Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version We have become fatherless, our mothers are widows. New Living Translation We are orphaned and fatherless. Our mothers are widowed. English Standard Version We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows. Berean Standard Bible We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers are widows. King James Bible We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. New King James Version We have become orphans and waifs, Our mothers are like widows. New American Standard Bible We have become orphans, without a father; Our mothers are like widows. NASB 1995 We have become orphans without a father, Our mothers are like widows. NASB 1977 We have become orphans without a father, Our mothers are like widows. Legacy Standard Bible We have become orphans without a father; Our mothers are like widows. Amplified Bible We have become orphans without a father; Our mothers are like widows. Christian Standard Bible We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are widows. Holman Christian Standard Bible We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are widows. American Standard Version We are orphans and fatherless; Our mothers are as widows. Contemporary English Version We are like children whose mothers are widows. English Revised Version We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. GOD'S WORD® Translation We are orphans without a father. Our mothers are like widows. Good News Translation Our fathers have been killed by the enemy, and now our mothers are widows. International Standard Version We are now orphans—without fathers— and our mothers are like widows. Majority Standard Bible We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers are widows. NET Bible We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers have become widows. New Heart English Bible We are orphans and fatherless. Our mothers are like widows. Webster's Bible Translation We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. World English Bible We are orphans and fatherless. Our mothers are as widows. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionOrphans we have been—without a father, our mothers [are] as widows. Young's Literal Translation Orphans we have been -- without a father, our mothers are as widows. Smith's Literal Translation We were orphans, no father; our mothers as widows. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleWe are become orphans without a father: our mothers are as widows. Catholic Public Domain Version We have become orphans without a father; our mothers are like widows. New American Bible We have become orphans, without fathers; our mothers are like widows. New Revised Standard Version We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleWe have become orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated We were orphans without a father, and our mothers were as widows OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917We are become orphans and fatherless, Our mothers are as widows. Brenton Septuagint Translation we are become orphans, we have no father, our mothers are as widows. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context A Prayer for Restoration…2Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners. 3We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers are widows. 4We must buy the water we drink; our wood comes at a price.… Cross References Exodus 22:22 You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. Deuteronomy 10:18 He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless and a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation. Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.” James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Jeremiah 49:11 Abandon your orphans; I will preserve their lives. Let your widows trust in Me.” Hosea 14:3 Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.” Zechariah 7:10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’ Job 29:12 because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper. Psalm 146:9 The LORD protects foreigners; He sustains the fatherless and the widow, but the ways of the wicked He frustrates. John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised. Isaiah 10:2 to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder. Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts. Treasury of Scripture We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. Exodus 22:24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. Jeremiah 18:21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. Hosea 14:3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. Jump to Previous Children Fatherless Fathers Mothers Orphans WidowsJump to Next Children Fatherless Fathers Mothers Orphans WidowsLamentations 5 1. A complaint of Zion in prayer unto God.We have become This phrase indicates a transformation or change in status. In the Hebrew text, the verb used here is "הָיִינוּ" (hayinu), which is derived from the root "הָיָה" (hayah), meaning "to be" or "to become." This suggests a shift from a previous state of security and belonging to one of vulnerability and loss. Historically, this reflects the aftermath of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, where the people of Judah experienced a drastic change in their societal and familial structures. orphans fatherless our mothers are widows Persons / Places / Events 1. Jeremiah- Traditionally considered the author of Lamentations, Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet." He lamented the destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of his people. 2. Jerusalem - The city that was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC, leading to the exile of the Jewish people. This event is the backdrop for the book of Lamentations. 3. Babylonian Exile - The period during which the Jewish people were taken captive by the Babylonians. This event led to the social and familial disruptions described in Lamentations. Teaching Points Understanding SufferingThe verse highlights the deep suffering and social disruption caused by sin and judgment. It calls us to empathize with those who are suffering and to understand the broader consequences of societal sin. God's Heart for the Vulnerable Throughout Scripture, God shows a special concern for orphans and widows. This verse reminds us of our responsibility to care for the vulnerable in our communities, reflecting God's heart. The Role of the Church The church is called to be a family to those who have lost theirs. This includes providing support, love, and practical help to those who are fatherless or widowed. Hope in God's Faithfulness Even in lament, there is hope. God remains faithful and compassionate, offering comfort and restoration to those who turn to Him.(3) Our mothers are as widows--i.e., their husbands, though living, were carried into exile, and they were as destitute as though they had been deprived of them by death. The Chaldee paraphrase gives the same meaning to the last clause also, "We are like orphans."Verse 3. - We are orphans and fatherless; i.e. "We are like the most desolate of beings," as the Targum already explains it. Hence in the next clause the mothers of Israel ere likened to widows. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew We have becomeהָיִ֙ינוּ֙ (hā·yî·nū) Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be fatherless וְאֵ֣ין (wə·’ên) Conjunctive waw | Adverb Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle orphans; יְתוֹמִ֤ים (yə·ṯō·w·mîm) Noun - masculine plural Strong's 3490: A bereaved person our mothers אִמֹּתֵ֖ינוּ (’im·mō·ṯê·nū) Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common plural Strong's 517: A mother, ) are widows. כְּאַלְמָנֽוֹת׃ (kə·’al·mā·nō·wṯ) Preposition-k | Noun - feminine plural Strong's 490: A widow, a desolate place Links Lamentations 5:3 NIVLamentations 5:3 NLT Lamentations 5:3 ESV Lamentations 5:3 NASB Lamentations 5:3 KJV Lamentations 5:3 BibleApps.com Lamentations 5:3 Biblia Paralela Lamentations 5:3 Chinese Bible Lamentations 5:3 French Bible Lamentations 5:3 Catholic Bible OT Prophets: Lamentations 5:3 We are orphans and fatherless (Lam. La Lm) |
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