Lamentations 2:11 kjv
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.
Lamentations 2:11 nkjv
My eyes fail with tears, My heart is troubled; My bile is poured on the ground Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, Because the children and the infants Faint in the streets of the city.
Lamentations 2:11 niv
My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.
Lamentations 2:11 esv
My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city.
Lamentations 2:11 nlt
I have cried until the tears no longer come;
my heart is broken.
My spirit is poured out in agony
as I see the desperate plight of my people.
Little children and tiny babies
are fainting and dying in the streets.
Lamentations 2 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lam 2:11 | My eyes waste away from weeping; my tears run down without ceasing. | Lam 1:16, Lam 3:48-49 |
| Jer 9:1 | Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears! | Ps 42:3, Ps 119:136 |
| Ps 6:6 | I am weary with my groaning; every night I flood my bed with tears. | Job 16:20, Isa 38:2 |
| Ps 31:9 | Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away. | Ps 38:10, Lam 5:17 |
| Jer 14:17-18 | You shall say to them, This is what the Lord says: Flood of tears my eyes do not shed. | Ezek 24:16, Luke 19:41-42 |
| Isa 22:4 | Look away from me; let me weep bitterly; do not try to comfort me. | Ruth 1:20, Jer 9:1 |
| Jer 13:17 | If you will not listen, my inmost soul will weep in secret for your pride. | 2 Cor 7:10, Lam 1:2, Lam 1:16 |
| Lam 1:2 | She weeps freely in the night; her tears are on her cheeks. | Ps 30:5, Job 30:16 |
| Ps 77:2 | When I am in distress, I seek the Lord; in the night I stretch out my hand. | Ps 50:15, Ps 91:15 |
| Lam 3:48 | My eyes flow with rivers of water because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. | Jer 9:1, Lam 1:16 |
| Rom 9:2 | that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. | Acts 7:60, Gal 4:20 |
| Lam 3:50 | until the LORD looks down and sees from heaven. | Ps 33:13-14, Lam 1:11 |
| Matt 24:15 | “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel... | Dan 9:27, Mark 13:14 |
| Luke 19:42 | saying, “Would that you even you had known on this day what would bring peace. | Luke 13:34-35, John 11:35 |
| Ps 119:83 | I have become like a wineskin dried by smoke. | Ps 42:3, Job 30:30 |
| Isa 1:8 | But the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. | Mic 3:12, Jer 26:18 |
| Jer 1:17-18 | But you are not to be smitten with terror because of them. For I am with you to deliver you. | Josh 1:5, Isa 43:2 |
| Jer 8:21 | If I do not lament for my own suffering and that of my people. | Jer 4:19, Isa 15:2 |
| Ezek 9:4 | And the LORD said to him, Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men. | Rev 7:3, Rev 14:1 |
| Jer 52:28-30 | In the eighteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar he mustered the Judeans... | 2 Kin 24:13-14, 2 Kin 25:27 |
Lamentations 2 verses
Lamentations 2 11 Meaning
The verse expresses profound grief and sorrow over Jerusalem's destruction, likening the city's affliction to a mother mourning her children. The loss is so immense that it blinds the eyes and affects the innermost being.
Lamentations 2 11 Context
Lamentations 2:11 describes the intense grief of Jeremiah as he witnesses the utter destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. This verse follows the preceding verses which depict the devastation, the suffering of the people, and the desolation of the holy city. The prophet is overwhelmed with sorrow at the fulfillment of God's judgment upon Judah for their persistent sin and rebellion. The chapter as a whole chronicles the divine judgment poured out on Jerusalem, portraying a city in ruins and its inhabitants in deep distress.
Lamentations 2 11 Word Analysis
- My (אֶֽנִי - 'ani): First-person singular pronoun. Indicates personal involvement and direct experience of the speaker's suffering.
- eyes (עֵינַ֣י - 'einaỹ): Plural noun. Refers to the organs of sight, here used metaphorically for weeping and profound grief. The abundant tears have taken a physical toll.
- waste away (כָּ֣לוּ - kālû): Verb, Qal perfect, 3rd person masculine plural of כָּלָה (kālâ). Means "to come to an end," "to be consumed," "to fail." Signifies a state of being utterly spent or depleted due to continuous weeping.
- from (מִִ - mî): Preposition indicating the source or cause. The failing of the eyes is due to the ceaseless weeping.
- weeping (בֶּכִ֗י - bekî): Noun, masculine, singular of בָּכָה (bâkâ). Means "weeping," "crying." Emphasizes the act of lamentation and sorrow.
- my tears (דִּמְעֹתַ֣י - dim‘ōtaỹ): Noun, feminine plural with possessive suffix. Refers to tears. The plurality indicates the continuous and abundant flow.
- run down (הָֽלְכוּ - hāləḵû): Verb, Qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine plural of הָלַךְ (hâlâḵ). Means "to go," "to walk," but here it implies continuous flowing or movement.
- without ceasing (בְּלִי־חֹתֶ֔רֶת - bəlî-ḥōṯereṯ): Phrase. Bəlî means "without." Ḥōṯereṯ is a noun from חָתַת (ḥāṯaṯ) meaning "to break," "to shatter," "to be astonished," or perhaps here in a unique construct with a sense of interruption or stopping. The idiom suggests tears that do not cease, do not find an end or a reason to stop.
Word Groups Analysis
- "My eyes waste away from weeping": This phrase powerfully captures the physical manifestation of overwhelming grief. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and their exhaustion reflects the depth of internal suffering.
- "my tears run down without ceasing": This conveys the relentless nature of the sorrow. The tears are not occasional but a continuous flow, symbolizing an unbroken state of anguish and despair.
Lamentations 2 11 Bonus Section
The verse can be seen as a precursor to Jesus' weeping over Jerusalem as recorded in Luke 19:41-42, where Jesus laments, "Would that you even you had known on this day what would bring peace. But now it is hidden from your eyes." Both passages reveal a heart broken by sin and its tragic consequences. Jeremiah's sorrow is a prophet's pain reflecting God's sorrow over His people's unfaithfulness, emphasizing that even in judgment, God's heart is moved by suffering.
Lamentations 2 11 Commentary
Jeremiah's lament in this verse is deeply personal and visceral. The destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of God's people have reduced him to a state of complete emotional and physical exhaustion. His eyes, conduits for expressing grief, are worn out from ceaseless crying. The image of tears "running down without ceasing" underscores the unrelenting nature of his sorrow. This isn't a momentary sadness but a profound, abiding anguish. The prophet's lament reflects a broken heart over the sin that led to such devastation and a deep empathy for his people's plight. It echoes the sentiments of other prophets and psalmists who expressed intense grief over sin and judgment. This verse, while focused on Old Testament Israel's judgment, speaks to a broader human experience of loss and the pain that sin brings. The depth of weeping highlights the seriousness of disobedience and the consequences of turning away from God, yet it also carries an undertone of longing for God's intervention and restoration.