Lamentations 1:10 Meaning and Explanation
“The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The enemy has plundered her treasures and defiled the sanctuary, entering the holy place God had forbidden to them.
What Does Lamentations 1:10 Mean?
The deepest violation is named last. The enemy's hand has seized her treasures, but the unbearable thing is that foreign armies have entered the sanctuary itself, the one place set apart for God's presence. What God had fenced off as holy has been trampled by those who had no right to it.
The poet appeals directly to God's own word: 'whom thou didst command that they should not enter.' The boundary was God's, and its breaking feels like a wound to heaven, not only to the city. There is a particular anguish in watching the sacred profaned, and the verse does not pretend otherwise. Holiness violated is mourned as the gravest loss of all.
Lamentations 1:10 in the Original Language
miqdash (מִקְדָּשׁ), 'sanctuary' -- the holy place set apart for God's dwelling, now trampled by strangers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lamentations 1:10
What does Lamentations 1:10 mean?
The enemy has plundered her treasures and defiled the sanctuary, entering the holy place God had forbidden to them.