Lamentations 1:20 (DBY)

Passage

See, Jehovah, for I am in distress, my bowels are troubled; my heart is turned within me, for I have grievously rebelled: without, the sword hath bereaved [me], within, it is as death.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 1:18 Jehovah is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment. Hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and behold my sorrow. My virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.

Lamentations 1:19 I called for my lovers, they have deceived me; my priests and mine elders have expired in the city, while they sought them food to revive their soul.

Lamentations 1:20 See, Jehovah, for I am in distress, my bowels are troubled; my heart is turned within me, for I have grievously rebelled: without, the sword hath bereaved [me], within, it is as death.

Lamentations 1:21 They have heard that I sigh: I have no comforter: all mine enemies have heard of my calamity; they are glad that thou hast done it. Thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me.

Lamentations 1:22 Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "distress", "bowels", "troubled", "heart", "turned", "within", and "grievously". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "distress", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "I called for my lovers they have..." into verse 21's "They have heard that I sigh I...", so "jehovah" and "distress" 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 "jehovah" and "distress" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.