Lamentations 1:12 (ASV)

Passage

Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is brought upon me, Wherewith Jehovah hath afflicted [me] in the day of his fierce anger.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 1:10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: For she hath seen that the nations are entered into her sanctuary, Concerning whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thine assembly.

Lamentations 1:11 All her people sigh, they seek bread; They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul: See, O Jehovah, and behold; for I am become abject.

Lamentations 1:12 Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is brought upon me, Wherewith Jehovah hath afflicted [me] in the day of his fierce anger.

Lamentations 1:13 From on high hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them; He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: He hath made me desolate and faint all the day.

Lamentations 1:14 The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand; They are knit together, they are come up upon my neck; he hath made my strength to fail: The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nothing", "pass", "behold", "sorrow", "like", "brought", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nothing" and "pass", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "All her people sigh they seek bread..." into verse 13's "From on high hath he sent fire...", so "nothing" and "pass" belong inside that flow. In Lamentations context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "nothing" and "pass" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.