Lamentations 1:20 (DRB)

Passage

Res. Behold, O Lord, for I am in distress, my bowels are troubled: my heart is turned within me, for I am full of bitterness: abroad the sword destroyeth and at home there is death alike.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 1:18 Sade. The Lord is just, for I have provoked his mouth to wrath: hear, I pray you, all ye people, and see my sorrow: my virgins, and my young men are gone into captivity.

Lamentations 1:19 Coph. I called for my friends, but they deceived me: my priests and my ancients pined away in the city: while they sought their food, to relieve their souls.

Lamentations 1:20 Res. Behold, O Lord, for I am in distress, my bowels are troubled: my heart is turned within me, for I am full of bitterness: abroad the sword destroyeth and at home there is death alike.

Lamentations 1:21 Sin. They have heard that I sigh, and there is none to comfort me: all my enemies have heard of my evil, they have rejoiced that thou hast done it: thou hast brought a day of consolation, and they shall be like unto me.

Lamentations 1:22 Thau. Let all their evil be present before thee: and make vintage of them, as thou hast made vintage of me for all my iniquities: for my sighs are many, and my heart is sorrowful.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Coph I called for my friends but..." into verse 21's "Sin They have heard that I sigh...", so "behold" and "lord" 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 "behold" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.