Lamentations 1:12 Meaning and Explanation
“Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Jerusalem calls out to passersby to look and see whether any sorrow has ever matched hers under the LORD's fierce anger.
What Does Lamentations 1:12 Mean?
This is the most quoted verse of the book, and rightly so. The city turns from God to the road and addresses everyone who passes by: is it nothing to you? It is the cry of the suffering who feel their pain has become invisible, walked past as if it were ordinary. 'Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.'
Christians through the centuries have heard in these words a foreshadowing of another sufferer outside the city wall, the Man of sorrows acquainted with grief, who bore an affliction no one else could fathom. Here the city speaks them of herself, under the day of God's fierce anger. The verse invites every reader not to pass by, but to stop, look, and feel the weight of what is borne.
Lamentations 1:12 in the Original Language
mak'ob (מַכְאוֹב), 'sorrow' -- deep pain of body and soul, the same word Isaiah uses of the suffering servant.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lamentations 1:12
What does Lamentations 1:12 mean?
Jerusalem calls out to passersby to look and see whether any sorrow has ever matched hers under the LORD's fierce anger.