Jeremiah & Lamentations

JEREMIAH AND LAMENTATIONS

Outlined Bible

Introduction: The prophecies of Jeremiah were given to Judah just prior to and immediately following the fall of Jerusalem. The book picks up about 60 years after the close of Isaiah's ministry.

Names

• Jeremiah is named for the prophet who wrote it.
• The book of Lamentations gets its name because it is a lament over the destruction of Jerusalem by the

Babylonian armies.

Author

• Both books were written by Jeremiah.
• Originally, they were recorded on one scroll.
• The books were likely put in their final form by Baruch, a faithful scribe under Jeremiah's charge. (cf.

Jeremiah 36:27-32)

Purpose

• Jeremiah's prophecies were given to the rulers and people of Judah.
• His message was stern and the judgment he pronounced was irreversible.
• Most of the people despised and rejected his message.
• Lamentations vividly displays the great emotional and physical pain Jeremiah and his people experienced from captivity.
• Background of the books.
• We know more about Jeremiah than any other Old Testament prophet.
• He was the son of the priest Hilkiah. (Jeremiah 1:1)
• As a boy, he was called to prophetic work. (Jeremiah 1:6)
• Jeremiah lived in the priestly city of Anathoth, located just a few miles north of Jerusalem.
• He was instructed not to marry. (Jeremiah 16:1-2)
• With an unpopular message, Jeremiah was beaten, imprisoned, and ill-treated for proclaiming

God's message.

• Jeremiah's ministry lasted about 40 years in Judah.
• His ministry spanned the reigns of five kings of Judah: Josiah,

Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. (cf. II Kings 22-25)

• He was a contemporary of five other prophets: Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Daniel, and Ezekiel.

[refer to the Chronological Chart of the Prophets on page 84]

• Beyond his ministry in Judah, Jeremiah later ministered to a remnant in Egypt.
• In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim, God ordered that Jeremiah document the messages he had received to that point. (36:1-4)
• The original scroll was destroyed by Jehoiakim about a year later. (36:9-23)
• God ordered Jeremiah to write the material again. (36:27-32)
• The second scroll was supplemented with still later prophecies and was put in its final form sometime after the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC).
• The Main Message of the books.
• The main message of the book of Jeremiah is a rebuke for unfaithfulness and a plea for repentance.
• God foretold their impending judgment at the hands of Babylon.
• He also predicted the return to their homeland.
• The main message of the Book of Lamentations is an expression of grief over the destruction of

Jerusalem and the temple.

• Combined, the books carry the message of divine judgment.
• Outline of the books.
• Prophecies prior to the fall of Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah is called to be a prophet. (1:1-19)
• His first prophecy proclaims a divine judgment on Judah's apostasy. (2:1-3:5)
• His second oracle warns the people not to fall into the same fate as the northern kingdom. (3:6- 6:30)
• Jeremiah's third prophecy warns against trusting in the temple and religious facades to protect them from the consequences of their unfaithfulness.
• A fourth prophecy rebukes the people for their covenant-breaking. (7:1 -10:25)
• A fifth prophecy proclaims punishment on the land. (14:1-17:27)
• Specific symbols are used to dramatize the message of judgment. (18:1-19:15)
• Jeremiah is arrested (Jeremiah 20:1-6) and laments his fate. (20:7-18)
• The next large section of material is not in chronological order. Under the reigns of Jehoiakim and

Zedekiah, Jeremiah warned of impending captivity and endured persecution for his message. (21:1 - 39:18)

• Prophecies after the fall of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 40:1-51:64)
• After the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC), Jeremiah prophesied to God's people in:
• Judah. (40:1-42:22)
• Egypt. (43:1-44:30)
• Babylon. (45:1-51:64)
• The focus of these prophecies is an assurance to defeated Jews that God will also judge the wicked nations around them.
• These prophecies also point to the Messiah.
• Historical appendix.

The last chapter of Jeremiah is virtually identical with II Kings 24-25. (Jeremiah 52:1-34)

• Lamentations over fallen Jerusalem. (Lamentations 1-5)
• Jeremiah explains the fate of Jerusalem as judgment from heaven. (1:1- 2:22)
• He begs the Lord for mercy. (3:1-66)
• He laments over Jerusalem's lost glory. (4:1-22)
• The book closes with a prayer for deliverance. (5:1-22)
• Key themes of the books.
• The call from idolatry:
• During the time of Jeremiah, Judah had sunk to depraved depths of idol worship.
• During Josiah's reign, the worship of idols declined. (cf. II Kings 23:4ff)
• At his death, the despicable practice returned in force.
• Jeremiah declared that these pagan symbols were impotent and powerless delusions. (Jeremiah 10:1-16)
• Despite that fact, the Jews were "neck deep" in idolatry.
• Idols had even been erected in the Temple.
• Children were even sacrificed to Molech. (Jeremiah 32:35)
• By contrast, Jeremiah reveals Jehovah as Creator and Savior. (Jeremiah 27:5; 31:1-3)
• An obedient walk vs. a religious facade.
• Amazingly, despite Judah's idolatry, the people remained "religious."
• Their religion was a façade, ritual without meaning, rather than an obedient walk from a devoted heart.
• Jeremiah stressed the following principles:
• Knowledge without obedience is useless. (Jeremiah 2:8; 23:9-17)
• Sacrifices and temple service are fruitless apart from consecrated lives. (Jeremiah 7:4-11)
• Circumcision of the heart was as necessary as circumcision of the flesh. (Jeremiah 4:4; 9:26)
• The rest of the Bible affirms these principles.

“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” (II Timothy 3:2-5) “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.” (James 2:14-19)

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-18)

• The New Covenant. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
• The Mosaic Covenant of Old Testament was never intended to be God's finished revelation. (cf.

Galatians 3:24-25; Romans 7:4-6; Hebrews 9:15-17)

• Hebrews 8 cites Jeremiah 31 as being fulfilled by the Covenant of Christ.

JEREMIAH Summarized Bible

Jeremiah was the young son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The kings following Josiah were all evil by atrocious deeds and worshiping idols. Their time as a nation was coming to an end when God called Jeremiah to speak to the kings and people of Judah telling them that He would fight against them. Countless times for over forty years he delivered God’s message - repent and return or destruction would come to Judah - but most of the time they rejected God’s message. Only a few of Jeremiah’s messages are presented below. Sometime a ray of hope was proclaimed if only they would repent and return. Finally, God allowed them to be taken into Babylon captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. But His message was repent and return or face certain destruction.

Judah “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,' declares the Lord, 'I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt — you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord. (Jer 3:12-13)

“If you will return, O Israel, return to me,” declares the Lord. “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'As surely as the Lord lives,' then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory.” (Jer 4:1-2)

“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.” (Jer 5:1)

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.” (Jer 6:16)

“Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers forever and ever.” (Jer 7:3-7)

“But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. … My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched. … So beware, the days are coming, and the land will become desolate. … But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.” (Jer 7:8, 20, 32, 34, 8:7)

“Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant. … I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.” (Jer 11:2-3; 7-8)

Prayer of Jeremiah “I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me, Lord, but only with justice — not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland.” (Jer 10:23-25)

“Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague. … The prophets are prophesying lies in my name.” (Jer 14:11-12; 14)

“If you repent, I will restore you, if you utter worthy, not worthless, words. … When they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’ Then say to them, ‘It is because your fathers forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my

• But you have behaved more wickedly than your fathers.’” (Jer 15:19; 16:10-12)

Plots Against Jeremiah “The men of Anathoth said ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands’. But God said - I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. Not even a remnant will be left to them because I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.” (Jer 11:21-23)

“The priest Pashhur heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord's temple. … Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends.” (Jer 20:1-3; 6)

“Speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. … This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth. When the priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak they seized him and said “you must die!” (Jer 26:2, 4-9)

“The captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him, brought him to the officials and said, ‘You are deserting to the Babylonians!’ They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. … The officials said to the king, ‘This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.’ ‘He is in your hands,’ King Zedekiah answered. ‘The king can do nothing to oppose you.’ So, they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern. … This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from their hands.’ … Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.” (Jer 37:13-16; 38:4-6; 17-18; 28)

When Babylon captured Jerusalem Jeremiah was found a prisoner of Judah chained in the court yard. He was released and given a choice to go to Babylon or stay at his home. He chose to stay.

A Worried King “King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur to ‘Inquire now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.’ … God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. … I will strike down those who live in this city.” (Jer 21:1-2; 4, 6)

Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne. (Jer 22:3-4)

Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. (Jer 23:16)

God Is Faithful- He Keeps His Word

Destruction A Certainty “I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. … ‘See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people? … I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have destroyed them.’” (Jer 8:10, 9:7, 9:15-16)

“I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.” (Jer 11:11)

“I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them.” (Jer 13:9-10)

“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them," declares the Lord, "the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. For they have forsaken me.” (Jer 15:3-4)

“I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life.” (Jer 21:8-10)

“I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing.” (Jer 24:8-9)

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, 'This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon. You will not die by the sword; you will die peacefully.” (Jer 34:2-5)

“This is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.” (Jer 36:30-31)

“The God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me, 'Pharaoh's army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt. When the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture it and burn it down.” (Jer 37:7-8)

After the Babylonian army had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property. (Jer 37:11-12)

When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. There at Riblah, the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. (Jer 39:4-7)

Destruction of Surrounding Nations “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance, I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country. And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, 'As surely as the Lord lives' — even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal — then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it.” (Jer 12:14-17)

“Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” (Jer 25:8-11)

“Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them a message for their masters and say, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.” (Jer 27:3-6)

Egypt, Philistines, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Kedar, Hazor, were all destroyed as Jerimiah had prophesied. (Jer 46-49)

Babylon “This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians. … I will stir up and bring against Babylon an alliance of great nations from the land of the north. They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured. … The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The Lord will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple.” (Jer 50:1, 9; 51:11)

For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in full. (Jer 51:56)

False Prophets

“Some of the elders said "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah ‘Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill, a mound overgrown with thickets.’” (Jer 26:17)

“Do not listen to the prophets who say, 'Very soon now the articles from the Lord's house will be brought back from Babylon.' They are prophesying lies to you. Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.” (Jer 27:16-17)

“Hananiah the prophet falsely prophesied ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord's house.’ … ‘Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die.’” (Jer 28:2-3; 15-16)

To Babylon Captives “I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. … But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians.” (Jer 24:5; 25:12)

“To all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’ … ‘Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you.’ … ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.’” (Jer 29:4-5; 8; 10-11)

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to

• You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’” (Jer 29:11-13)

Plans for Distant Future “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.’” (Jer 17:9-10)

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.’” (Jer 23:5-6)

“‘The time is coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because

they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’” (Jer 31:31-34)

Key Points from Jeremiah ➢ Jehovah God wants all His people to be faithful to His covenant by doing His will. ➢ God is patient with those who rebel by disobedience and sin. ➢ Prove religious leaders’ opinions and interpretations by searching the Scriptures, Bible, to prove God’s will. ➢ Many opportunities are present if one is looking to repent, return and be restored to God. ➢ God always forgives those who whole heartily seek to do His will. ➢ Weep for those who cannot or will not return to God.

LAMENTATIONS

Jeremiah pleaded with the Kings and people to repent, return and obey the commands of the covenant given by God through Mosses. But they refused, threatened him with death, put him on dungeons and cisterns. He was found by the Babylon army chained in the courtyard in Jerusalem when they conquered and destroyed it.

Judgment has Come to Jerusalem and Judah

Chapter 1

• Look how deserted Jerusalem is! Once the city was crowded with people. Once it was important among the nations.
• Judah has been exiled after much suffering and harsh treatment.
• The roads to Zion are deserted. No one comes to the annual festivals. No one passes through any of its gates.
• Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins.
• All the splendor has departed.
• Jerusalem has sinned greatly and has become unclean. All who honored her now despise her,
• My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands, they were woven together. They have come upon my neck and the Lord has sapped my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand.
• The Lord is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command.

Chapter 2

• How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of his anger!
• Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob; in his wrath he has torn down the strongholds of the Daughter of Judah. He has brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor.
• The Lord is like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed her strongholds. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation.
• The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity.
• The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.

• The Lord has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago.

Chapter 3

• I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.
• He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked.
• I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.
• Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
• The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
• Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.
• Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?
• Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. 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.
• I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief." You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear."

Chapter 4

• The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her.
• Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.
• With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.
• The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.
• Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.
• Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end; he will not prolong your exile.

Chapter 5

• Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment.
• Slaves rule over us, and there is none to free us from their hands.
• 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.
• Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.

Key Point from Lamentations. ➢ The Lord is faithful, He prophesied destruction without pity unless they repent and return to Him. But the Lord is good and compassionate to those in the Old and New Covenants who trust and obey Him by doing His will. Their hope is in Him as He will not cast them off forever but will show compassion.