Lamentations 4:20 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 4:20

The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits ,.... Or "the Messiah", or "the Christ of the Lord" F14 משיח יהוה χριστος κυριος , Sept. "Christus Dominus", V. L. "Christus Domini", Pagninus. ; not Josiah, as the Targum; and so Jarchi and others; for though he was the Lord's anointed, and the life of the people, being the head of them, as every king is, especially a good one; yet he was slain, and not taken, and much less in their pits, and that not... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:20

The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord - That is, Zedekiah the king, who was as the life or the city, was taken in his flight by the Chaldeans, and his eyes were put out; so that he was wholly unfit to perform any function of government; though they had fondly hoped that if they surrendered and should be led captives, yet they should be permitted to live under their own laws and king in the land of their bondage. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:20

Verse 20 This verse, as I have said elsewhere, has been ignorantly applied to Josiah, who fell in battle long before the fall of the city. The royal dignity continued after his death; he was himself buried in the grave of his fathers; and though the enemy was victorious, yet he did not conic to the city. It is then absurd to apply to that king what is here properly said of Zedekiah, the last king; for though he was wholly unlike Josiah, yet he was one of David’s posterity, and a type of Christ.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:20

The breath of our nostrils. The theocratic king was the direct representative of the people with Jehovah, and to him the promises of 2 Samuel 7:1-29 . were conveyed. He was also, in a sense, the representative of Jehovah with the people. His throne was "the throne of Jehovah" ( 1 Chronicles 29:23 ). A similar conception of the king was generally prevalent in antiquity. Most of all among the Egyptians; but, even in imperial Rome, we find Seneca ('De Clementia,' 2 Samuel 1:4 , quoted by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:20

A disappointed confidence and a desecrated sanctity. There seems to be indicated in these words a great attachment to the kingly office and a great confidence in it. It is the same spirit continuing and probably intensified which caused the people ages before to demand a king. And is it not thus suggested to us what a deep feeling there is in the human heart to have some one individual to look up to as having rule over us? "The right Divine of kings" is a principle which more than once in... 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

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Lamentations 4:20

breath. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 . the anointed: i.e. Zedekiah was still Jehovah's "anointed", even as Saul was (1 Samuel 26:9 , 1Sa 26:11 , 1 Samuel 26:16 , 1 Samuel 26:23 ). pits = toils. Occurs only here and Psalms 107:20 . Hebrew. shichith. Compare Jeremiah 2:6 . read more

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 4:20

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:20

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 4:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 4:20

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

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Lamentations 4:20

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