Lamentations 4:12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 4:1-12

The elegy in this chapter begins with a lamentation of the very sad and doleful change which the judgments of God had made in Jerusalem. The city that was formerly as gold, as the most fine gold, so rich and splendid, the perfection of beauty and the joy of the whole earth, has become dim, and is changed, has lost its lustre, lost its value, is not what it was; it has become dross. Alas! what an alteration is here! I. The temple was laid waste, which was the glory of Jerusalem and its... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 4:12

The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world ,.... Not only the neighbouring nations, and the kings of them, but even such in all parts of the world that knew anything of Jerusalem: would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy would have entered into the gates of Jerusalem ; when it was besieging, they did not believe it would be taken; and when they heard it was, it was incredible to them; it being so strongly fortified by art and nature, with mountains and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:12

The kings of the earth - Jerusalem was so well fortified, both by nature and art, that it appeared as a miracle that it should be taken at all. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:12

Verse 12 He confirms the same thing; for when a thing incredible happens, either we are extremely stupid, or we must be moved and affected. The Prophet, then, now says that the destruction of the city of Jerusalem had been incredible, because God had defended it by his power; it was also so fortified that no one believed that it could be taken, and the grandeur of the city was known everywhere. He then says that Jerusalem had been taken and overthrown, which no one of the heathens, neither... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:12

The kings of the earth, etc. And yet Jerusalem had been taken twice before its capture by Nebuchadnezzar (see 1 Kings 14:26 ; 2 Kings 14:1-29 :131. How is the language of the second part to be accounted for? It will help us to an answer if we observe that the later Jews seem to have acquired an exorbitant confidence in their national future ever since the Book of Deuteronomy had become as it were canonical in the reign of Josiah. "The temple of Jehovah" was ever in their mouths ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:12

Incredible calamities. Not only had Jerusalem believed herself invincible, But she had been so long preserved in safety and so signally delivered in extreme danger, as in the Assyrian invasion when Hezekiah was king, that neighbouring nations had come to look upon her as secure from harm, and to regard such calamities as those which came in the wake of the Chaldean invasion as incredible. There are men whose condition in the eyes of the world is as safe as that of Jerusalem was to the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:12

The impregnable taken. The natural position of Jerusalem was such as to mark it out for a stronghold, as to invite its possessors to fortify it and to deem themselves invincible. When David conquered it by daring and valour, he made it the metropolis of the nation. Succeeding king strengthened the walls and completed the fortifications, so that Jerusalem became one of the strongest fortresses of the ancient world. And at this time Nebuchadnezzar had only taken the city after a siege... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:12

A seeming impossibility achieved. I. THE VALUE OF A REPUTATION . Jerusalem had a far spread reputation for security. It was a reputation, too, which prevailed among those with whom it was desirable it should prevail, namely, the kings of the earth. A reputation for security is to a certain extent an element in security, and what we have to do is to let it have its just value. For instance, in a world where solicitations to evil abound it is well if those who have all the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 4:12

Though Jerusalem had been several times captured 1 Kings 14:26; 2 Kings 14:13; 2 Kings 23:33-35, yet it had been so strongly fortified by Uzziah and his successors as to have been made virtually impregnable. Its present capture by Nebuchadnezzar had cost him a year and a half’s siege. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Lamentations 4:12

Lamentations 4:12. The kings of the earth, &c., would not have believed “The city was so well fortified, and had been so often miraculously preserved by God from the attempts of its enemies, that it seemed incredible that it should at last fall into their hands.” Lowth. read more

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