King James Version

What Does Lamentations 2:11 Mean?

Lamentations 2:11 in the King James Version says “Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daug... — study this verse from Lamentations chapter 2 with commentary, cross-references, and original Hebrew word analysis.

Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. swoon: or, faint

Lamentations 2:11 · KJV


Context

9

Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.

10

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.

11

Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. swoon: or, faint

12

They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom.

13

What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?


Commentary

KJV Study Commentary
Mine eyes do fail with tears (כָּלוּ בַדְּמָעוֹת עֵינַי, kalu vademot einai)—The Hebrew verb 'kalu' means 'to be finished, spent, consumed'—total emotional and physical exhaustion from weeping. My bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth uses visceral Hebrew idiom: 'bowels' (מֵעַי, meay) represents the seat of emotions, while 'liver' (כָּבֵד, kaved) symbolizes the core of life being drained out. Because the children and sucklings swoon in the streets identifies the cause: covenant curses fulfilled (Deuteronomy 28:53-57). The prophet's grief is not merely empathetic but participatory—he suffers with and for his people.

KJV Study — Public Domain

Historical & Cultural Context

Eyewitness account of the siege's famine conditions. Archaeological evidence from 586 BC destruction layers confirms mass starvation. Jeremiah himself remained in Jerusalem during the siege (Jeremiah 38-39), witnessing these horrors firsthand before being forcibly taken to Egypt.

Reflection Questions

  1. Does your grief over sin—personal or corporate—reach this visceral, consuming level, or have you grown comfortable with spiritual compromise?
  2. How does Jeremiah's model of suffering *with* his people rather than condemning *from above* reflect Christ's incarnational solidarity with sinners?

Original Language Analysis

Hebrew · 17 words
כָּל֨וּ1 of 17

do fail

H3615

to end, whether intransitive (to cease, be finished, perish) or transitive (to complete, prepare, consume)

בַדְּמָע֤וֹת2 of 17

with tears

H1832

weeping

עֵינַי֙3 of 17

Mine eyes

H5869

an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape)

חֳמַרְמְר֣וּ4 of 17

are troubled

H2560

properly, to boil up; hence, to glow (with redness)

מֵעַ֔י5 of 17

my bowels

H4578

used only in plural the intestines, or (collectively) the abdomen, figuratively, sympathy; by implication, a vest; by extension the stomach, the uteru

נִשְׁפַּ֤ךְ6 of 17

is poured

H8210

to spill forth (blood, a libation, liquid metal; or even a solid, i.e., to mound up); also (figuratively) to expend (life, soul, complaint, money, etc

לָאָ֙רֶץ֙7 of 17

upon the earth

H776

the earth (at large, or partitively a land)

כְּבֵדִ֔י8 of 17

my liver

H3516

the liver (as the heaviest of the viscera)

עַל9 of 17
H5921

above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications

שֶׁ֖בֶר10 of 17

for the destruction

H7667

a fracture, figuratively, ruin; specifically, a solution (of a dream)

בַּת11 of 17

of the daughter

H1323

a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)

עַמִּ֑י12 of 17

of my people

H5971

a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock

בֵּֽעָטֵ֤ף13 of 17

swoon

H5848

to shroud, i.e., clothe (whether transitive or reflexive); hence (from the idea of darkness) to languish

עוֹלֵל֙14 of 17

because the children

H5768

a suckling

וְיוֹנֵ֔ק15 of 17

and the sucklings

H3243

to suck; causatively, to give milk

בִּרְחֹב֖וֹת16 of 17

in the streets

H7339

a width, i.e., (concretely) avenue or area

קִרְיָֽה׃17 of 17

of the city

H7151

a city


Study Guide

Historical Context

This verse is found in the book of Lamentations. Understanding the historical and cultural background helps illuminate its meaning for the original audience and for us today.

Theological Significance

Lamentations 2:11 contributes to our understanding of God's character and His relationship with humanity. Consider how this verse connects to the broader themes of Scripture.

Cross-References

Verses related to Lamentations 2:11 from Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

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