Lamentations 4:11

The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) And hath kindled a fire . . .—The phrase is partly literal (2Chronicles 36:19), partly figurative, for the complete destruction of Jerusalem by the wrath of Jehovah.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

4:1-12 What a change is here! Sin tarnishes the beauty of the most exalted powers and the most excellent gifts; but that gold, tried in the fire, which Christ bestows, never will be taken from us; its outward appearance may be dimmed, but its real value can never be changed. The horrors of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem are again described. Beholding the sad consequences of sin in the church of old, let us seriously consider to what the same causes may justly bring down the church now. But, Lord, though we have gone from thee in rebellion, yet turn to us, and turn our hearts to thee, that we may fear thy name. Come to us, bless us with awakening, converting, renewing, confirming grace.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Pitiful - i. e. tender-hearted, compassionate. meat is used for food Psalm 69:21. What is here stated actually occurred during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. fire … devoured … foundations—(De 32:22; Jer 21:14). A most rare event. Fire usually consumes only the surface; but this reached even to the foundation, cutting off all hope of restoration.

Lamed.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

An unusual fire, which burns up not only the roof and superstructure, but the foundations, leaving no bottom for hopes of being restored. See Deu 32:22.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Lord hath accomplished his fury,.... Which rose up in his mind, and which he purposed in himself to bring upon the sinful people of the Jews:

he hath poured out his fierce anger; the vials of his wrath in great abundance, even all he meant to pour out upon them:

and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof: not in the strong hold of Zion only, but in the whole city of Jerusalem, which was set on fire by the Chaldeans, as instruments, according to the will of God; and which not only consumed the houses of it, but even the foundations of them; so that it looked as if there was no hope of its ever being rebuilt. Aben Ezra interprets this fire of the famine.

Geneva Study Bible

The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

11. hath kindled a fire] metaphorical, as in Lamentations 1:13, Lamentations 2:3.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - Hath accomplished means here, not "hath finished," but "hath poured out in full measure," as in the song of Moses Jehovah declares that he will "spend his arrows upon them" - the Hebrew verb is the same as here (Deuteronomy 32:23). To show the completeness of Zion's ruin it is compared to a fire which hath devoured the (very) foundations thereof. Lamentations 4:11

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

This fearful state of matters shows that the Lord has fully poured out His wrath upon Jerusalem and His people. כּלּה, to complete, bring to an end. The kindling of the fire in Zion, which consumed the foundations, is not to be limited to the burning of Jerusalem, but is a symbol of the complete destruction of Zion by the wrath of God; cf. Deuteronomy 32:32.