אֵיָכָה Lamentations Chapter 5

The truly repentant understand that they cannot save themselves. Atonement is needed and that atonement is beyond the ability of human beings to achieve. Therefore, the phrase “Turn us back.” The work of turning the human heart away from sin and toward God is the work of God’s Spirit through His atoning essence/blood, which is convergent in and transcends created mater.

Observing the Poetic Repetition for the Emphasis of Established Elements in the Text:
 
1 Remember[a], YHVH (Mercy) Lord,[b] what has fallen on us; consider[a], and see[a] this our shame![c]
2 Our inheritance[d] has been overturned[n] by strangers,[e] and our houses[d] given to foreigners. [e]
3 We have become orphans without a father,[f] our mothers are like widows. [f]
4 We buy[g] the water[i] we drink, and hire[g] our wood.
5 They are upon our necks in pursuit of us; we labour receiving no rest.[h]
6 To Egypt[e]  (double distress) we have pleaded with (given) our hand and sought the Assyrians[e]  (a step), to be satisfied with bread.[i]
7 Our fathers have missed the mark[l] set by God’s holiness (chata: sinned) and are no more, but we are burdened[q] by their perversions[m] (avon: premeditated iniquity).
8 Servants rule over us; there is nothing to deliver[n] us from their hand.
9 At the risk of our souls we get our bread,[i] because of the sword in the desert.
10 Our skin is like blackened food from an oven,[q] because of the raging heat[q] of famine.[i]
11 They raped[c] and abused the women in Zion, [d] the virgins in the cities of Judah. [d]
12 Princes were hung up by their hands, [c] the faces of the elderly were not honoured. [c]
13 Young men grind at the millstones; [h] boys stagger under the burden[h] of wood.
14 The elders have ceased, are on a shabbat[h] from gathering at the gate, likewise the young men from their music.[j]
15 Joy is taking a shabbat, [h] stopped, is the joy of our core being; our dancing has turned into mourning.[j]
16 The crown[k] has fallen[c] from our head. Oiy, we beg You, for we have missed the mark[l] set by Your holiness (chata: sinned)!
17 Because of this our core being is faint;[i] because of these things our eyes have become dark;[a]
18 Because Mount Zion[d] is desolate, with foxes (enemies of God’s vineyard) walking on it.
19 You, YHVH (Mercy) Lord, [b] abide forever;[p] Your throne[k] from generation to generation.
20 Why do You continue to forget[o] us, and forsake[o] us for so many days?[r]
21 Turn us back[n] to You, YHVH (Mercy) Lord, [b] and we will be returned[n]; renew our days[r] as of old.
22 Unless You despise us[o] like refuse, [c] Your wrath being on us exceedingly and continually?[p]
 
We note that this chapter begins with a petition for God to “remember,” to turn His gaze toward Judah, and concludes with a request for God to “turn” the hearts of the people back to Him.
 
This final section of carefully organized acrostic poetry begins with “overturning” and “desolation” and concludes with “returning” and “renewal.”
 
Mercy is defined by YHVH. Mercy both precedes and triumphs over, judgement.
 
 זְכֹ֤ר יְהוָה֙ מֶֽה־הָ֣יָה לָ֔נוּ ׳הַבֵּיט׳ ״הַבִּ֖יטָה״ וּרְאֵ֥ה אֶת־חֶרְפָּתֵֽנוּ׃
 
1 Remember, YHVH (Mercy) Lord, what has fallen on us; consider, and see this our shame!
 
The prophet/Judah does not ask God to recall something, rather this is a Biblical Hebrew way of pleading for God’s engagement with the matter at hand.
 
The Targum illuminates the text by specifically acknowledging that God has ordered all things.
 
“Remember, O Lord, what was decreed to befall us; look from heaven and see our disgrace.”
 
-Aramaic Targum on Lamentations 5:1
 
 נַחֲלָתֵ֙נוּ֙ נֶֽהֶפְכָ֣ה לְזָרִ֔ים בָּתֵּ֖ינוּ לְנָכְרִֽים׃
 
2 Our inheritance has been overturned by strangers, and our houses given to foreigners.
 
While the noun inheritance has a wide application, here it refers to Judah’s inheritance, Mount Zion, the Temple, the city of Jerusalem, the territory of Judah, the king of Judah, her priests (Levites) and nobles, and her progeny.
 
God Himself is the ultimate inheritance of the Jewish people, but He cannot be overturned.
 
The couplet “inheritance” and “houses” denotes a connection between inheritance and security of place, shelter, and the perpetuation of family, which qualifies under both designations.
 
The couplet of “strangers” and “foreigners” emphasises Judah’s defeat at the hands of heathen peoples. Ironic, given the fact that this is ultimately self-defeat due to the syncretised pagan practices of Judah at the time.
 
We note that the Hebrew זור zur foreigner, while a synonym for the Hebrew נכרי nokriy stranger, nonetheless differs in meaning slightly. זור zur foreigner, carries the added meaning of “turning aside to lodge,” specifically a visitor, whereas the Hebrew נכרי nokriy from the root נכר neker “unexpected calamity,” infers a foreigner or pagan who brings either potential or explicit harm to Israel/Judah.
 
The word “overturned” is significant for a number of reasons. Judah (Israel) had turned away from God and had been overturned by the consequences of her sin and perversion.
 
Turning is a primary action in the redemptive meta-narrative of God’s Word. The Hebrew root נפך naphach is used in verse 2 as a synonym and counterpoint to the Hebrew שוב shuv meaning “turn” which will be employed twice in the second to last verse(21) as a plea for the returning of Judah to God in right relationship. Thus, her overturning through turning away is redeemed through God’s turning her back to right relationship in Him in response to her humble and repentant cry for help.
 
 יְתוֹמִ֤ים הָיִ֙ינוּ֙ ׳אֵין׳ ״וְאֵ֣ין״ אָ֔ב אִמֹּתֵ֖ינוּ כְּאַלְמָנֽוֹת׃
 
3 We have become orphans without a father, our mothers are like widows.
 
The Hebrew text makes a couplet of “orphans” and the “fatherless” both as a way to emphasize the weight of Judah’s reality and as a way to denote the sense Judah has of having lost both her earthly fathers and her heavenly Father. Of course it’s impossible for her to lose God except by her own wilful refusal of Him. And, even then, she has lost Him only by delusion and not in reality. 
 
“Our mothers are like widows” is probably an allusion to the enslavement and forced labour of Judah’s men. The Targum supports this idea.
 
“We have become like orphans who have no father, our mothers like widows whose husbands have gone into the cities of the sea and it is uncertain if they are alive.”
 
-Aramaic Targum on Lamentations 5:3
 
 מֵימֵ֙ינוּ֙ בְּכֶ֣סֶף שָׁתִ֔ינוּ עֵצֵ֖ינוּ בִּמְחִ֥יר יָבֹֽאוּ׃
 
4 We buy the water we drink, and hire our wood.
 
This is an expression of utter vulnerability. Water, which was once readily available and without cost is now being sold to the people of Judah by her captors, thus draining her of the little she has left. Water of course being essential to life. Likewise wood for heating families on cold winters nights in Jerusalem, or in the desert in transit toward captivity, and for construction.
 
Water, food, wood for shelter, fire and warmth, all essential for human survival, are now being sold to people who have nothing to buy them with.
 
 עַ֤ל צַוָּארֵ֙נוּ֙ נִרְדָּ֔פְנוּ יָגַ֖עְנוּ ׳לֹא׳ ״וְלֹ֥א״ הֽוּנַֽח־לָֽנוּ׃
 
5 They are upon our necks in pursuit of us; we labour receiving no rest.
 
Judah, whose neck has been stiff toward God in her pride is now subjugated under the yoke of slavery to Babylon. The labour of both remnant city dwellers and captive slaves is fruitless because it is purposed to supply Judah’s enemies. Therefore, she has no rest, having not given the land of the territory of Judah her God appointed rest for decades. Thus the seventy year captivity, a repayment for the failure to observe the שבתות Shabbatot (sabbaths), rests.
 
 מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ נָתַ֣נּוּ יָ֔ד אַשּׁ֖וּר לִשְׂבֹּ֥עַֽ לָֽחֶם׃
 
6 To Egypt (double distress) we have pleaded with (given) our hand and sought the Assyrians (a step), to be satisfied with bread.
 
This is a confession that acknowledges and observes Judah’s propensity for seeking help from sources other than YHVH.
 
The reference to Egypt may specifically refer to Zedekiah’s arrangement. [Jer. 37:7] The Assyrians had previously exiled the northern tribes, and yet Judah reached out even to the now defeated Assyrian remnant for help.
 
It’s worth noting that while Israel/Judah are dispersed to nations such as Egypt and Assyria, the goal God has established for all Israel is her return to the land God has covenanted, in salvation and right relationship to God. [Isaiah 11:16]
 
Both these attempts to seek help from human rulers rather than from the God of Israel are evidence of “Our fathers having missed the mark…” (see following verse)
 
 אֲבֹתֵ֤ינוּ חָֽטְאוּ֙ ׳אֵינָם׳ ״וְאֵינָ֔ם״ ׳אֲנַחְנוּ׳ ״וַאֲנַ֖חְנוּ״ עֲנֹתֵיהֶ֥ם סָבָֽלְנוּ׃
 
7 Our fathers have missed the mark set by God’s holiness (chata: sinned) and are no more, but we are burdened by their perversions (avon: premeditated iniquity).
 
As in the previous chapter both חתא chata: sin and עון avon: premeditated iniquity are used to show the depths of Judah’s sin, her descent into perversions of the worst kind.
 
The perversions engaged by their fathers have been adopted by the children and the fruit of these perversions have now become a burden on them. Not because their fathers practiced them but because they chose to practice them. All are held to account for their own sin. No one will stand at the judgement and be allowed to excuse themselves based on the actions of anyone else.
 
 עֲבָדִים֙ מָ֣שְׁלוּ בָ֔נוּ פֹּרֵ֖ק אֵ֥ין מִיָּדָֽם׃
 
8 Servants rule over us; there is nothing to deliver us from their hand.
 
Those who once served the rulers and middle class of Judah are now ruling over them. Servants were most often foreigners. Thus the people of Judah are now completely subjugated even within their remnant and captive dwellings.
 
“The sons of Ham, who were given as slaves to the sons of Shem, ruled over us and there was no one to deliver us from their hands.”
 
-Aramaic Targum on Lamentations 5:8
 
 בְּנַפְשֵׁ֙נוּ֙ נָבִ֣יא לַחְמֵ֔נוּ מִפְּנֵ֖י חֶ֥רֶב הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃
 
9 At the risk of our souls we get our bread, because of the sword in the desert.
 
In order to get bread they must venture unarmed into wilderness areas where not only enemy soldiers but also bandits lurk to attack them.
 
 עוֹרֵ֙נוּ֙ כְּתַנּ֣וּר נִכְמָ֔רוּ מִפְּנֵ֖י זַלְעֲפ֥וֹת רָעָֽב׃
 
10 Our skin is like blackened food from an oven, because of the raging heat of famine.
 
Famine has brought fever, emaciated bodies with a blackened pallor, and death.
 
The imagery of burning and blackened skin carries a sense of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
 
The Psalmist writes:
 
“Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulphur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 11:6
 
 נָשִׁים֙ בְּצִיּ֣וֹן עִנּ֔וּ בְּתֻלֹ֖ת בְּעָרֵ֥י יְהוּדָֽה׃
 
11 They raped and abused the women in Zion, the virgins in the cities of Judah.
 
The Targum makes yet another prophetic albeit retrospective connection between the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem.
 
“Women who were married to men in Zion were raped by Romans and virgins in the cities of Judah by Chaldeans (Babylonians).”
 
-Aramaic Targum on Lamentations 5:11
 
שָׂרִים֙ בְּיָדָ֣ם נִתְל֔וּ פְּנֵ֥י זְקֵנִ֖ים לֹ֥א נֶהְדָּֽרוּ׃
 
12 Princes were hung up by their hands, the faces of the elderly were not honoured.
 
“The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah.”
 
-Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 52:10
 
בַּחוּרִים֙ טְח֣וֹן נָשָׂ֔אוּ וּנְעָרִ֖ים בָּעֵ֥ץ כָּשָֽׁלוּ׃
 
13 Young men grind at the millstones; boys stagger under the burden of wood.
 
This can be understood as the plain meaning suggests, to refer to slavery and forced labour in mills and wood cutting etc.
 
It is also thought to describe a cruel practice of the Babylonians when bringing conquered enemies into captivity, as described by Rashi:
 
“Encumbered with millstones. When the enemies led them away in neck irons, they would place on their shoulders millstones and burdens in order to tire them. *Alternatively, ‘youths were forced to grind wheat,’ a task which drains their strength. (Ibn Ezra) And similarly, “[and boys] staggered with beams,” [meaning that] their strength failed. The expression of staggering כִּשְׁלוֹן applies to the weakening of strength, as is stated in Ezra, “And Yehudah said, ‘the strength of the bearer has failed,’” *Nechemyah 4:4. and similarly, “He has caused my strength to fail.” *Eichah 1:14.”
 
-Rashi on Lamentations 5:13
 
 זְקֵנִים֙ מִשַּׁ֣עַר שָׁבָ֔תוּ בַּחוּרִ֖ים מִנְּגִינָתָֽם׃
 
14 The elders have ceased, are on a shabbat from gathering at the gate, likewise the young men from their music.
 
The use of the Hebrew שָׁבָ֔תוּ shavato from שבת shabbat which does mean “cease” but is also the Hebrew noun denoting the Sabbath, adds an interesting remez (hint) to the text. It is as if the inability of the elders to meet in the gate and convene over matters of justice and provision, is part of the God appointed rest for the land, which had been neglected by Judah in her apostacy.
 
The Targum retrospectively understands the elders as being members of the Sanhedrin:
 
“The elders ceased from the gates of the Sanhedrin; and the young men from their houses of music.”
 
-Aramaic Targum on Lamentations 5:11
 
 שָׁבַת֙ מְשׂ֣וֹשׂ לִבֵּ֔נוּ נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ לְאֵ֖בֶל מְחֹלֵֽנוּ׃
 
15 Joy is taking a shabbat, stopped, is the joy of our core being; our dancing has turned into mourning.
 
Once again the word play concerning the Hebrew שבת shabbat is employed for emphasis.
 
Joy is robed of its restful application and celebratory dancing collapses in grief. This, because the land has been robbed of its joy, the rhythm of rest (shabbat) and planting, harvest and rest (shabbat).
 
 נָֽפְלָה֙ עֲטֶ֣רֶת רֹאשֵׁ֔נוּ אֽוֹי־נָ֥א לָ֖נוּ כִּ֥י חָטָֽאנוּ׃
 
16 The crown has fallen from our head. Oiy, we beg You, for we have missed the mark set by Your holiness (chata: sinned)!
 
The collective glory has fallen from the head of Judah. Her human king has fallen at the hands of Babylon.
 
Iben Ezra understands the crown to refer to the Temple.
 
The subsequent plea is one of genuine repentance. As if to say, “We had sought the wrong crown, You alone O God are King!”
 
 עַל־זֶ֗ה הָיָ֤ה דָוֶה֙ לִבֵּ֔נוּ עַל־אֵ֖לֶּה חָשְׁכ֥וּ עֵינֵֽינוּ׃
 
17 Because of this our core being is faint; because of these things our eyes have become dark;
 
Judah, through the mouth of the prophet, confesses her awareness of the fact that it is her own sin that has made her faint. Her own sin has blinded her and caused her to focus on darkness.
 
The Targum reads:
 
“Because of our Temple, which is desolate, our heart was weak. And because of these people of the House of Israel who went into exile from there our eyes have become dim.”
 
-Aramaic Targum on Lamentations 5:17
 
 עַ֤ל הַר־צִיּוֹן֙ שֶׁשָּׁמֵ֔ם שׁוּעָלִ֖ים הִלְּכוּ־בֽוֹ׃
 
18 Because Mount Zion is desolate, with foxes (enemies of God’s vineyard) walking on it.
 
Foxes are symbolic of enemies, demons, pests.
 
“Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that spoil and ruin the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom.”
 
-Shir Hashiriym (Song of Songs) 2:15
 
The Talmud Bavliy tells a story of the Rabbi Akiva during the period of the Roman destruction of the second Temple:
 
“Rav Akiva and his companions were walking together; they saw a fox come out of the holy of holies; they wept, but he laughed or rejoiced; they wept, that in the place where the stranger that drew near should die, now foxes walked upon it; he laughed or rejoiced, because, as this prophecy was fulfilled, so would others that predicted good things.”
 
-Talmud Bavliy Maccot, fol. 24. 1. 2.

 אַתָּ֤ה יְהוָה֙ לְעוֹלָ֣ם תֵּשֵׁ֔ב כִּסְאֲךָ֖ לְדֹ֥ר וָדֽוֹר׃
 
19 You, YHVH (Mercy) Lord, abide forever; Your throne from generation to generation.
 
Here Judah, by the mouth of the prophet, acknowledge that God alone is her King. His throne in the heavens imparts or withholds glory from Zion, and His rule is everlasting from לְדֹר וָדוֹר le’dor vador generation to generation.
 
This establishes God’s eternal purposes for His people in Him.
 
God does not “remain” as if there were ever a possibility that He might not remain, rather He “abides” or “dwells.” This does not require work on His part, it is an attribute of His nature.
 
The statement that makes up the present verse denotes humble contrition. Repentance begins by acknowledging who God is.
 
 לָ֤מָּה לָנֶ֙צַח֙ תִּשְׁכָּחֵ֔נוּ תַּֽעַזְבֵ֖נוּ לְאֹ֥רֶךְ יָמִֽים׃
 
20 Why do You continue to forget us, and forsake us for so many days?
 
Judah’s acknowledgement of God’s eternal rule doesn’t change the fact that she is, at this time, still suffering the consequences of her sin. She feels abandoned by God and wonders if He will forsake her forever. This is said in juxtaposition to God’s eternal nature and reign.
 
 הֲשִׁיבֵ֨נוּ יְהוָ֤ה׀ אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ ׳וְנָשׁוּב׳ ״וְֽנָשׁ֔וּבָה״ חַדֵּ֥שׁ יָמֵ֖ינוּ כְּקֶֽדֶם׃
 
21 Turn us back to You, YHVH (Mercy) Lord, and we will be returned; renew our days as of old.
 
The truly repentant understand that they cannot save themselves. Atonement is needed and that atonement is beyond the ability of human beings to achieve. Therefore, the phrase “Turn us back.” The work of turning the human heart away from sin and toward God is the work of God’s Spirit through His atoning essence/blood, which is convergent in and transcends created mater.
 
Only if God turns Judah back will she truly be returned. Only He can renew her days. She has come to this realization due to her utter vulnerability. She is literally incapable of returning herself to Zion, Righteousness, God.
 
This verse of Lamentations has an established place in the Jewish prayer book* in a prayer honouring the role of the Torah in pointing us toward right relationship in God:
 
עֵץ חַיִּים
 
עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ. וְתמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר
דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נעַם וְכָל נְתִיבותֶיהָ שָׁלום
הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ ה' אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה. חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם
 
Eitz Chayiym
 
Eitz chayiym hi lamachazikim bah, v'tom'cheha m'ushar
D'racheha darchei noam v'chol n'tivoteha shalom
Hashivenu Adonai eilecha v'nashuva, chadesh yameinu k'kedem
 
Tree of Living
 
She is a tree of life for those who take hold of her,
And those who uphold her are filled with joy
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,​ and all of her paths are peace​
Turn us back to You, YHVH (Mercy) Lord, and we will be returned;
Renew our days as of old
 
*Eiytz Chayim – Orthodox Siddur
 
“Restore us, O Lord, to Yourself and we will return in complete repentance. May You renew our days for good as the festival days of old.”
 
-Aramaic Targum on Lamentations 5:21
 
 כִּ֚י אִם־מָאֹ֣ס מְאַסְתָּ֔נוּ קָצַ֥פְתָּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עַד־מְאֹֽד׃
 
22 Unless You despise us like refuse, Your wrath being on us exceedingly and continually?
 
Judah doubts God’s choosing of her but God does not. He has chosen her and has already said that the fullness of her captivity will no longer be extended. [Lamentations 4:22]
 
The Sefaria (Jewish) translation of Lamentations 5:22 and the Targum repeat verse 21 following verse 22 so as to establish the fact that Judah’s doubts do not constitute God’s ongoing rejection of her.
 
“For you have utterly loathed us; you have been extremely angry with us. Restore us, O Lord, to yourself and we will return in complete repentance. May you renew our days for good as the festival days of old.”
 
-Aramaic Targum on Lamentations 5:22
 
“He will judge without mercy, those who show no mercy, and Mercy triumphs over judgement!”
 
-Yaakov (James) 2:13
 
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