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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(2) She weepeth sore in the night.—The intensity of the sorrow is emphasised by the fact that the tears do not cease even in the time which commonly brings rest and repose to mourners. The “lovers” and the “friends” are the nations, Egypt (Jeremiah 2:36), Edomites, Moabites, and others, with which Judah had been in alliance, and which now turned against her. (Comp. Psalm 137:7; Ezekiel 25:3-6; Jeremiah 40:14, for instances of their hostility, and specially Lamentations 4:21.)

Benson Commentary

Lamentations 1:2. She weepeth sore in the night — In the Hebrew, according to the idiom of that language, it is, Weeping she weepeth, which our old English version renders, She weepeth continually. The expression, in the night, is interpreted by some to signify her condition was so unhappy that, though oppressed with calamities, she did not dare to utter her complaints, unless secretly in the night, for fear of irritating her enemies. Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her — Those nations that courted her alliance in the time of her prosperity, or those allies, whose friendship she courted by sinful compliances, have forsaken her in her affliction, and joined with her enemies in insulting over her. “Several of the neighbouring princes sent their ambassadors to Zedekiah, Jeremiah 27:3, &c., to engage him, as appears from the context, to join them in a confederacy against the power of the king of Babylon. But they not only universally failed, and deserted Judah in the time of need, but most of them turned against her, and took a malignant pleasure in aggravating her misfortunes.” See Blaney and the margin.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:1-11 The prophet sometimes speaks in his own person; at other times Jerusalem, as a distressed female, is the speaker, or some of the Jews. The description shows the miseries of the Jewish nation. Jerusalem became a captive and a slave, by reason of the greatness of her sins; and had no rest from suffering. If we allow sin, our greatest adversary, to have dominion over us, justly will other enemies also be suffered to have dominion. The people endured the extremities of famine and distress. In this sad condition Jerusalem acknowledged her sin, and entreated the Lord to look upon her case. This is the only way to make ourselves easy under our burdens; for it is the just anger of the Lord for man's transgressions, that has filled the earth with sorrows, lamentations, sickness, and death.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Lovers ... friends - i. e. the states in alliance with Judaea, and all human helpers.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. in the night—even in the night, the period of rest and oblivion of griefs (Job 7:3).

lovers … friends—the heathen states allied to Judah, and their idols. The idols whom she "loved" (Jer 2:20-25) could not comfort her. Her former allies would not: nay, some "treacherously" joined her enemies against her (2Ki 24:2, 7; Ps 137:7).

Gimel.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

All her hours are hours of sadness, she doth not only mourn in the day time, but in the night also, when she should rest; her cheeks are like the grass in the morning, hanging full of drops, as if her head were a fountain of water, and her eyes rivers of tears. In her prosperity she had a great many friends that sought and courted her favour, with whom she made leagues and confederated (such were the Egyptians, Assyrians, &c.); but they were now so far from helping the Jews, that they helped their enemies, and dealt treacherously with them, becoming themselves enemies instead of assistants to them.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

She weepeth sore in the night,.... Or, "weeping weeps" (i); two weepings, one for the first, the other for the second temples (k); and while others are taking their sleep and rest; a season fit for mourners, when they can give their grief the greater vent, without any interruption from others; and it being now a night of affliction with her, which occasioned this sore weeping. Jarchi observes, that it was in the night that the temple was burnt:

and her tears are on her cheeks; continue there, being always flowing, and never wholly dried up; which shows how great her grief was, and that her weeping was without intermission; or otherwise tears do not lie long, but are soon dried up, or wiped off:

among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her; as the Assyrians formerly were, Ezekiel 23:5; and more lately the Egyptians her allies and confederates, in whom she trusted; but these gave her no assistance; nor yielded her any relief in her distress; nor so much as spoke one word of comfort to her:

all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies; those who pretended great friendship to her, and were in strict alliance with her, acted the treacherous part, and withdrew from her, leaving her to the common enemy; and not only so, but behaved towards her in a hostile manner themselves; for "the children of Noph and Tahapanes", places in Egypt confederate with the Jews, are said to "have broken the crown of their head", Jeremiah 2:16. The Targum interprets the "lovers" of the "idols" she loved to follow, who now could be of no use unto her by way of comfort.

(i) "plorando plorat", Vatablus; "plorando plorabit", Pagninus, Montanus. (k) T. Sanhedr. ib. Colossians 2.

Geneva Study Bible

She weepeth bitterly in the {c} night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her {d} lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

(c) So that she takes no rest.

(d) Meaning the Egyptians and Assyrians who promised help.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

2. in the night] The time of natural silence and darkness is made a part of the picture in order to heighten the effect. The absence of the distractions of the day intensifies the sense of bereavement.

her lovers (cp. Lamentations 1:19) … her friends] the neighbouring states, with whom in the sunshine of prosperity she was on friendly terms (cp. Jeremiah 4:30; Jeremiah 30:14). Such were Chaldaeans, Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites (2 Kings 24:2), Edomites (Psalm 137:7), Tyrians (Ezekiel 26:3), Egyptians (Ezekiel 17:17; Ezekiel 29:6 ff.). For these last cp. Lamentations 4:17; Jeremiah 37:5; for Edom Lamentations 4:21 f.; and for Ammon, Jeremiah 40:14; Ezekiel 25:3-7.

her friends … enemies] In the original there is a figure of paronomasia (’ohăbçha, ’oyĕbîm).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 2. - In the night. Not only by day, but even in the season of rest and unconsciousness. Her lovers... her friends; i.e. the neighbouring peoples, with which Judah had formed alliances, such as Egypt (Jeremiah 2:36), Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon (Jeremiah 27:3). This is a favourite phrase of Jeremiah's (comp. Jeremiah 3:1; Jeremiah 4:30; Jeremiah 22:20, 22; Jeremiah 30:14), but also of Hosea (Hosea 2:5, 7, 10, 12, 13; Hosea 8:9) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:33, 36, 37; 23:5, 9, 22). The national God was conceived of as the Husband of the nation; and the prophets retained this idea and elevated it, just as they did circumcision and many other Eastern traditions. Lamentations 1:2

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In this sorrow of hers she has not a single comforter, since all her friends from whom she could expect consolation have become faithless to her, and turned enemies. בּכו תבכּה, "weeping she weeps," i.e., she weeps very much, or bitterly, not continually (Meier); the inf. abs. before the verb does not express the continuation, but the intensity of the action Gesenius, 131, 3, a; Ewald, 312]. בּלּילה, "in the night," not "on into the night" (Ewald). The weeping by night does not exclude, but includes, weeping by day; cf. Lamentations 2:18. Night is mentioned as the time when grief and sorrow are wont to give place to sleep. When tears do not cease to flow even during the night, the sorrow must be overwhelming. The following clause, "and her tears are upon her cheek," serves merely to intensify, and must not be placed (with Thenius) in antithesis to what precedes: "while her sorrow shows itself most violently during the loneliness of the night, her cheeks are yet always wet with tears (even during the day)." But the greatness of this sorrow of heart is due to the fact that she has no comforter, - a thought which is repeated in Lamentations 1:9, Lamentations 1:16, Lamentations 1:17, and Lamentations 1:21. For her friends are faithless, and have become enemies. "Lovers" and "friends" are the nations with which Jerusalem made alliances, especially Egypt (cf. Jeremiah 2:36.); then the smaller nations round about, - Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Phoenicians, with which Zedekiah had conspired against the king of Babylon, Jeremiah 27:3. Testimony is given in Psalm 137:7 to the hostile dealing on the part of the Edomites against Judah at the destruction of Jerusalem; and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 25:3, Ezekiel 25:6) charges the Ammonite and Tyrians with having shown malicious delight over the fall of Jerusalem; but the hostility of the Moabites is evident from the inimical behaviour of their King Baalis towards Judah, mentioned in Jeremiah 40:14.