Thy Strong Word — Lamentations 1: The Princess Has Become a Slave and a Widow

Lamentations is a poetic masterpiece that captures the profound sorrow of a once-glorious Jerusalem now laid to waste. Chapter 1 paints a vivid picture of the city personified as a lonely widow, utterly deserted and mourning her losses after the Babylonian invasion. It’s a poignant exploration of the themes of suffering, the consequences of turning away from God, and the stark reality of exile.

The Rev. Brian Heller, manager of Specialized Spiritual Care Ministry for the LCMS Office of National Mission, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Lamentations 1.

Embark on a journey through the Book of Lamentations, a deeply moving poetic reflection on the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. This book is a profound expression of grief, portraying the desolation of a city and a people who have experienced immense suffering. Each chapter brings its unique perspective, from the vivid portrayal of Jerusalem as a lonely, grieving widow to the poignant pleas for mercy and reflection on the unyielding justice of God. The imagery is stark and emotive, encapsulating the pain of exile and the consequences of turning away from God. Yet, amidst the mourning, Lamentations also offers glimmers of hope and the possibility of redemption. It’s a powerful exploration of human sorrow, divine justice, and the enduring faithfulness of God, even in the darkest of times.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Lamentations 1

How Lonely Sits the City

1 How lonely sits the city
    that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
    she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
    has become a slave.

²She weeps bitterly in the night,
    with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
    she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
    they have become her enemies.

³Judah has gone into exile because of affliction^[a]
    and hard servitude;
she dwells now among the nations,
    but finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
    in the midst of her distress.^[b]

⁴The roads to Zion mourn,
    for none come to the festival;
all her gates are desolate;
    her priests groan;
her virgins have been afflicted,^[c]
    and she herself suffers bitterly.

⁵Her foes have become the head;
    her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has afflicted her
    for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away,
    captives before the foe.

⁶From the daughter of Zion
    all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
    that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
    before the pursuer.

⁷Jerusalem remembers
    in the days of her affliction and wandering
all the precious things
    that were hers from days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
    and there was none to help her,
her foes gloated over her;
    they mocked at her downfall.

⁸Jerusalem sinned grievously;
    therefore she became filthy;
all who honored her despise her,
    for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself groans
    and turns her face away.

⁹Her uncleanness was in her skirts;
    she took no thought of her future;^[d]
therefore her fall is terrible;
    she has no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
    for the enemy has triumphed!”

¹⁰The enemy has stretched out his hands
    over all her precious things;
for she has seen the nations
    enter her sanctuary,
those whom you forbade
    to enter your congregation.

¹¹All her people groan
    as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
    to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
    for I am despised.”

¹²“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
    Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
    which was brought upon me,
which the Lord inflicted
    on the day of his fierce anger.

¹³“From on high he sent fire;
    into my bones^[e] he made it descend;
he spread a net for my feet;
    he turned me back;
he has left me stunned,
    faint all the day long.

¹⁴“My transgressions were bound^[f] into a yoke;
    by his hand they were fastened together;
they were set upon my neck;
    he caused my strength to fail;
the Lord gave me into the hands
    of those whom I cannot withstand.

¹⁵“The Lord rejected
    all my mighty men in my midst;
he summoned an assembly against me
    to crush my young men;
the Lord has trodden as in a winepress
    the virgin daughter of Judah.

¹⁶“For these things I weep;
    my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me,
    one to revive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
    for the enemy has prevailed.”

¹⁷Zion stretches out her hands,
    but there is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
    that his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become
    a filthy thing among them.

¹⁸“The Lord is in the right,
    for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
    and see my suffering;
my young women and my young men
    have gone into captivity.

¹⁹“I called to my lovers,
    but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
    perished in the city,
while they sought food
    to revive their strength.

²⁰“Look, O Lord, for I am in distress;
    my stomach churns;
my heart is wrung within me,
    because I have been very rebellious.
In the street the sword bereaves;
    in the house it is like death.

²¹“They heard^[g] my groaning,
    yet there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
    they are glad that you have done it.
You have brought^[h] the day you announced;
    now let them be as I am.

²²“Let all their evildoing come before you,
    and deal with them
as you have dealt with me
    because of all my transgressions;
for my groans are many,
    and my heart is faint.”

Footnotes

Lamentations 1:3 Or under affliction
Lamentations 1:3 Or in the narrow passes
Lamentations 1:4 Septuagint, Old Latin dragged away
Lamentations 1:9 Or end
Lamentations 1:13 Septuagint; Hebrew bones and
Lamentations 1:14 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Lamentations 1:21 Septuagint, Syriac Hear
Lamentations 1:21 Syriac Bring

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.