Until the LORD from heaven looks down and sees gives the conditions for the poet to cease weeping. As in Psalm 2.4, heaven is said to be the dwelling place of the LORD. Looks down and sees is the literal form which will require in some languages to say what the LORD sees, that is, “sees us,” or “sees his people,” or “sees how his people are suffering.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .