Lamentations 1:19

“I called for my lovers, [but] they deceived me, etc.] Either her idols, with whom she had committed spiritual adultery, that is, idolatry; but these could not answer her expectations, and help her: or the Egyptians, that courted her friendship, and with whom she was in alliance, and in whom she trusted; and these, in the times of her distress, she called upon to make good their engagements, but they disappointed her, and stood not to their covenant and promises, but left her to stand and fall by herself; this Jerusalem said, according to the Targum, when she was delivered into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar; but these words, “they deceived me”, it makes to be the Romans, that came with Titus…”

“lovers-- (Lam 1:2; Jer 30:14). elders--in dignity, not merely age. sought . . . meat--Their dignity did not exempt them from having to go and seek bread (Lam 1:11).”

“I called for ... - Rather, to “my lovers.” While they sought their meat - literally, “for they sought food for themselves to revive their souls.” Complete the sense by adding, “and found none.” return to 'Top of Page'”

“Deceived - They did not answer my expectation. Lamentations 1:20”

“1:19 I begged my allies: Egypt had a great deal of interest in Judah because Judah controlled the only good route to the north. However, Egypt turned her back on Judah when Babylon attacked Jerusalem (Jer 37:5-11). • When there was little rain in the fall and spring in Palestine, a summer without rain could destroy crops and cause a food shortage. The food supply also ran out under the prolonged siege of a city (Jan 588–July 586 BC), and many people starved to death (2 Kgs 25:2-3; cp. Jer 37:21).”

“for: Lam 1:2, Lam 4:17; Job 19:13-19; Jer 2:28, Jer 30:14, Jer 37:7-9 my priests: Lam 1:11, Lam 2:20, Lam 4:7-9, Lam 5:12; Jer 14:15-18, Jer 23:11-15, Jer 27:13-15 Lamentations 1:20”

“Lam 1:19 is not a continuation of the direct address to the nations, to whom she complains of her distress, but merely a complaint to God regarding the sorrow she endures. The perfects קראתי, רמּוּני, are not preterites, and thus are not to be referred to the past, as if complaint were made that, in the time of need, the lovers of Jerusalem forsook her; they rather indicate accomplished facts, whose consequences reach down to the present time. It was not merely in former times, during the siege, that Jerusalem called to her friends for help; but even now she still calls, that she may be comforted by them, yet all in vain. Her friends have deceived her, i.e., shamefully disappointed her…”