Lamentations 5:1

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Lamentations 5:1 sn The speaking voice is now that of a choir singing the community’s lament in the first person plural. The poem is not an alphabetic acrostic like the preceding chapters but has 22 verses, the same as the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
2. Lamentations 5:1 tn The basic meaning of זָכַר (zakhar) is “to remember, call to mind” (HALOT 270 s.v. I זכר). Although often used of recollection of past events, זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) can also describe consideration of present situations: “to consider, think about” something present (BDB 270 s.v. 5), hence “reflect on,” the most appropriate nuance here. Verses 1-6 describe the present plight of Jerusalem. The parallel requests הַבֵּיט וּרְאֵה (habbet ur^eʾeh, “Look and see!”) have a present-time orientation as well. See also 2:1 and 3:19-20.
3. Lamentations 5:1 tn Heb “Look!” Although often used in reference to visual perception, נָבַט (navat, “to look”) can also refer to cognitive consideration and mental attention shown to a situation: “to regard” (e.g., 1 Sam 16:7; 2 Kgs 3:14), or “to pay attention to, consider” (e.g., Isa 22:8; 51:1, 2).
4. Lamentations 5:1 tn Although normally occurring in reference to visual sight, רָאָה (raʾah) is often used in reference to cognitive processes and mental observation. See the note on “Consider” at 2:20.