Lamentations 5 Study Notes
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5:1-22 Chapter 5 has twenty-two verses, but it is not an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew. It is as if things have gotten so bad that even poetry is chaotic.
5:1 To remember in Scripture is never just calling something to mind. It involves a corresponding action.
5:2-4 Israel’s inheritance had been turned over to strangers. Though they once owned everything, now even water and wood had to be purchased from foreigners.
5:5 The people of God were without rest, implying spiritual and physical troubles (Heb 3:16-4:11).
5:6 Israel lost her inheritance and suffered unrest because she made alliances with Egypt and Assyria. These policies showed that Israel was placing her trust in man rather than God (Jr 2:18,36).
5:7 It was no use repeating the old cynical proverb from Jr 31:29, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” The people must admit, “We have sinned” (Lm 5:16).
haphak
| Hebrew pronunciation | [hah FAK] |
| CSB translation | turn, change |
| Uses in Lamentations | 5 |
| Uses in the OT | 95 |
| Focus passage | Lamentations 5:2,15 |
Haphak means turn into (Dt 23:5), change (Ex 10:19), transform, pervert (Jr 23:36), or restore (Zph 3:9). People return, turn back, or turn around. Haphak denotes overthrow (Gn 19:25), overturn, or overwhelm. It connotes healing (Ps 41:3) or destruction (Jb 12:15). People retrace steps; they get down from chariots (2Kg 5:26). Passive-reflexive forms imply becoming (Is 60:5) or having a change (Hs 11:8). Labor pains come (1Sm 4:19). Hearts are broken (Lm 1:20). Faces grow pale. The opposite happens (Est 9:1). Things become warped, drained (Ps 32:4), turned over, or turned loose. Speech is deceitful (Pr 17:20). Reflexive-passive verbs mean whirl (Gn 3:24) and tumble. Tahpuchah (10x) implies perversity (Pr 2:14), contrariness, deception, and absurdity. Mahpechah (5x) signifies overthrow (Jr 50:40) or fall. Hephek (3x) denotes the opposite (Ezk 16:34) or turning things around. Haphekah is overthrow (Gn 19:29). Haphakpak means crooked (Pr 21:8).
5:8 A great reversal has occurred, signifying a bad situation. Slaves have been made masters (see Pr 30:21-23).
5:9 Even the scanty harvests were subject to predatory raids by desert tribes.
5:10 Figuratively speaking, the people’s skin was as hot as an oven as they suffered from the fever of extreme hunger.
5:11-14 Hardly anyone in Jerusalem was left unscathed. Women and virgins were raped . . . princes were hung up by their hands . . . elders were shown no respect, young men and boys labored under enormous loads, and the elders, normally a fixture at the city gate, had all left.
5:15 All joy and merriment had turned to mourning.
5:16 The fallen crown symbolized Israel’s loss of honor and glory. The reason was clear: we have sinned.
5:17 Because of this/these refers to the situation and events of vv. 2-16. Elsewhere eyes growing dim refers to the loss of vitality as through aging.
5:18 The once-magnificent city of Zion had become the haunt of jackals.
5:19 Though the city was wrecked and ruined, God’s people could always find comfort and security in him because his throne endures from generation to generation.
5:20 Jeremiah asked the Lord, do you continually forget us? But his goodness and mercy (3:22-24; Ps 23:6) argued just the opposite.
5:21 Only if the Lord restored the people would they enjoy life as it used to be. Such restoration is God’s to give in response to repentance (turning from sin) and faith (trust in God).
5:22 One final question remained: Had God been so intensely angry with his people that he had completely rejected them? No. He would restore and renew them as he had done in the past.