Lamentations 1:21

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

ש(Sin/Shin) They have heard that I groan, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have brought it about. Bring about the day of judgment that you promised so that they may end up like me!

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

שָׁמְע֞וּ כִּ֧י נֶאֱנָחָ֣ה אָ֗נִי אֵ֤ין מְנַחֵם֙ לִ֔י כָּל־אֹ֨יְבַ֜י שָׁמְע֤וּ רָֽעָתִי֙ שָׂ֔שׂוּ כִּ֥י אַתָּ֖ה עָשִׂ֑יתָ הֵבֵ֥אתָ יוֹם־קָרָ֖אתָ וְיִֽהְי֥וּ כָמֽוֹנִי׃ ס

Transliteration

They šāməʿû kî neʾĕnāḥāh ʾānî, ʾên mənaḥēm to me; all-my ʾōyəḇay šāməʿû my rāʿāṯî they śāśû kî ʾattāh ʿāśîṯā; hēḇēʾṯā yôm-you qārāʾṯā wə-yihyû like me.

Grammar Details

• *šāməʿû*: qal perfect, 3rd plural - they heard
• *kî*: conjunction - that
• *neʾĕnāḥāh*: nifal participle, feminine singular - groaning
• *ʾānî*: 1st singular personal pronoun - I
• *ʾên*: particle of negation - there is no
• *mənaḥēm*: piel participle, masculine singular - comforter
• *lî*: preposition with 1st singular suffix - to me
• *kāl*: noun, construct - all of
• *ʾōyəḇay*: qal participle, masculine plural with 1st singular suffix - my enemies
• *rāʿāṯî*: noun, feminine singular with 1st singular suffix - my calamity
• *śāśû*: qal perfect, 3rd plural - they rejoiced
• *ʾattāh*: 2nd masculine singular personal pronoun - you
• *ʿāśîṯā*: qal perfect, 2nd masculine singular - you did
• *hēḇēʾṯā*: hifil perfect, 2nd masculine singular - you brought
• *yôm*: noun, masculine singular - day
• *qārāʾṯā*: qal perfect, 2nd masculine singular - you called
• *wə*: conjunction - and
• *yihyû*: qal imperfect, 3rd plural - they will be
• *ḵāmônî*: preposition + 1st singular suffix - like me

Word Meanings

• *šāməʿû*: they heard/they listened
• *neʾĕnāḥāh*: groaning/sighing/moaning
• *mənaḥēm*: comforter/consoler
• *ʾōyəḇay*: my enemies/my foes/my adversaries
• *rāʿāṯî*: my calamity/my evil/my trouble
• *śāśû*: they rejoiced/they were glad/they exulted
• *ʿāśîṯā*: you did/you have done
• *hēḇēʾṯā yôm-qārāʾṯā*: you have brought the day you proclaimed/you have brought the day you called for
• *yihyû ḵāmônî*: they will be like me/they shall become as I am

Referenced Verses

• Lam 1:8 : 8 ח(Khet) Jerusalem committed terrible sin; therefore she became an object of scorn. All who admired her have despised her because they have seen her nakedness. She groans aloud and turns away in shame.
• Jer 50:11 : 11 “People of Babylonia, you plundered my people. That made you happy and glad. You frolic about like calves in a pasture. Your joyous sounds are like the neighs of a stallion.
• Lam 1:16 : 16 ע(Ayin) I weep because of these things; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one in sight who can comfort me or encourage me. My children are desolated because an enemy has prevailed.
• Lam 1:22 : 22 ת(Tav) Let all their wickedness come before you; afflict them just as you have afflicted me because of all my acts of rebellion. For my groans are many, and my heart is sick with sorrow.
• Lam 2:15 : 15 ס(Samek) All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem.“Ha! Is this the city they called‘The perfection of beauty, the source of joy of the whole earth!’?”
• Lam 4:21-22 : 21 ש(Sin/Shin)The Prophet Speaks: Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom, who reside in the land of Uz. But the cup of judgment will pass to you also; you will get drunk and take off your clothes. 22 ת(Tav) O people of Zion, your punishment will come to an end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O people of Edom, he will punish your sin and reveal your offenses!
• Lam 1:2 : 2 ב(Bet) She weeps bitterly at night; tears stream down her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
• Lam 1:4 : 4 ד(Dalet) The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels to the festivals. All her city gates are deserted; her priests groan. Her virgins grieve; she is in bitter anguish!
• Ps 35:15 : 15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together; they gathered together to ambush me. They tore at me without stopping to rest.
• Ps 37:13 : 13 The Lord laughs in disgust at them, for he knows that their day is coming.
• Ps 38:16 : 16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me; when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.
• Ps 137:7-9 : 7 Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. They said,“Tear it down, tear it down, right to its very foundation!” 8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! How blessed will be the one who repays you for what you dished out to us! 9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies and smashes them on a rock!
• Isa 13:1-9 : 1 The Lord Will Judge Babylon This is an oracle about Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: 2 On a bare hill raise a signal flag, shout to them, wave your hand, so they might enter the gates of the princes! 3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, my boasting, arrogant ones. 4 There is a loud noise on the mountains– it sounds like a large army! There is great commotion among the kingdoms– nations are being assembled! The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is mustering forces for battle. 5 They come from a distant land, from the horizon. It is the LORD with his instruments of judgment, coming to destroy the whole earth. 6 Wail, for the LORD’s day of judgment is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the Sovereign One. 7 For this reason all hands hang limp, every human heart loses its courage. 8 They panic– cramps and pain seize hold of them like those of a woman who is straining to give birth. They look at one another in astonishment; their faces are flushed red. 9 Look, the LORD’s day of judgment is coming; it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger, destroying the earth and annihilating its sinners. 10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations no longer give out their light; the sun is darkened as soon as it rises, and the moon does not shine. 11 I will punish the world for its evil, and wicked people for their sin. I will put an end to the pride of the insolent, I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants. 12 I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold, and people more scarce than gold from Ophir. 13 So I will shake the heavens, and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, because of the fury of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, in the day he vents his raging anger. 14 Like a frightened gazelle or a sheep with no shepherd, each will turn toward home, each will run to his homeland.
• Isa 47:1-9 : 1 Babylon Will Fall“Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called delicate and pampered. 2 Pick up millstones and grind flour! Remove your veil, strip off your skirt, expose your legs, cross the streams! 3 Let your naked body be exposed! Your shame will be on display! I will get revenge; I will not have pity on anyone,” 4 says our protector– the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5 “Sit silently! Go to a hiding place, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called‘Queen of kingdoms.’ 6 I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. 7 You said,‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ You did not think about these things; you did not consider how it would turn out. 8 So now, listen to this, O one who lives so lavishly, who lives securely, who says to herself,‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children.’ 9 Both of these will come upon you suddenly, in one day! You will lose your children and be widowed. You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, despite your many incantations and your numerous amulets. 10 You were complacent in your evil deeds; you thought,‘No one sees me.’ Your self-professed wisdom and knowledge lead you astray, when you say,‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’ 11 Disaster will overtake you; you will not know how to charm it away. Destruction will fall on you; you will not be able to appease it. Calamity will strike you suddenly, before you recognize it. 12 Persist in trusting your amulets and your many incantations, which you have faithfully recited since your youth! Maybe you will be successful– maybe you will scare away disaster. 13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. Let them take their stand– the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make monthly predictions– let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! 14 Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy. 15 They will disappoint you, those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. Each strays off in his own direction, leaving no one to rescue you.”
• Isa 51:22-23 : 22 This is what your Sovereign LORD, even your God who judges his people says:“Look, I have removed from your hand the cup of intoxicating wine, the goblet full of my anger. You will no longer have to drink it. 23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors who said to you,‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’ You made your back like the ground, and like the street for those who walked over you.”
• Jer 25:17-29 : 17 So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand. I made all the nations to whom he sent me drink the wine of his wrath. 18 I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. Such is already becoming the case! 19 I made all of these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt; his attendants, his officials, his people, 20 the foreigners living in Egypt; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines, the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod; 21 all the people of Edom, Moab, Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon; all the kings of the coastlands along the sea; 23 the people of Dedan, Tema, Buz, all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples; 24 all the kings of Arabia who live in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri; all the kings of Elam; all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms which are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the LORD’s wrath, the king of Babylon must drink it. 27 Then the LORD said to me,“Tell them that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel says,‘Drink this cup until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up. For I will send wars sweeping through you.’ 28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says‘You most certainly must drink it! 29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. So how can you possibly avoid being punished? You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, affirm it!’
• Jer 30:16 : 16 But all who destroyed you will be destroyed. All your enemies will go into exile. Those who plundered you will be plundered. I will cause those who pillaged you to be pillaged.
• Jer 46:1-9 : 1 Prophecies Against Foreign Nations This was the LORD’s message to the prophet Jeremiah about the nations. 2 The Prophecy about Egypt’s Defeat at Carchemish He spoke about Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt which was encamped along the Euphrates River at Carchemish. Now this was the army that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. 3 “Fall into ranks with your shields ready! Prepare to march into battle! 4 Harness the horses to the chariots! Mount your horses! Take your positions with helmets on! Ready your spears! Put on the armor! 5 “What do I see! The soldiers are frightened. They are retreating. They are being scattered. They have fled for refuge without looking back. Terror is all around them,” says the LORD. 6 But even the swiftest cannot get away. Even the strongest cannot escape. There in the north by the Euphrates River they have stumbled and fallen in defeat. 7 Who is this that rises like the Nile, like its streams turbulent at flood stage? 8 Egypt rises like the Nile, like its streams turbulent at flood stage. Egypt said,‘I will arise and cover the earth. I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.’ 9 Go ahead and charge into battle, you horsemen! Drive furiously, you charioteers! Let the soldiers march out into battle, those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields, and those from Lydia who are armed with the bow. 10 But that day belongs to the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies. It is a day of reckoning, when he will pay back his adversaries. His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied! It will drink its fill from their blood! Indeed it will be a sacrifice for the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies in the land of the north by the Euphrates River. 11 Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment, you dear poor people of Egypt. But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use; there will be no healing for you. 12 The nations have heard of your shameful defeat. Your cries of distress fill the earth. One soldier has stumbled over another and both of them have fallen down defeated.” 13 The Lord Predicts that Nebuchadnezzar Will Attack and Plunder Egypt The LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt. 14 “Make an announcement throughout Egypt. Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes.‘Take your positions and prepare to do battle. For the enemy army is destroying all the nations around you.’ 15 Why will your soldiers be defeated? They will not stand because I, the LORD, will thrust them down. 16 I will make many stumble. They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee. They will say,‘Get up! Let’s go back to our own people. Let’s go back to our homelands because the enemy is coming to destroy us.’ 17 There at home they will say,‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise! He has let the most opportune moment pass by.’ 18 I the King, whose name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, swear this: I swear as surely as I live that a conqueror is coming. He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains, as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea. 19 Pack your bags for exile, you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt. For Memphis will be laid waste. It will lie in ruins and be uninhabited. 20 Egypt is like a beautiful young cow. But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies. 21 Even her mercenaries will prove to be like pampered, well-fed calves. For they too will turn and run away. They will not stand their ground when the time for them to be destroyed comes, the time for them to be punished. 22 Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake, as the enemy comes marching up in force. They will come against her with axes as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees. 23 The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest. But I, the LORD, affirm that the enemy will cut them down. For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts. They will be too numerous to count. 24 Poor dear Egypt will be put to shame. She will be handed over to the people from the north.” 25 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel says,“I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes. I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him. 26 I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the LORD, affirm it!” 27 A Promise of Hope for Israel“You descendants of Jacob, my servants, do not be afraid; do not be terrified, people of Israel. For I will rescue you and your descendants from the faraway lands where you are captives. The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace. They will be secure and no one will terrify them. 28 I, the LORD, tell you not to be afraid, you descendants of Jacob, my servant, for I am with you. Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure. I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.”
• Jer 48:27 : 27 For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel? Did you think that they were nothing but thieves, that you shook your head in contempt every time you talked about them?
• Lam 1:11-12 : 11 כ(Kaf) All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread. They exchanged their valuables for just enough food to stay alive. Jerusalem Speaks:“Look, O LORD! Consider that I have become worthless!” 12 ל(Lamed) Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by on the road? Look and see! Is there any pain like mine? The Lord has afflicted me, he has inflicted it on me when he burned with anger.
• Jer 50:15 : 15 Shout the battle cry from all around the city. She will throw up her hands in surrender. Her towers will fall. Her walls will be torn down. Because I, the LORD, am wreaking revenge, take out your vengeance on her! Do to her as she has done!
• Jer 50:29 : 29 “Call for archers to come against Babylon! Summon against her all who draw the bow! Set up camp all around the city! Do not allow anyone to escape! Pay her back for what she has done. Do to her what she has done to others. For she has proudly defied me, the Holy One of Israel.
• Jer 50:31 : 31 “Listen! I am opposed to you, you proud city,” says the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies.“Indeed, your day of reckoning has come, the time when I will punish you.
• Jer 51:24 : 24 “But I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wicked things they did in Zion right before the eyes of you Judeans,” says the LORD.
• Jer 51:49 : 49 “Babylon must fall because of the Israelites she has killed, just as the earth’s mortally wounded fell because of Babylon.
• Ezek 25:1-9 : 1 A Prophecy Against Ammon The LORD’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites,‘Hear the word of the Sovereign LORD: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You said“Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile. 4 So take note, I am about to make you slaves of the tribes of the east. They will make camps among you and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 6 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with intense scorn over the land of Israel, 7 take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the LORD.’” 8 A Prophecy Against Moab“This is what the Sovereign LORD says:‘Moab and Seir say,“Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations.” 9 So look, I am about to open up Moab’s flank, eliminating the cities, including its frontier cities, the beauty of the land– Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will hand it over, along with the Ammonites, to the tribes of the east, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 11 I will execute judgments against Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’” 12 A Prophecy Against Edom“This is what the Sovereign LORD says:‘Edom has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable by taking vengeance on them. 13 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die by the sword. 14 I will exact my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. They will carry out in Edom my anger and rage; they will experience my vengeance, declares the Sovereign LORD.’” 15 A Prophecy Against Philistia“This is what the Sovereign LORD says:‘The Philistines have exacted merciless revenge, showing intense scorn in their effort to destroy Judah with unrelenting hostility. 16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill the Cherethites and destroy those who remain on the seacoast. 17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”
• Ezek 26:2 : 2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said about Jerusalem,‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich, now that she has been destroyed,’
• Joel 3:14 : 14 Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision, for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision!
• Amos 1:1-9 : 1 ¶ Introduction The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. He was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2 God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations Amos said:“The LORD comes roaring out of Zion; from Jerusalem he comes bellowing! The shepherds’ pastures wilt; the summit of Carmel withers.” 3 This is what the LORD says:“Because Damascus has committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. 4 So I will set Hazael’s house on fire; fire will consume Ben Hadad’s fortresses. 5 I will break the bar on the gate of Damascus. I will remove the ruler from Wicked Valley, the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” The LORD has spoken! 6 This is what the LORD says:“Because Gaza has committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They deported a whole community and sold them to Edom. 7 So I will set Gaza’s city wall on fire; fire will consume her fortresses. 8 I will remove the ruler from Ashdod, the one who holds the royal scepter from Ashkelon. I will strike Ekron with my hand; the rest of the Philistines will also die.” The Sovereign LORD has spoken! 9 This is what the LORD says:“Because Tyre has committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold a whole community to Edom; they failed to observe a treaty of brotherhood. 10 So I will set fire to Tyre’s city wall; fire will consume her fortresses.” 11 This is what the LORD says:“Because Edom has committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. 12 So I will set Teman on fire; fire will consume Bozrah’s fortresses.” 13 This is what the LORD says:“Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women so they could expand their territory. 14 So I will set fire to Rabbah’s city wall; fire will consume her fortresses. War cries will be heard on the day of battle; a strong gale will blow on the day of the windstorm. 15 Ammon’s king will be deported; he and his officials will be carried off together.” The LORD has spoken!
• Obad 1:12-13 : 12 You should not have gloated when your relatives suffered calamity. You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed. You should not have boasted when they suffered adversity. 13 You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress. You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress. You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress.
• Mic 7:9-9 : 9 I must endure the LORD’s fury, for I have sinned against him. But then he will defend my cause, and accomplish justice on my behalf. He will lead me out into the light; I will witness his deliverance. 10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame. They say to me,“Where is the LORD your God?” I will gloat over them. Then they will be trampled down like mud in the streets.
• Hab 2:15-17 : 15 “Woe to you who force your neighbor to drink wine– you who make others intoxicated by forcing them to drink from the bowl of your furious anger, so you can look at their naked bodies. 16 But you will become drunk with shame, not majesty. Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin! The cup of wine in the LORD’s right hand is coming to you, and disgrace will replace your majestic glory! 17 For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.
• Rev 18:6 : 6 Repay her the same way she repaid others; pay her back double corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her.
• Deut 32:41-43 : 41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword, and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; I will execute vengeance on my foes, and repay those who hate me! 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh– the blood of the slaughtered and captured, the chief of the enemy’s leaders!’” 43 Cry out, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge his servants’ blood; he will take vengeance against his enemies, and make atonement for his land and people.