THEOSISEphraem the Syrian
Those who struck him on the head comprised all who sought to commit wrongdoing in Jerusalem, gathering in great numbers.
Lamentations 1:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
He. Her adversaries are become her lords; her enemies are enriched; because the Lord hath spoken against her for the multitude of her iniquities; her children are led into captivity, before the face of the oppressor.
הָי֨וּ צָרֶ֤יהָ לְרֹאשׁ֙ אֹיְבֶ֣יהָ שָׁל֔וּ כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה הוֹגָ֖הּ עַ֣ל רֹב־פְּשָׁעֶ֑יהָ עוֹלָלֶ֛יהָ הָלְכ֥וּ שְׁבִ֖י לִפְנֵי־צָֽר׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Theodoret of Cyrus
The esteemed Moses also prophesies concerning them as offenders of the divine commandments: your foes shall be "above above," while you shall be "beneath below" (Deuteronomy 28:43). He also mentions the fate of the young alongside the aged; as it is stated, "that which succumbs with a perfect elder" (Deuteronomy 32:25). Likewise, the Prophet declares, "His infants departed captive before the face of him that withered." He articulates how past grace has been lost, comparing the rulers to sheep without a shepherd, as they have forsaken their former strength. He recalls the bygone prosperity of Jerusalem and its subsequent downfalls, lamenting its transformation into a mockery for those who oppose it. Yet, mindful of the favor shown to the Jewish people, he frequently underscores the reasons for their misfortunes. For he asserts:
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- Ezek 8:17And he said to me: Surely thou hast seen, O son of man: is this a light thing to the house of Juda, that they should commit these abominations which they have committed here: because they have filled the land with iniquity, and have turned to provoke me to anger? and behold they put a branch to their nose.
- Ezek 8:18Therefore I also will deal with them in my wrath: my eye shall not spare them, neither will I shew mercy: and when they shall cry to my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.
- Deut 32:15The beloved grew fat, and kicked: he grew fat, and thick and gross, he forsook God who made him, and departed from God his saviour.
- Deut 32:27But for the wrath of the enemies I have deferred it: lest perhaps their enemies might be proud, and should say: Our mighty hand, and not the Lord, hath done all these things.
- Ezek 9:9And he said to me: The iniquity of the house of Israel, and of Juda, is exceeding great, and the land is filled with blood, and the city is filled with perverseness: for they have said: The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.
- Jer 39:9And Nabuzardan the general of the army carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and the fugitives that had gone over to him, and the rest of the people that remained.
- Ps 90 (89):7
- Ps 90 (89):8