Lamentations 5:13 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 5:1-16

Isa. any afflicted? let him pray; and let him in prayer pour out his complaint to God, and make known before him his trouble. The people of God do so here; being overwhelmed with grief, they give vent to their sorrows at the footstool of the throne of grace, and so give themselves ease. They complain not of evils feared, but of evils felt: ?Remember what has come upon us, Lam. 5:1. What was of old threatened against us, and was long in the coming, has now at length come upon us, and we are... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 5:13

They took the young men to grind ,.... In the mill, which was laborious service; and which persons were sometimes put to, by way of punishment; and was the punishment of servants; see Judges 16:21 . Some render it, "the young men bore the grist" F24 בחורים טחון נשאו "juvenes farinam portaverunt"; so some in Gataker; "juvenes molam tulerunt", Cocceius; "juvenes ad molendum portant", Junius & Tremellius. ; carried the corn, the meal ground, from place to place. The Targum is,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 5:13

They took the young men to grind - This was the work of female slaves. See the note on Isaiah 47:2 . read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 5:13

Verse 13 I cannot proceed farther now. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 5:1-18

INSULT UPON INSULT HAS BEEN HEAPED UPON JERUSALEM . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 5:13

They took the young men to grind; rather, the young men have borne the mill. The lower millstone seems to have been specially hard, and therefore heavy (see Job 41:24 ), and to carry it about must have required a more severe exertion even than the constant turning of the mill handle. Dr. Thomson "cannot recall an instance in which men were grinding at the mill", and both Exodus 11:5 and Matthew 24:41 presuppose that it was women's work. The conquered Jewish youths, however, share the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 5:13

They took the young men to grind - Or, “The young men” have borne the mill, a menial and laborious task usually performed by slaves (compare Isaiah 47:2).The children fell under the wood - Or, lads have stumbled under burdens of wood. By lads are meant youths up to the age of military service; another form of menial labor. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Lamentations 5:12-16

Lamentations 5:12-16. Princes are hanged up by their hand By the hand of their enemies. They took the young men to grind To grind at the mill was the common employment of slaves, Exodus 11:5. The children fell under the wood They made children turn the handle of the mill till they fell down through weariness: so some explain it with relation to the former part of the verse. But the expression may be understood of making them carry such heavy burdens of wood that they fainted under the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Lamentations 5:1-22

A prayer for mercy (5:1-22)This poem was apparently written in Judah some time after the fall of Jerusalem. Only the people of no use to Babylon were left in the land, and this poem reflects the hardships they faced (cf. Jeremiah 52:16).In a plea to God for mercy, the people remind him of their present shame (5:1). Death has broken up their families, and the invaders have taken over their houses and lands (2-3). They live and work like slaves in their own country, and have to buy water from... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Lamentations 5:13

to grind: i.e. to do women's work. children = young children, youths. fell = staggered. under the wood: i.e. under [the weight or load] of the wood (they were compelled as bond-slaves to carry). read more