The first half-line of verse 36 is parallel in meaning to the first half-line of verse 35. Subvert means to corrupt, pervert, twist. Man in the Hebrew is ʾadam and refers to people in general, not just to an adult male, singular or plural. In his cause: cause in this context refers to his legal case, or more particularly his court case, lawsuit. Therefore we may translate as in Good News Translation, or say, for example, “When someone prevents justice from being carried out in the court…” or “If someone is prevented from getting what is right in his lawsuit….”

For discussion of the second half-line, see the comments on the whole section of verses 34-36 above.

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 .

This verse explains the underlying meaning of verse 1. In verse 1 there is a double contrast between bright and dull gold and between stones that were once precious but are now treated as worthless. The contrast in verse 2 is between the precious young men who once lived in Jerusalem and the common clay pots they now resemble. And so verse 2 makes clear the way “gold” and “stones” are used in verse 1.

Precious sons of Zion: precious refers to that which is costly, luxurious, but has here the extended sense of that which is esteemed and honored in reference to people. Compare Esther 6.6. The translation of Zion should follow the practice established in chapters 1 and 2. In chapter 4 Zion is mentioned three times and Jerusalem once. If the translator has used only Jerusalem in the previous chapters, it will be advisable to translate Zion in that way here also, as well as in verses 11 and 22. Sons of Zion may mean the young men of Jerusalem, but it need not be limited in sense to the young men; it can also refer to Jerusalem’s men of all ages.

Worth their weight translates “weighed against.” The picture is of a scale with gold on one pan and the men of Jerusalem on the other. The point is that these men were as valuable as enormous amounts of gold. Gold here translates still another term for the precious metal, but the meaning is the same as before. The language used here is similar to the description of Wisdom in Job 28.15-19. Just as “common clay pots” (Good News Translation) are of limited value, so also those who were once highly respected now count for nothing.

How translates the same word as the opening word of the chapter. It means “How different it is now!” Good News Translation‘s rendering for English is adequate: “but now.” They are reckoned means “they are counted, valued.” This reckoning or valuing is the opinion of the enemy and of those who delight in the fall of Jerusalem.

The comparison with earthen pots may sometimes be translated, for example, “But now they are no more valuable than a clay pot.” The work of a potter’s hands emphasizes the ordinariness of pots, in contrast to gold, which would be more the creative work of God. Good News Translation does not translate the expression but says “common clay pots.” If the full expression is kept in translation, we may say, for example, “They are treated like the clay pots a potter makes.” In languages in which clay pots are not known, it may be possible to substitute something like wooden bowls or other containers of local manufacture that are easily thrown away when broken; for example, “but now they are discarded like common wooden bowls.”

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 .

In this verse the poet turns his attention to Princes and elders, respected people who are now disgraced by the invaders.

Princes translates the same word used in 1.6. See there for comments. Hung up by their hands is ambiguous, since by their hands can mean “the hands of the enemies hung them” or that the enemies hung the princes by tying their hands above their heads as a form of torture. The latter seems to be the interpretation of Revised Standard Version. Good News Translation “Our leaders have been taken and hanged” follows the first thought. From the information available there is no way to decide between these interpretations, and so either may be used. If the translator follows Good News Translation, it may be necessary to shift to the active; for example, “The enemy has hanged our leaders.”

In language areas where hanging is unknown, it is often necessary to specify the manner and purpose. For example, “The enemy has put our leaders to death by hanging them with ropes around their necks.”

No respect is shown to the elders is literally “The faces of the elders were not honored.” “Faces of the elders” is an idiom and means “the elders” and not just their faces. As in the first half of the verse, those who fail to respect or honor these people are the enemies of Jerusalem. For a discussion of elders see 1.19; 2.10. Although Good News Translation and some others take elders to mean “old men,” in the light of 1.19 and 2.10 it is possible to understand both Princes and elders as representing one body of rulers or leaders. If the enemy has been made the subject in the first half of the verse, the same subject can serve in the second half, often without repeating the subject; for example, “The enemy has hanged our leaders and shown them no respect.” If, however, the translator wishes to retain the poetic form of parallelism, it may be best to show the subject in both parts.

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 .

The Lord has become like an enemy: once again the Lord is said to act as Israel’s enemy. Good News Translation has joined the two statements in the first unit to say “Like an enemy, the Lord has destroyed Israel.” We may also say, for example, “The Lord acts like our enemy by destroying Israel.” Destroyed translates the Hebrew for “swallowed,” which is used again in destroyed all its palaces. For comments see 2.2.

The palaces mentioned here in the plural were probably not so much royal residences as large houses inhabited by wealthy people. Such houses were fitted out for defense in time of attack. New English Bible translates the word here as “towered mansions.” Palaces may sometimes be translated as “the houses of the chiefs” or “the houses in which the rulers lived.”

Laid in ruins its strongholds: laid in ruins translates another of the numerous Hebrew verbs meaning “destroy, ruin, shatter.” Strongholds is the same term used in 2.2. See there for comments.

He has multiplied means that God has increased the number, that is, caused more people to mourn and lament. The increase in mourning and weeping is due to the deaths of people in Jerusalem and the country round about; here the territory is called the daughter of Judah.

Mourning is not the same term used in 1.4, but the sense is the same, that is, wailing and weeping as is done at the time of death. Lamentation is a noun related to the same verb as mourning, and so the two sound nearly alike in Hebrew and are synonyms. Since they have similar sounds in Hebrew, New Jerusalem Bible translates them as “Mourning and moaning.” If the translator’s language has a suitable pair of similar-sounding words to use here, they may add to the poetic effect. In Isaiah 29.2 Good News Translation translates this same pair of words as “weeping and wailing.” However, in some languages crying and mourning are not considered as associated activities and are not used in the same context. Accordingly in such cases it may be necessary to say, for example, “God made them mourn for the dead.”

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 .

The two half-lines of verse 15, as seen in Revised Standard Version, are fully parallel in meaning. The Hebrew word for the bitterness with which the poet is filled is the same as used of “bitter herbs” in Exodus 12.8. Similarly, wormwood is a plant that yields a bitter-tasting medicinal juice. Translators may keep the metaphorical use of filled me with bitterness and sated me with wormwood, as in both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, or they can shift to a nonfigurative expression. If translators follows the second way, they avoid giving the reader the impression that God is intent on curing the man with foul-tasting medicine. We may translate, for example, “He has caused me to suffer greatly, to suffer more than I am able to endure.” It is also possible to combine the figurative expression and the direct meaning by saying, for example, “He has made me suffer like one who is forced to swallow the most bitter liquid.”

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 .

Panic and pitfall begin with the same initial consonants in Hebrew, just as they do in English. The words mean “fear and the pit.” Pitfall refers to a hole dug in the ground as a trap to catch something. Its opening is lightly covered over so that the hole will not be seen, and any person or animal stepping on it will fall through and be caught. For similar combinations as here see Job 22.10; Isaiah 24.17-18; Jeremiah 48.43. Have come upon us is literally “is to us,” and the full sense is well expressed by Good News Translation “We have been through disaster and ruin.” We may also translate, for example, “We have suffered from fear and terror.”

The second pair of words, which also begin with the same letter and sound somewhat alike in Hebrew, are translated devastation and destruction. Translators may be able to retain something of the poetic effect through the use of words beginning or ending with similar letters or tones, or through the use of other poetic devices in their own languages. It will often be necessary to express the nouns used in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation as verb phrases; for example, “Our enemies have devastated and ruined us, and have killed us and destroyed all the things we had.”

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 .

The Hebrew text does not have anything equivalent to This, which seems to link verse 13 back to verse 12; instead it has a prefix to sins which means “because of, on account of….” Therefore it is not clear from the Hebrew whether verse 13 is connected primarily back to verse 12 or forward to verse 14. Translators will no doubt find it necessary to make the link clear by adjusting the opening words. Some use This was or “It was” (New English Bible), or more clearly “But it happened” (Good News Translation), referring to the conquest of Jerusalem in verse 12. Others translate so that verse 13 joins to verse 14; for example, AB “On account of the sins of her prophets…” is followed by “They wandered…” in verse 14, where “they” refers back to the prophets and priests in verse 13. However, in the light of 2.14, the Handbook recommends the position followed by Good News Translation.

In 2.14 the priests were blamed for the disaster that happened to Jerusalem. Here, however, the priests are linked with the prophets in common guilt. This guilt goes beyond the mere silence of 2.14 to include “causing the death of innocent people” (Good News Translation). In many languages it will be clearer to use verbs rather than nouns in the expressions sins of her prophets and iniquities of her priests. For example, “But Jerusalem was invaded, and that was because her prophets and her priests had sinned….” For translation suggestions on prophets and priests, see 1.4 and 2.9.

Who shed in the midst of her the blood … means “who (the prophets and priests) caused people in Jerusalem to die.” The righteous refers to people who lived good lives, people who were not guilty of wrongdoing, innocent people. The final two lines of Revised Standard Version probably refer to particular acts rather than simply bringing disaster on the ordinary citizens of Jerusalem. The poet no doubt had in mind the persecution which “innocent people” (Good News Translation) could expect if they opposed the views of the priests and prophets. That this was a reasonable expectation is clear from Jeremiah 26.7, 8, 20-23. See also Hosea 6.9.

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 .

The expression daughter of Zion expands again the poet’s terms referring to the city of Jerusalem. This expression is found throughout Lamentations and also in Isaiah 1.8; 10.32; Jeremiah 4.31. The parallel expressions “daughter of Judah” and “daughter of my people” are also used in Lamentations. All of these expressions serve poetically to picture Jerusalem as a woman. A literal rendering of daughter of Zion must usually be avoided so as not to confuse the reader. In such cases it is better to say “Jerusalem,” as in Good News Translation.

Her majesty and Good News Translation “splendor of Jerusalem” appear to refer to the glory of the former rulers and not particularly to Jerusalem’s external beauty. However, the latter meaning may also be included, since the term is very general. It is often translated by words meaning “pomp,” “honor,” “glory,” and “beauty.” The honor, splendor, glory of Jerusalem is gone. She has it no longer because she has been conquered and defiled by a pagan nation. Good News Translation “The splendor of Jerusalem is a thing of the past” is a good translation model. We may also say, for example, “All the things that made Jerusalem great have gone,” “The greatness of Zion exists no longer,” “Zion no longer has any greatness.”

Her princes refers to the rulers or leaders of Jerusalem who held civil authority. This may sometimes be translated, for example, “the chiefs of Jerusalem” or “those who ruled the city.”

Have become like harts: Jerusalem’s leaders are compared to male “deer” (Good News Translation). The point of the comparison is that they are hunted down, are weak and exhausted. In some areas the translation of harts or “deer” will require substituting another wild animal that eats grass and is hunted. In areas where pastures are unknown, it will often be necessary to say, for example, “They are like deer that are weak and have no grass to eat” or “They are weak and hungry, like an animal that finds no food.”

They fled without strength: they refers to the princes or rulers who have been compared to deer. Before the pursuer is parallel in meaning and form to “before the foe” in the final half-line of verse 5. Pursuer, in the context of the deer, refers to “hunters,” as in Good News Translation. The children are led away, perhaps like sheep, while the rulers are hunted down to be killed like deer.

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 .