Lamentations 4:18-5:22 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 4:13-20

We have here, I. The sins they were charged with, for which God brought this destruction upon them, and which served to justify God in it (Lam. 4:13, 14): It is for the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests. Not that the people were innocent; no, they loved to have it so (Jer. 5:31), and it was to please them that the prophets and priests did as they did; but the fault is chiefly laid upon them, who should have taught them better, should have reproved and admonished them, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 4:18

They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets ,.... The Chaldeans, from their forts and batteries, as they could see, they watched the people as they came out of their houses, and walked about the streets, and shot their arrows at them; so that they were obliged to keep within doors, and not stir out, which they could not do without great danger: our end is near, for our days are fulfilled; for our end is come ; either the end of their lives, the days, months, and years appointed... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:18

We cannot go in our streets - Supposed to refer to the darts and other missiles cast from the mounds which they had raised on the outside of the walls, by which those who walked in the streets were grievously annoyed, and could not shield themselves. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:18

Verse 18 Many apply this verse to the Egyptians, that they insidiously enticed the Jews to flee to them in their difficulties. It is indeed, true, that the Jews had been deceived by their false promises; and, as a harlot draws to herself young men by wicked arts, so also the Jews had been captivated by the enticements of the Egyptians. But the meaning of the Prophet seems to be different, even this, — that the Chaldeans followed the Jews as hunters, so that they observed their footsteps; and I... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:18

They hunt our steps, etc. Realistic attempts to explain this line have not been wanting, but seem unsuccessful. The Chaldeans were either within the city or without. If within, they would not need literally to "hunt the steps" of the Jews; if without, they had not war engines adequate to shooting the inhabitants at some distance. Probably the expressions are metaphorical; they are similar to those used in Lamentations 3:52 , immediately after which we meet with such a purely poetical... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:18

The end is come! The progress of the enemy's works, the approach of the enemy's forces, the frequency of the enemy's assaults, all tended to dishearten the citizens of the besieged Jerusalem. The prophet represents the discouraged and dismayed citizens as gazing with terror upon the assailants and their strategy, and exclaiming in despair, "Our end is come!" The dealing and the discipline of God with the souls of the disobedient and rebellious may well awaken the same conviction and elicit... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 4:17-20

A rapid sketch of the last days of the siege and the capture of the king.Lamentations 4:17Rather, “Still do our eyes waste away looking for our vain help.”In our watching - Or, “on our watchtower.”Lamentations 4:18Or, They hunted “our steps that we could not go out into the streets. To hunt” means here to lie in ambush, and catch by snares; and the streets are literally “the wide places,” especially at the gates. Toward the end of the siege the towers erected by the enemy would command these... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Lamentations 4:18-20

Lamentations 4:18-20. They hunt our steps that we cannot go in our streets The Chaldeans, employed in the siege, are so close upon us, that we cannot stir a foot, nor look out at our doors, nor walk safely in the streets. Our end is near The end of our church and state; we are just at the brink of the ruin of both. Nay, our days are fulfilled, our end is come We are utterly undone; a fatal, final period is put to all our comforts; the days of our prosperity are fulfilled, they are... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Lamentations 4:1-22

Corrupt leaders disgraced (4:1-22)Jerusalem’s former glory is contrasted with her present ruin. The once glorious temple, now defiled and shattered, is symbolic of the once glorious people now shamed and broken. Jerusalem’s dead lie in the streets like pieces of broken pottery (4:1-2). The writer recalls again the scene of horror during the siege. Wild beasts provide food for their young, but in Jerusalem mothers are unable to provide food for their children. Rich nobles die on the streets like... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 4:18

18. They—the Chaldeans. cannot go—without danger. Koph. read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 4:13-20

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 4:18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:18

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:18

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 4:17-20

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Lamentations 4:18-20

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Lamentations 4:1-22

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 4:18

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