[3] We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.
We — We are all of us without a king, (our common father) we are deprived of thy fatherly protection, and many young children among us are left without an earthly parent.
Verse 4
[4] We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.
Sold — Whereas at other times there was abundance of wood and water throughout Judea.
Verse 6
[6] We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
We — The ten tribes were all carried captives into Assyria, and many of the kingdom of Judah fled into Egypt. Giving the hand may signify labouring for them: or, yielding up themselves to their power.
Verse 7
[7] Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
Their iniquities — The punishment of them.
Verse 9
[9] We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.
The sword — The enemies lay encamped in all the plains, so that they could stir out no way but the sword of the Chaldeans was upon them.
Verse 13
[13] They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.
Fell — Not being able to stand under the burdens laid upon them.
Verse 16
[16] The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!
The crown — All our honour, splendor and dignity.
Verse 19
[19] Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
Thy throne — Altho' for our sins thou sufferest our throne to be cast down, yet thou art the same, thy power is not diminished, nor thy goodness abated.
Verse 21
[21] Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
Lamentations 5 Bible Commentary
John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes
Verse 3
[3] We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.
We — We are all of us without a king, (our common father) we are deprived of thy fatherly protection, and many young children among us are left without an earthly parent.
Verse 4
[4] We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.
Sold — Whereas at other times there was abundance of wood and water throughout Judea.
Verse 6
[6] We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
We — The ten tribes were all carried captives into Assyria, and many of the kingdom of Judah fled into Egypt. Giving the hand may signify labouring for them: or, yielding up themselves to their power.
Verse 7
[7] Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
Their iniquities — The punishment of them.
Verse 9
[9] We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.
The sword — The enemies lay encamped in all the plains, so that they could stir out no way but the sword of the Chaldeans was upon them.
Verse 13
[13] They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.
Fell — Not being able to stand under the burdens laid upon them.
Verse 16
[16] The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!
The crown — All our honour, splendor and dignity.
Verse 19
[19] Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
Thy throne — Altho' for our sins thou sufferest our throne to be cast down, yet thou art the same, thy power is not diminished, nor thy goodness abated.
Verse 21
[21] Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
Renew — Restore us to our former estate.