Lamentations 1:4 (YLT)

Passage

The ways of Zion are mourning, Without any coming at the appointed time, All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted--and she hath bitterness.

Nearby Context

Lamentations 1:2 She weepeth sore in the night, And her tear <FI>is<Fi> on her cheeks, There is no comforter for her out of all her lovers, All her friends dealt treacherously by her, They have been to her for enemies.

Lamentations 1:3 Removed hath Judah because of affliction, And because of the abundance of her service; She hath dwelt among nations, She hath not found rest, All her pursuers have overtaken her between the straits.

Lamentations 1:4 The ways of Zion are mourning, Without any coming at the appointed time, All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted--and she hath bitterness.

Lamentations 1:5 Her adversaries have become chief, Her enemies have been at ease, For Jehovah hath afflicted her, For the abundance of her transgressions, Her infants have gone captive before the adversary.

Lamentations 1:6 And go out from the daughter of Zion doth all her honour, Her princes have been as harts--They have not found pasture, And they go powerless before a pursuer.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ways", "zion", "mourning", "without", "coming", "appointed", "time", and "gates". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ways" and "zion", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Removed hath Judah because of affliction And..." into verse 5's "Her adversaries have become chief Her enemies...", so "ways" and "zion" 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 "ways" and "zion" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.