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What the Bible Says About Lamentations

Overview

The Bible addresses lamentations across 25 verses, drawn from the Old Testament. These passages cluster most in Ezekiel and Psalms. Closely related themes include Parables, Lion, Vine and Precious Stones. Figures whose stories touch this theme include David and Joab.

Key Bible verses about lamentations

Old Testament

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 19:1

Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

Ezekiel 19:2

And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

Ezekiel 19:3

And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.

Ezekiel 19:4

The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

Ezekiel 19:5

Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.

Ezekiel 19:6

And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.

Ezekiel 19:7

And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. their desolate: or, their widows the fulness: or, all it containeth

Ezekiel 19:8

Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.

Ezekiel 19:9

And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. in chains: or, in hooks

Ezekiel 19:10

Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. in: or, in thy quietness, or, in thy likeness

Ezekiel 19:11

And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.

Ezekiel 19:12

But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

Ezekiel 19:13

And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.

Ezekiel 19:14

And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

Ezekiel 28:12

Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Ezekiel 28:13

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. sardius: or, ruby beryl: or, chrysolite emerald: or, chrysoprase

Ezekiel 28:14

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Ezekiel 28:15

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Ezekiel 28:16

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Ezekiel 28:17

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Ezekiel 28:18

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

Ezekiel 28:19

All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. a terror: Heb. terrors

People in the Bible and lamentations

Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.

In the Bible dictionary

Studying lamentations for yourself

  • Begin with Psalms 60:1, then read the passages below in canonical order.
  • Compare how Ezekiel and Psalms each treat the theme.
  • Consider the lives of David and Joab and how their stories intersect with it.
  • Widen the study to related themes: Parables, Lion, Vine and Precious Stones.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Bible say about lamentations?

The Bible addresses lamentations across 25 verses, drawn from the Old Testament. These passages cluster most in Ezekiel and Psalms. Closely related themes include Parables, Lion, Vine and Precious Stones. Figures whose stories touch this theme include David and Joab.

How many Bible verses are about lamentations?

The Bible references lamentations in 25 verses (King James Version).

Where does the Bible first mention lamentations?

In canonical order, the first of these passages is Psalms 60:1: “To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. Michtam: or, A golden Psalm scattered: Heb. broken”

Which people in the Bible are associated with lamentations?

David and Joab.

Preach & teach

Outline a sermon or build a study series on lamentations.

Preach a series on Lamentations