Lamentations 2:18

Lamentations 2:18 Meaning and Explanation

Their heart cried unto the LORD, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

King James Version (KJV)

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The poet urges the city to cry out to the LORD without ceasing, weeping like a river day and night.

What Does Lamentations 2:18 Mean?

The heart of the people cries out to the LORD, and the poet urges that cry on. He addresses the very wall of Zion, calling it to let tears run down like a river day and night. The summons is to grief that does not stop, that refuses to be comforted too quickly or to grow numb. There is a holy persistence in this weeping.

'Give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease' — do not let the eye go dry. This is striking counsel: rather than telling the city to stop crying, the poet tells it to keep on. For these tears are turned toward the LORD; they are a form of prayer. Honest, unrelenting grief brought before God is not weakness but a refusal to let go of him until he answers.

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What does Lamentations 2:18 mean?

The poet urges the city to cry out to the LORD without ceasing, weeping like a river day and night.

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