Lamentations 2:4

He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
bent	דָּרַ֨ךְ da.Rakh	H1869	to tread · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
bow	קַשְׁתּ֜וֹ kash.To	H7198	a bow · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
enemy	כְּאוֹיֵ֗ב ke.'o.Yev	H341	hating · preposition + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
stood	נִצָּ֤ב ni.Tzav	H5324	to station · verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
hand	יְמִינוֹ֙ ye.mi.No	H3225	the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
adversary	כְּצָ֔ר ke.Tzar	H6862	narrow · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
slew	וַֽיַּהֲרֹ֔ג vai.ya.ha.Rog	H2026	to smite with deadly intent · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
pleasant	מַחֲמַדֵּי ma.cha.ma.dei-	H4261	delightful · noun, common masculine plural construct
eye	עָ֑יִן 'A.yin	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
tabernacle	בְּאֹ֙הֶל֙ be.'O.hel	H168	a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
daughter	בַּת bat-	H1323	a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · noun, common feminine singular construct
Zion	צִיּ֔וֹן tzi.Yon	H6726	Tsijon (as a permanent capital) · proper noun, a place name
out	שָׁפַ֥ךְ sha.Fakh	H8210	to spill forth (blood · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
fury	חֲמָתֽוֹ cha.ma.To	H2534	heat · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
fire	כָּאֵ֖שׁ ka.'Esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 7:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon th…
Job 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array agains…
Isaiah 42:25 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew no…
Jeremiah 21:5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
Lamentations 3:12-13 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
Ezekiel 24:25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, an…
Jeremiah 30:14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel…
Nahum 1:6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Lamentations 2:1-9

It is a very sad representation which is here made of the state of God's church, of Jacob and Israel, of Zion and Jerusalem; but the emphasis in these verses seems to be laid all along upon the hand of God in the calamities which they were groaning under. The grief is not so much that such and such things are done as that God has done them, that he appears angry with them; it is he that chastens them, and chastens them in wrath and in his hot displeasure; he has become their enemy, and fights against them; and this, this is the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery. I. Time was when God's delight was in his church, and he appeared to her, and appeared for her, as a friend. B…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Lamentations 2:4

(Isa 63:10). stood with . . . right hand--He took His stand so as to use His right hand as an adversary. HENDERSON makes the image to be that of an archer steadying his right hand to take aim. Not only did He withdraw His help, but also took arms against Israel. all . . . pleasant to . . . eye-- (Eze 24:25). All that were conspicuous for youth, beauty, and rank. in . . . tabernacle--the dwellings of Jerusalem.

Adam Clarke on Lamentations 2:4

He hath bent his bow - he stood with his right hand - This is the attitude of the archer. He first bends his bow; then sets his arrow upon the string; and, lastly, placing his right hand on the lower end of the arrow, in connection with the string, takes his aim, and prepares to let fly.

John Gill on Lamentations 2:4

He hath bent his bow like an enemy,.... God sometimes appears as if he was an enemy to his people, when he is not, by his conduct and behaviour; by the dispensations of his providence they take him to be so, as Job did, Job 16:9; he bends his bow, or treads it, for the bending or stretching the bow was done by the foot; and as the Targum, "and threw his arrows at me:'' he stood with his right hand as an adversary; with arrows in it, to put into his bow or with his sword drawn, as an adversary does. The Targum is, "he stood at the right hand of Nebuchadnezzar and helped him, when he distressed his people Israel:'' and slew all that were pleasant to the eye; princes and priests, husbands a…

Dictionary and topics

Bow · .Used in war — .Used in war

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Lamentations 2:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Lamentations 2:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Lamentations 2:4

Adam Clarke on Lamentations 2:4

John Gill on Lamentations 2:4

Dictionary and topics

Lamentations 2:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Lamentations 2:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Lamentations 2:4

Adam Clarke on Lamentations 2:4

John Gill on Lamentations 2:4

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Lamentations 2:4

Keil & Delitzsch on Lamentations 2:3-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Lamentations 2:3-4

Rashi on Lamentations 2:4