Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Lamentations 1:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse addresses the LORD from visceral distress, confessed rebellion, sword outside, and death inside.
Read It With
- Lamentations 1:18-22
Read Lamentations 1:20 with 1:18-22. This verse addresses the LORD from visceral distress, confessed rebellion, sword outside, and death inside. The complete unit establishes this movement: Zion confesses rebellion without hiding captive youth, failed allies, famine, bodily distress, pervasive death, or enemy delight; she asks God—not the wounded community—to judge enemy wickedness as her sighs continue.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The poem ends without comfort: confession names responsibility, failed relationships and hunger expose other agents, and lament becomes entrusted protest while faintness remains. Within that movement, this verse addresses the LORD from visceral distress, confessed rebellion, sword outside, and death inside.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“Behold”
In plain language: This verse addresses the LORD from visceral distress, confessed rebellion, sword outside, and death inside.
Prayer can hold accountability and acute fear together.
Why it matters: The wording marks this verse's distinct contribution to the poem.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
Prayer can hold accountability and acute fear together.
How It Can Shape Life
- Take bodily distress seriously and support safety both outside and at home.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Lamentations 1:18-22 — Confession, Failed Allies, and an Enemy PetitionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed Scripture, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and canonical verse coverage.
Exact location: Lamentations 1:18-22, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Lamentations
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, alphabet sequence, person and number, repeated vocabulary, and translation questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Lam.xml, OSIS Lam.1.18-Lam.1.22
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Lamentations with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew, syntax, textual, acrostic, literary, historical, and translation notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Lamentations PDF, printed pp. 1551-1558, translation and notes on 1:18-22
Open source ↗