Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
In the holiday season...posts will just come when they come, lol....My schedule is all whacked and most of the time I'm not even sure what day it is....although I confess I am completely dumbfounded that Thanksgiving is in 4 days. I'm kind of afraid I'll forget to do something critical. But, we are still proceeding to look at 'heart/hearts' as translated by the NIV 84...and we have arrived at Lamentations.
I don't know if you all have notes in your Bibles; my NIV 84 has Scofield's notes and there is some interesting information about the poetry in Lamentations. The first four chapters are rather like Psalm 119...Chapters 1, 2, 4 and 5 have 22 verses; in chapters 1 and 2, each verse which starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 has 66 verses...22 sets of 3 verses, and each of the three verses in a set starts with the same Hebrew letter, so that each of the 22 sets is alphabetical (like the 8 verse sets in Ps. 119). Chapter 5 is not alphabetical; however, it is poetic in the sense that the second phrase of each verse is shorter than the first phrase, which has a somber cadence.
So Jeremiah wasn't just a prophet, he was also quite the poet.
I am just going to comment on the context and the words used here; the depth of grief Jeremiah expresses in this short little set of poems is sobering. This is a small little glimpse of his sorrow.
In chapter 1, Jeremiah is writing as if he were Jerusalem/ the nation of Judah
"See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death. People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my distress; they rejoice at what you have done. May you bring the day you have announced so they may become like me. Let all their wickedness come before you; deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my sins. My groans are many and my heart is faint." Lam 1: 20 - 22; both instances of 'heart' are Strong's H 3820 - Leb - inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
Jeremiah is writing out his own grief in chapter 2
My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. -- Lam. 2: 11 'Heart' is a word we haven't seen before, H 3516 - kabed - liver, heaviest organ. This is another one of those words that I think has been translated idiomatically as modern English speakers don't have a concept of the liver being poured out in sorrow...but the heart, yes, we would definitely have a concept of the heart being poured out.
The hearts of the people cry out to the LORD. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest. Arise, cry out in the night as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street. -- Lam 2: 18 - 19; both instances of heart are again H 3820.
Jeremiah identifies himself with his nation in chapter 3::
He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows. He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. Lam 3: 12- 13; 'Heart' here is H 3629, kilya -- kidneys, reins. I'm just going to observe that the ancient Hebrews were varied in their organ references; us modern folks do not associate emotions with organs so much. The NIV has translated this, as was done above with 'liver', as 'heart' because...idioms.
Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say: "We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven." - Lam. 3:40-41; 'Heart' here is the second most common Hebrew word, Strong's H 3824, Lebab - inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding. I am also reminded that 'lebab' has the connotation of joining one's heart to God, which certainly makes sense here.
At the end of chapter 3, Jeremiah laments the treatment he has personally received from those in positions of authority, and asks God to avenge him.
Pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, for what their hands have done. Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them! -- Lam. 3: 64-65; 'Heart' is H 3820 again.
There are no references to 'heart/ hearts' in chapter four; chapter five is a prayer on behalf of the people:
Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! Because of this, our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, with jackals prowling over it. -- Lam. 5:15-17; both instances of 'heart' here are H 3820.
Aside from the bit in Lam. 3:21-26, which is the famous 'Great is thy faithfulness' passage, reminding us that there is hope even in the bleakest judgment...this is a very sad little book. As it should be, lamenting the fall and destruction of a nation. Hearts faint. Hearts melt. Hearts are poured out on the ground; hearts are pierced. Joy has departed.
Repentance was declined. Judgment fell. Jeremiah, who had seen all his warnings ignored, lamented.
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