 1:2 (KJV) reads, "She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies."

The book of Lamentations is a collection of poetic laments over the destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of its people. This particular verse captures the deep anguish and sorrow of the city of Jerusalem as it laments over its desolation and the betrayal and forsaking of its friends and allies.

The theme of lamentation is evident in this verse, as it portrays the intense weeping and mourning of Jerusalem. The use of the word "sore" portrays the depth and severity of the weeping, emphasizing the extreme grief and suffering experienced by the city. The imagery of tears on her cheeks emphasizes the visible and tangible evidence of her distress, highlighting the profound sadness and despair that has befallen her.

The mention of "all her lovers" and "all her friends" alludes to the relationships and alliances that Jerusalem once had. These lovers and friends represent the neighboring nations and allies with whom Jerusalem had close ties. However, now in her time of need and devastation, she finds herself abandoned and without solace. The phrase "she hath none to comfort her" encapsulates the profound sense of isolation and abandonment experienced by Jerusalem, as she is left to mourn and suffer alone.

The betrayal and treachery of her friends and allies further compound Jerusalem's grief and misery. The verse depicts a sense of betrayal and disloyalty from those who were supposed to offer support and assistance. The friends who were once trusted have now turned against her, becoming her enemies. This shift in allegiance and the turning of friends into foes intensifies Jerusalem's anguish, as she is left to grapple with the pain of not only her physical destruction but also the emotional devastation of being forsaken by those she had relied on.

The context of this verse is crucial in understanding the depth of Jerusalem's suffering. The city has been besieged and destroyed, its people taken into captivity, and its once-glorious walls and temple left in ruins. The anguish and despair expressed in this verse reflect the harrowing reality of Jerusalem's devastation, as she is left to lament over her desolation and the loss of her former glory.

Symbolism plays a significant role in this verse, as Jerusalem personifies the suffering and grief of the people. She becomes a poignant symbol of the collective anguish and despair of the nation. The weeping and tears on her cheeks symbolize the profound sorrow and mourning of the people, while the betrayal and enmity of her friends and lovers symbolize the sense of abandonment and disillusionment faced by the nation.

In conclusion, Lamentations 1:2 captures the profound lament and anguish of Jerusalem in the face of her destruction and the betrayal of her allies. The verse conveys the deep sorrow and despair experienced by the city, as she grieves over her desolation and the betrayal of those she once trusted. It serves as a poignant reminder of the devastating consequences of destruction and the profound emotional impact of abandonment and betrayal.

Lamentations 1:2 Artwork

2 Samuel 1:17 - "¶ And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:"

Lamentations 5:2 - "Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens."

2 Chronicles 35:25 - "¶ And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations."

Lamentations 3:2 - "He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light."

Lamentations 3:1 - "I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath."

Lamentations 1:1-2 - "How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies."

Ezekiel 19:1 - "Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,"

Ezekiel 27:2 - "Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;"

Lamentations 2:1 - "How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!"

Ezekiel 2:10 - "And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe."

Lamentations 5:1 - "Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach."

Matthew 2:18 - "In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."

Lamentations 4:2 - "The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!"

Lamentations 2:5 - "The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation."

Acts 8:2 - "And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him."

Lamentations 2:12 - "They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom."

Lamentations 4:1 - "How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street."

Lamentations 1:1 - "How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!"

Amos 5:1 - "Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel."

Lamentations 2:15 - "All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?"

Lamentations 1:19 - "I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls."

Lamentations 1:6 - "And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer."

Lamentations 1:5 - "Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy."

Lamentations 2:20 - "¶ Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?"

Lamentations 1:20 - "Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death."

Lamentations 1:4 - "The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness."

Lamentations 1:9 - "Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself."

Lamentations 1:11 - "All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile."

Lamentations 2:11 - "Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city."