Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Lamentations 1:3
Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
3. is gone into captivity because of affliction ] The better rendering is, is gone into exile (so mg.) because of affliction, i.e. the long sufferings of the Jews at the hands of Egypt and Chaldaea had induced many of them to go voluntarily to dwell in other lands. That this frequently took place we gather from Jer 40:11. This is better than the alternative rendering ( taken) out of affliction (into Babylon), as this would be a lightening of the picture hardly in consonance with the purpose of the writer. If, however, this latter be the sense, the word “servitude” will be illustrated by the “hard service” inflicted on exiles in Babylon according to Isa 14:3.
within the straits ] distresses, oppression. The Jews have been hemmed in and harassed by their foes.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Because of … – i. e. the people, not of Jerusalem only, but of the whole land, is gone into exile to escape from the affliction and laborious servitude, to which they are subject in their own land.
Persecutors … between the straits – Rather, pursuers … in the midst of her straits. The Jews flee like deer to escape from the invading Chaldaeans, but are driven by them into places from where there is no escape.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Lam 1:3
Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction.
Afflictive dispensations
1. The outward things of this life are the soonest lost; and being enjoyed, the most uncertain.
(1) They are most subject to all kinds of enemies.
(2) God knoweth that we may best want them.
Learn to make least account of them, as things without which we may be perfectly happy. Endeavour most of all to obtain the true knowledge and fear of God, which is the treasure laid up in heaven (Mat 6:19-20).
2. It is natural for a man to seek to better his outward estate, and his duty to seek far and near for the freedom and rest of conscience (2Ch 11:13-17).
3. It is better to live anywhere than in our own country where our governors seek to oppress us, for their hatred being assisted with their might will never let us live in any tolerable peace.
4. Of two evils, we may and ought to choose the less, to avoid the greater.
5. It is grievous and dangerous to dwell among the ungodly.
(1) They can administer no true comfort unto us.
(2) They are strong to draw us to evil.
6. When God means to punish, He stirs up means; but when He means it not, the means shall not prosper.
7. There is no place or means to escape Gods hand, when He means to punish.
8. There is no kind of people so generally and so evil entreated in their adversity as the godly.
9. This people seemeth to be utterly overthrown for ever, and yet they returned unto their land and became a commonwealth again. So is it often with the Church of God (Psa 139:1, etc.). This teaches us–
(1) Never to despair, though our calamities be never so many and grievous.
(2) That there is no assured safety, but in the true fear of God. (J. Udall.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. Between the straits.] She has been brought into such difficulties, that it was impossible for her to escape. Has this any reference to the circumstances in which Zedekiah and the princes of Judah endeavoured to escape from Jerusalem, by the way of the gates between the two walls? Jer 52:7.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This is expounded as the cause why the Jews were carried into captivity, because of the servitude and oppression exercised amongst them, oppression by their rulers, and servitude more generally, keeping their servants beyond the year of jubilee, when they ought to have set them at liberty; and that this was one cause appeareth from Jer 34:17; or if
because of affliction, & c. be joined to the next words, the sense is plain,
she dwelleth amongst the heathen, by reason of her low condition, and the state of servitude she is in; where she, that is, the Jews, have neither any satisfaction nor quiet in their own minds, nor are they by their enemies suffered to be at quiet any where. Those that pursued them with all violence to destroy them overtook them in places where they could not escape them, as huntsmen and others take their game by driving them into strait and narrow places.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. (Jer52:27).
because of greatservitudethat is, in a state “of great servitude,”endured from the Chaldeans. “Because” is made by VATABLUSindicative of the cause of her captivity; namely, her having”afflicted” and unjustly brought into “servitude”the manumitted bond-servants (Jer34:8-22). MAURERexplains it, “Judah has left her land (not literally’gone into captivity’) because of the yoke imposed on it byNebuchadnezzar.”
no rest (Deu 28:64;Deu 28:65).
overtook her between . . .straitsimage from robbers, who in the East intercepttravellers at the narrow passes in hilly regions.
Daleth.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Judah is gone into captivity,…. Not only Jerusalem the metropolis of Judea was destroyed, but the whole country was ravaged, and the inhabitants of it carried captive into Babylon:
because of affliction, and because of great servitude; because of their sins in oppressing and afflicting their poor brethren, and retaining them in a state of bondage after their seven years’ servitude, contrary to the law of God; for which they were threatened with captivity,
Jer 34:13; so the Targum,
“the house of Judah went into captivity, because they afflicted the fatherless and the widows; and because of the multitude of service which they caused their brethren the children of Israel to serve, who were sold unto them; and they did not proclaim liberty to their servants and maidens, who were of the seed of Israel:”
or, “through affliction, and through great servitude” l; that is, through the affliction and servitude they suffered by the Chaldeans, into whose hands they fell; though some understand it of the Jews, who, to escape the affliction and servitude of the Chaldeans, went into a kind of voluntary captivity, fleeing to the countries of Moab, Ammon, and Edom, during the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; see
Jer 40:11;
she dwelleth among the Heathen; the uncircumcised and the unclean; and so was deprived of both her civil and religious liberties; having no opportunity of worshipping God, and enjoying him in his courts, as formerly; and which must be very uncomfortable living, especially to those who were truly gracious:
she findeth no rest. The Targum adds,
“because of the hard service to which they subjected her;”
she found no natural rest, being carried from place to place; nor civil rest, being kept in hard bondage; nor spiritual rest, being deprived of the worship and ordinances of God; and being conscious of her sins, which had brought all this misery on her:
all her persecutors overtook her between the straits; having hunted her as men hunt wild beasts, and get them into some strait and difficult place, and then seize on them. The Targum interprets it, between the borders; or between the hedges, as Ben Melech; and so Jarchi, of the borders of a field and vineyard; and of a ditch on the one side and the other, that there is no room to escape; and who makes mention of a Midrash, that explains it not of place, but time, between the seventeenth day of Tammuz, and the ninth of Ab; see Jer 52:7.
l “per afflictionem”; “hic, non [prae], sed per significat”, Grotius; “[vel] prae afflictione, [sub.] a Chaldaeis perpessa”; so some in Vatablus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
With Lam 1:3 begins the specific account of the misery over which Jerusalem sorrows so deeply. Judah has gone into exile, but she does not find any rest there among the nations. “Judah” is the population not merely of Jerusalem, but of the whole kingdom, whose deportation is bewailed by Jerusalem as the mother of the whole country. Although designates the people, and not the country, it is construed as a feminine, because the inhabitants are regarded as the daughter of the land; cf. Ewald, 174, b [and Gesenius, 107, 4, a ]. ‘ has been explained, since J. D. Michaelis, by most modern expositors (Rosenmller, Maurer, Ewald, Thenius, Ngelsbach), and previously by Calvin, as referring to the cause of the emigration, “from (because of) misery and much servitude;” and in harmony with this view, has been understood, not of the deportation of Judah into exile, but of the voluntary emigration of the fugitives who sought to escape from the power of the Chaldeans by fleeing into foreign countries, partly before and partly after the destruction of Jerusalem. But this interpretation neither agrees with the meaning of the words nor the context. Those fugitives cannot be designated “Judah,” because, however numerous one may think they were, they formed but a fraction of the inhabitants of Judah: the flower of the nation had been carried off to Babylon into exile, for which the usual word is . The context also requires us to refer the words to involuntary emigration into exile. For, in comparison with this, the emigration of fugitives to different countries was so unimportant a matter that the writer could not possibly have been silent regarding the deportation of the people, and placed this secondary consideration in the foreground as the cause of the sorrow. is not to be taken in a causal sense, for simply denotes the coming out of a certain condition, “out of misery,” into which Judah had fallen through the occupation of the country, first by Pharaoh-Necho, then by the Chaldeans; and does not mean “much service,” but “much labour.” For does not mean “service” (= ), but “labour, work, business,” e.g., , “the service of the king,” i.e., the service to be rendered to the king in the shape of work (1Ch 26:30), and the labour connected with public worship (1Ch 9:13; 1Ch 28:14, etc.); here, in connection with , it means severe labour and toil which the people had to render, partly for the king, that he might get ready the tribute imposed on the country, and partly to defend the country and the capital against those who sought to conquer them. Although Judah had wandered out from a condition of misery and toil into exile, yet even there she found no rest among the nations, just as Moses had already predicted to the faithless nation, Deu 28:65. All her pursuers find her , inter angustias (Vulgate). This word denotes “straits,” narrow places where escape is impossible (Psa 116:3; Psa 118:5), or circumstances in life from which no escape can be found.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Interpreters apply this, but in my view improperly, to the captivity of the people; on the contrary, the Prophet means that the Jews had been scattered and sought refuges when oppressed, as they were often, by the tyranny of their enemies, and then by degrees he advances to their exile; for he could not have said all things at the same time. Let, then, the order in which he speaks be observed: before he bewails their exile, he says that Judah had been scattered; for many, fleeing the cruelty of enemies, went into voluntary exile. We have before seen that many concealed themselves with the Moabites; nor is there a doubt but that many went into Egypt: in short, there was no country in which some of the Jews were not fugitives.
The real meaning, then, of the Prophet here is, that the Jews had migrated, that is, had left their own country and fled to other countries, because they were subjected to miseries and cruel servitude.
Some take the words in a passive sense, even that Judah migrated, because they had inhumanly oppressed their servants. But I suspect what has led them astray, they thought that exile is meant here; and then one mistake produces another; for it would have been absurd to say, that the Jews had migrated into exile on account of affliction, and had migrated willingly; for we know that they were violently driven by the Chaldeans. They did not, then, willingly migrate. When these two things could not be connected, they thought that the cruelty of the Jews is what is referred to, which they had exercised towards their own brethren. But the migration of which the Prophet speaks is improperly applied, as I have said, to the captivity; but on the contrary, he means those who had removed into different parts of the world, because this was more tolerable than their condition in their own country. And we hence learn how severely they had been harassed by the Chaldeans, for they had willingly fled away, though, as we know, exile is hard. We then conclude that it was a barbarous and a violent oppression, since the Prophet says, that the Jews thus went into exile of their own accord, and sought hiding-places either in Egypt or in the land of Moab, or among other neighboring nations. (124)
He afterwards adds another evil, that they never found rest; and lastly, that they had been taken by their enemies between straits, so that no escape was possible. It must have been a sad condition for the people to live in a foreign land; for we know that such a precarious life differs but little from death; and there were no contiguous nations by whom the Jews were not hated. When they then fled to such people, it was no small evil. But when they had nowhere a quiet abode, the indignity was still greater, and this is what the Prophet now refers to. But when we flee and tremblingly turn here and there, it is one of the greatest of evils to fall into the hands of enemies, and to be taken by them when we are enclosed as it were between two walls, or in a narrow passage, as some explain the word. It follows, —
(124) Blayney and Horsley agree in this view; but Gataker, Henry, and Henderson take the previous view, that is, that Judah went to exile on account of the oppression they practiced, and the multiplied servitude they exacted, especially the servitude or slavery to which servants were subjected, as recorded in Jer 34:0. What confirms this view is the word “Judah,” which, as it implies the greater part, could not be applied to the comparatively few who voluntarily migrated.
3. Removed is Judah for oppression and for much servitude; She dwells among nations without finding rest; All her pursuers seized her in the straits.
The Targum paraphrases “oppression” by mentioning orphans and widows, and “servitude,” by referring to what servants were subjected to, as related in Jer 34:0. These were sins for which the Jews had often been threatened with banishment. “Pursuers” rather than “persecutors;” and to be “seized in (or, between) the straits,” is, as Lowth says, a metaphor taken from hunters, who drive the game to narrow places, from which there is no escape.
Houbiqant proposes to connect “oppression and servitude” with the following words, and not with the preceding, —
Removed is Judah; for oppression and for much servitude, She dwells among the nations without finding rest.
—
Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
EXEGETICAL NOTES.
() Lam. 1:3. Judah, the population of the whole territory, with that of Jerusalem, is taken into exile, a subjugated, impoverished remnant being left. From affliction, the same expression occurs in Exo. 3:17 and Psa. 108:4, and from much servitude, not, as might seem intimated by the Authorised Version and Revised Version, that the Jews were led into captivity because of the manumitted Hebrew servants being again subjected to bondage by their richer brethren (Jer. 34:8-12); not that the Jews fled as voluntary emigrants to escape the oppression of conquerors; but that, from the low depth of misery into which they had been brought by the invasions and exactions of foreign powers, from months of faction and coercion and famine, they were taken into the lower depth of being made captives. In Babylon, in the centre of old world civilisation, with its traffic and magnificence, she has not found rest. Nebuchadnezzar employed them upon those large works of irrigation and the building of cities, for which his ambition required labourers, just where they were forced to share and contribute to Babylonian life. Thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke (Isa. 48:6). All her pursuers have overtaken her between the straits; they laid affliction upon her when she was already pressed in by trouble; hit her when she was down.
HOMILETICS
THE JUDGMENT OF OPPRESSION
(Lam. 1:3)
I. The oppressor is in turn oppressed. Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction and because of great servitude. The prophet would probably have in view the circumstances narrated in Jeremiah 34, where the Jewish princes and people were threatened with captivity, because, in violation of the law, they withdrew the grant of liberty made to their servants, and reduced them to their former servitude, aggravated with increased exactions. It is an oft-repeated charge against the Jews that they robbed and oppressed their own countrymen; and the day came when they were robbed and oppressed by their powerful conquerors. It is a cruel abuse of power when it is used to injure the helpless. Every act of wrong-doing carries within it the germ of future recompense. The boomerang rebounds towards the man who threw it.
II. The judgment is constant. She dwelleth among the heathen; she findeth no rest. The endless and impossible tasks imposed on others are now allotted to the oppressors. There is no prospect of releasethey dwell among the heathen; no prospect of abatementthey find no rest. Judgment knows nothing of pity: while the sinner remains obdurate, its mission is to punish. There is no change in the punishment until there is a moral change in the offender. Divine mercy alone can break the entail of suffering, and that can be effected only by satisfying the claims of justice.
III. The judgment cannot be evaded by flight. All her persecutors over took her between the straits. Zedekiah and the princes of Judah strove to escape from besieged Jerusalem, but the wary Chaldeans pursued and captured them (Jer. 52:7-8). The people fled to the mountain passes, but they were there confronted by the enemy, and flight was impossible. Like hunted deer, whichever way they turned, they found themselves within the toils of the invaders. The conquerors held them as in a grip of steel. The day came when the Chaldeans were similarly helpless in the hands of a superior force. Judgment perpetually dogs the heel of the oppressor, and every possible avenue of escape is carefully guarded. Oppression is the attempt of an imperious will to have its own way, and it does not answer. Not thy will but mine be done, changed Paradise into a desert. Not My will but Thine be done, changed the desert into Paradise, and made Gethsemane the gate of glory.
LESSONS.
1. Oppression is a short-sighted policy.
2. The spoils gained by oppression are worthless.
3. The law of retribution is always at work.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
Lam. 1:3. Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction and great servitude. A time of trouble.
1. Should induce careful self-examination.
2. Should lead us to reflect whether we have caused trouble to others.
3. Is a call to repentance and moral reform.
She dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest. The changes of life.
1. Often bring us into the midst of strange, unfriendly associations.
2. Interfere with growth in personal piety.
3. Disturb the souls peace.
All her persecutors overtook her between the straits. The spirit of persecution.
1. Instigated by hatred to the good.
2. Is vigilant and active in its cruel pursuits.
3. Takes advantage of the helplessness of its victims.
ILLUSTRATIONS.The oppressor punished. There is an Eastern fable that a wicked and oppressive king was once kissed on either shoulder by the Evil One. Immediately there sprang therefrom two serpents, who, furious with hunger, attacked the man and strove to eat into his brain. The terrified king tried to tear them away and cast them from him, when, to his horror, he found they had become part of himself. So is it with those who yield to anger or any other evil passion. The man who tyrannises over others becomes by and by the victim of his own tyrannical temper, and all efforts to deliver himself are in vain; it has become a part of himself. Wrong-doing carries with it its own punishment. In its earlier stages we fancy it will be easy at any time to do right; but when we try, we are helpless.
The oppressor a selfish man.
He pours no cordial in the wounds of pain;
Unlocks no prison, and unclasps no chain.
His heart is like the rock, where sun nor dew
Can rear one plant, or flower of heavenly hue.
No thought of mercy there may have its birth,
For helpless misery or suffering worth.
The end of all his life is paltry pelf,
And all his thoughts are centred on himself.
The wretch of both worlds; for so mean a sum,
First starved in this, then damned in that to come!
A time of trouble. If God brings us into difficulties, we may be sure He will bring us out again; but no such confidence should be ours if we bring ourselves into them.
Trouble and the way out. An expedition started from Buenos Ayres to explore the Pilcomayo River, South America, with the view of establishing a water communication between the Argentine Republic and Bolivia. For the first fortnight the explorers made fair progress, but after that the navigation was difficult and slow, it being necessary to construct dams across the river below their vessel and wait till the water accumulated sufficiently to float it. At length they could proceed no farther, and remained in the same position for months. Having exhausted all their provisions, and their efforts at foraging proving unsuccessful, they daily expected the arrival of a relief party, and were daily disappointed. When they were wasting with famine and had given up all hope, they were surprised one morning by hearing a bugle blast, and knew they were saved. Only those who have been in extremity can realise how exquisite is the joy of sudden and unexpected rescue.The Scottish Pulpit.
The changes of life. A mill-owner was obliged to dismiss several of his hands. Among them was a man whose faith and trust in God always led him to say, The Lord will provide. One day when he had eaten his last morsel of food, and his faith was tried to the utmost, some street-boys, opening his door, flung in a dead raven, shouting mockingly, The Lord will provide. He quietly took up the dead bird and tenderly stroked its plumage. Suddenly he felt something hard in the crop of the bird, and wondering what it was, he took a knife and opened it. To his amazement he found there a gold chain. He felt here was God providing for him and his family. He went straight to a jeweller, telling his story, and asked if he would buy it. The jeweller saw it to be a chain of great value, with initials on it, and said, If you could learn the name of the owner, would you return it? Certainly, replied the workman. Well then, said the jeweller, it belongs to your late master. Hearing that, the man set off without delay and put the chain into his masters hands, who received it with great joy, as he had on missing it accused one of his servants of theft. Greatly struck with his workmans honesty, he told him he wished him to return to his employment, as he could not part with so honest a man. In the most trying changes of life it is best to do what is right.
Persecution. A sensation was caused in Hungary by a certain Count, a large landed proprietor, giving orders that thenceforth no Protestant was to be engaged in the service of his estate, and that Protestants already employed were disqualified from any further promotion. Any officials who married Protestants were to be at once dismissed. This high-handed procedure was the more remarkable as religious toleration was recognised as a supreme political and social principle, there being already eight different Christian denominations. Persecution and bigotry are weeds difficult to eradicate, and there is no knowing into what eccentric and tyrannical forms they may develop.The Scottish Pulpit.
God the Helper of the persecuted. Have faith, O you who suffer for the noble cause, the apostles of a truth which the world of to-day comprehends not, warriors in the sacred fight whom it yet stigmatises with the name of rebels. To-morrow victory will bless the banner of your crusade. Walk in faith and fear not. That which Christ has done, humanity may do. Believe, and you will conquer. Action is the word of God; thought alone is but His shadow. They who disjoin thought and action seek to divide Deity, and deny the Eternal unity. They who are not ready to bear witness to their faith with their blood are no true believers. From your cross of sorrow and persecution proclaim the religion of the epoch. Soon shall it receive the consecration of faith. From our cross of misery and persecution we men of exile, the representatives of heart and faith of the enslaved races, of millions of men constrained to silence, will respond to your appeal, and say to our brothers, The alliance is founded. Answer your persecutors with the formula, God and the people. They may rebel and blaspheme against it for a while, but it will be accepted and worshipped by the peoples.Mazzini.
The spirit of persecution inexorable. A poor Anabaptist, guilty of no crime but his fellowship with a persecuted sect, had been condemned to death. He had made his escape, closely pursued by an officer of justice, across a frozen lake. It was late in the winter, and the ice had become unsound. It trembled and cracked beneath his footsteps, but he reached the shore in safety. The officer was not so fortunate. The ice gave way beneath him, and he sank into the lake uttering a cry for succour. There were none to hear him except the fugitive whom he had been hunting. Dirk Willemzoon, for so was the Anabaptist called, instinctively obeyed the dictates of a generous nature, returned, crossed the quaking and dangerous ice at the peril of his life, extended his hand to the enemy, and saved him from certain death. Unfortunately for human nature, it cannot be added that the generosity of the action was met by a corresponding heroism. The officer was desirous, it is true, of avoiding the responsibility of sacrificing the preserver of his life, but the burgomaster of Asperen sternly reminded him to remember his oath. He accordingly arrested the fugitive, who, in the month of May following, was burned to death under the most lingering tortures.Motleys Dutch Republic.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(3) Because of affliction.The Authorised version suggests the thought that the words refer to the voluntary emigration of those who went to Egypt and other countries (Jer. 42:14), to avoid the oppression to which they were subject in their own land. The Hebrew admits, however, of the rendering from affliction, and so the words speak of the forcible deportation of the people from misery at home to a yet worse misery in Babylon as the land of their exile. Even there they found no rest (Deu. 28:65) Their persecutors hunted them down to the straits from which no escape was possible.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Because of affliction The unendurable pressure of evil upon them in their own land has driven them into exile.
Between the straits The word here rendered “straits” is elsewhere translated “pain,” “distress.” See Psa 116:3; Psa 118:5. The idea is, that her persecutors came upon her when unable either to resist or flee.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Lam 1:3. Because of affliction, andservitude She sitteth in affliction and in great service among the heathen, and findeth no rest. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Lam 1:3 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
Ver. 3. Judah is gone into captivity. ] But with no goodwill. God hath driven them out for their cruel oppressions and hard usage of their poor brethren that served them; thus the Chaldee paraphrast, and not amiss. Others a thus: Judah, i.e., the inhabitants of the kingdom, goeth away, i.e., willingly leave their country, goods, and dwelling, sc., before the desolation of Jerusalem, because of affliction, i.e., extremity of trouble, and great slavery, &c.
She dwelleth among the heathen.
She findeth no rest.
All her persecutors took her in the straits,
a Jun., Udal.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
among the heathen. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 28:64, Deu 28:65).
heathen = nations.
persecutors = pursuers.
between the straits. Like a hunted animal driven where there is no escape. Same word as in Psa 116:3; Psa 118:5. Occurs only in these three places. Compare Lam 1:6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
gone: 2Ki 24:14, 2Ki 24:15, 2Ki 25:11, 2Ki 25:21, 2Ch 36:20, 2Ch 36:21, Jer 39:9, Jer 52:15, Jer 52:27-30
because of great servitude: Heb. for the greatness of servitude
she: Lam 2:9, Lev 26:36-39, Deu 28:64-67, Jer 24:9, Eze 5:12
all: Lam 4:18, Lam 4:19, Jer 16:16, Jer 52:8, Amo 9:1-4
Reciprocal: Lev 26:33 – General Jdg 20:42 – the battle Ezr 2:1 – whom Nebuchadnezzar Psa 32:3 – bones Psa 129:1 – have they Isa 23:12 – there also Jer 39:5 – Chaldeans’
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lam 1:3. Because has no word in the original and If retained at all it should be understood in the light of the connection, The first clause should read, “Judah is gone into captivity to suffer affliction and servitude. Overtook her between th-e straits means her enemies found her in trouble and took ad-vantage of it.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Lam 1:3. Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, &c. Her miseries have received their finishing stroke in a total captivity among, and bondage to, heathen and infidels, because of the oppression exercised by her rulers and others, and the servitude to which they obliged their subjects and inferiors. This is the interpretation adopted by the Chaldee paraphrast, who represents the Jews as having been carried into captivity, in retaliation of their having oppressed the widows and the fatherless among them, and prolonged illegally the bondage of their brethren who had been sold for slaves. But, as the word , here used, does not necessarily signify to go into captivity, but often to remove, or go into exile, whether voluntarily or by compulsion; Blaney thinks that a voluntary migration of the Jews is here intended, many of whom, previous to the captivity, had left their country, and retired into Egypt and other parts, to avoid the oppressions and servitude that they had reason to apprehend from the Chaldeans, who had invaded, or were about to invade, their land. Either of these senses, however, he observes, is competent; and the interpretation according to them will be found to suit perfectly with the subsequent members of the period. She findeth no rest No satisfaction of mind, no settled place of abode, no remission of labour, terror, and suffering; but, deprived of all peace and comfort, is continually exposed to every insult and outrage, and to all manner of oppressions and vexations. All her persecutors Or pursuers, rather; overtook her between the straits That is, all her enemies have taken the opportunity of her being in a difficult and distressed condition, to oppress and injure her. The expression is metaphorical, taken from those who hunt their prey, which they are wont to drive into some strait and difficult passage, from whence it cannot escape.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1:3 Judah is gone into captivity because {e} of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the nations, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her in the midst of distress.
(e) For her cruelty toward the poor and oppression of servants, Jer 34:11 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The prophet then expounded on the calamity (Lam 1:3-6). Judah had gone into exile because of the affliction and servitude that Yahweh had allowed Babylon to impose on her. She was out of the Promised Land, where God had said she would find rest (cf. Deu 12:10; Deu 25:19; Jos 21:44; Jos 23:1; 2Sa 7:1; 2Sa 7:11; 1Ki 8:56; Psalms 95). Now there was no rest for her, but only distress, as the people lived among the Gentiles.