Editing Book of Lamentations

{{short description|Book of the Bible}}
{{redirect|Lamentations|lamenting in general|Lament|other uses|Lamentations (disambiguation)}}
{{Tanakh OT|Ketuvim|prophetic}}
[[File:Book of Lamentations Belarusian Skaryna.jpg|thumb|right|Image from "Jeremiah's Lament" of Francysk Skaryna (1517–1519), in the [[Taraškievica]] orthography of the [[Belarussian language]]]]
[[File:Book of Lamentations on Codex sinaiticus.jpg|thumb|Greek translation of Lamentations 1:1–1:11 in the [[Codex Sinaiticus]]]]
The '''Book of Lamentations''' ({{langx|he|אֵיכָה}}, {{Transliteration|he|ʾĒḵā}}, from its [[incipit]] meaning "how") is a collection of poetic [[laments]] for the [[Siege of Jerusalem (587&nbsp;BC)|destruction of Jerusalem]] in 586 BCE.{{sfn|Berlin|2004|p=1}} In the [[Hebrew Bible]], it appears in the [[Ketuvim]] ("Writings") as one of the [[Five Megillot]] ("Five Scrolls") alongside the [[Song of Songs]], [[Book of Ruth]], [[Ecclesiastes]], and the [[Book of Esther]]. In the [[Christian]] [[Old Testament]], it follows the [[Book of Jeremiah]], for the prophet [[Jeremiah]] is traditionally understood to have been its author.{{sfn|Hayes|1998|p=168}}{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}} By the mid-19th century, [[Germans|German]] scholars doubted Jeremiah's authorship, a view that has since become the prevailing [[scholarly consensus]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Salters |first=Robert B. |title=Lamentations: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-567-03037-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2qvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 |pages=4–7}}</ref> Most scholars also agree that the Book of Lamentations was composed shortly after Jerusalem's fall in 586 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Young |first=Ian |title=Linguistic Dating of Biblical Texts: Volume 2 |publisher=Routledge |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-351-56005-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=US8rDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 |page=65 |last2=Rezetko |first2=Robert |last3=Ehrensvärd |first3=Martin}}</ref>

Some motifs of a traditional Mesopotamian "[[City Lament|city lament]]" are evident in the book, such as mourning the desertion of the city by [[God]], its destruction, and the ultimate return of the deity; others "parallel the funeral dirge in which the bereaved bewails... and... addresses the [dead]".{{sfn|Hayes|1998|p=168}} The tone is bleak: God does not speak, the degree of suffering is presented as overwhelming, and expectations of future redemption are minimal. Nonetheless, the author repeatedly makes clear that the city—and even the author himself—has profusely [[Jewish views on sin|sinned]] against God, thus justifying God's wrath. In doing so, the author does not blame God but rather presents God as righteous, just, and sometimes even merciful.

==Summary==
The book consists of five separate poems.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}} In the first chapter, the city sits as a desolate weeping widow overcome with miseries. In chapter 2, these miseries are described in connection with national sins and acts of God. Chapter 3 speaks of hope for the people of God: that the chastisement would only be for their good; a better day would dawn for them. Chapter 4 laments the ruin and desolation of the city and temple but traces it to the people's sins. Some of chapter 5 is a prayer that [[Zion]]'s reproach may be taken away in the repentance and recovery of the people. In some Greek copies, and in the Latin [[Vulgate]], Syriac, and Arabic versions, the last chapter is headed "The Prayer of Jeremiah".<ref name="gill">{{Cite book |last=Gill |first=John |author-link=John Gill (theologian) |title=Exposition of the Entire Bible |chapter=Lamentations 5 |url=http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/lamentations/5.htm |year=1746–1763}}</ref>

==Themes==
Lamentations combines elements of the ''[[kinah]]'', a funeral dirge for the loss of the city, and the "communal lament" pleading for the restoration of its people.{{sfn|Berlin|2004|pp=23–24}} It reflects the view, traceable to [[Sumerian literature]] of a thousand years earlier, that the destruction of the holy city was a punishment by God for the communal sin of its people.{{sfn|Hillers|1993|p=420}} However, while Lamentations is generically similar to the Sumerian laments of the early 2nd millennium BCE (e.g., "[[Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur]]," "[[Lament for Sumer and Ur]]," and the "[[Nippur Lament]]"), the Sumerian laments were recited on the occasion of the rebuilding of a temple and, therefore, have optimistic endings. In contrast, the book of Lamentations was written before the return/rebuilding and thus contains only lamentations and pleas to God with no response or resolution.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}{{sfn|Berlin|2014}}

Beginning with the reality of disaster, Lamentations concludes with the bitter possibility that God may have finally rejected [[Jews|Israel]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|Lamentations|5:22|HE}}</ref> Sufferers in the face of grief are not urged to have confidence in the goodness of God; in fact, God is accountable for the disaster. The poet acknowledges that this suffering is a just punishment. Still, God is held to have had a choice over whether to act in this way and at this time. Hope arises from a recollection of God's past goodness, but although this justifies a cry to God to act in deliverance, there is no guarantee that he will. [[Repentance in Judaism|Repentance]] will not persuade God to be gracious since he can give or withhold grace as he chooses. In the end, the possibility is that God has finally rejected his people and may not again deliver them. Nevertheless, it also affirms confidence that the mercies of [[Yahweh]] (the God of Israel) never end but are new every morning.<ref>{{bibleverse|Lamentations|3:22–33|HE}}</ref>{{sfn|Clines|2003|pp=617–618}}

== Structure ==
[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - Jeremia treurend over de verwoesting van Jeruzalem - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|''Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem'' ([[Rembrandt van Rijn|Rembrandt]])]]
Lamentations consists of five distinct (and non-chronological) poems,{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}} corresponding to its five chapters. Two of its defining characteristic features are the alphabetic acrostic and its [[Qinah (metre)|qinah]] meter. However, few English translations capture either; even fewer attempt to capture both.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://servicemusic.org.uk/scripture/lamentations/ |title=Lamentations: introducing this version |last=Lee |first=David |website=ServiceMusic |language=en |access-date=2024-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518024746/http://servicemusic.org.uk/scripture/lamentations/ |archive-date=2024-05-18}}</ref>

===Acrostic===
The first four chapters are written as [[acrostic]]s. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 each have 22 verses, corresponding to the 22 letters of the [[Hebrew alphabet]], the first lines beginning with the first letter of the alphabet, the second with the second letter, and so on. Chapter 3 has 66 verses, so that each alphabet letter begins three lines.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}

The fifth poem, corresponding to the fifth chapter, is not acrostic but still has 22 lines.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}

Although some claim that purpose or function of the acrostic form is unknown,{{sfn|Hillers|1993|p=420}} it is frequently thought that a complete alphabetical order expresses a principle of completeness, from {{Transliteration|he|[[aleph|alef]]}} (first letter) to {{Transliteration|he|[[taw|tav]]}} (22nd letter); the English equivalent would be "from A to Z".{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}{{sfn|Berlin|2014}}{{sfn|Assis|2007|p=712}}

English translations that attempt to capture this acrostic nature are few in number. They include those by [[Ronald Knox]]{{sfn|Dobbs-Allsopp|2002|p=17}} and by [[David R. Slavitt]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cprw.com/i-form-the-light-and-create-darkness |title=I Form the Light and Create Darkness |last=Renau |first=J.S. |date=20 July 2010 |website=[[Contemporary Poetry Review]] |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229044122/https://www.cprw.com/i-form-the-light-and-create-darkness |archive-date=2024-02-29}}</ref> In both cases their mapping of the 22 Hebrew letters into the [[Latin alphabet]]'s 26 uses 'A' to 'V' (omitting W, X, Y and Z), thus lacking the "A to Z" sense of completeness.

====Acrostic ordering====
{{see also|Hebrew alphabet#Order}}
Unlike standard alphabetical order, in the middle chapters of Lamentations, the letter {{Transliteration|he|[[Pe (Semitic letter)|pe]]}} (the 17th letter) comes before {{Transliteration|he|[[ayin]]}} (the 16th). In the first chapter, the [[Masoretic text]] uses the standard modern alphabetical order; however, in the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] version of the text ([[4QLam]]/[[4Q111]], {{circa|37 BCE – 73 CE}}), even the first chapter uses the {{Transliteration|he|pe-ayin}} order found in chapters 2, 3, and 4.{{sfn|First|2017}}{{sfn|First|2014}}

==={{Transliteration|he|Qinah}}===
The book's first four chapters have a well-defined ''[[Qinah (metre)|qinah]]'' rhythm of three stresses followed by two, although the fifth chapter lacks this.{{sfn|Joyce|2013}} Dobbs-Allsopp describes this meter as "the rhythmic dominance of unbalanced and enjambed lines".{{sfn|Dobbs-Allsopp|2002|p=22}} Again, few English translations attempt to capture this.  Exceptions include [[Robert Alter]]'s ''[[Hebrew Bible (Alter)|Hebrew Bible]]''<ref name="w594">{{cite book | last=Alter | first=Robert | title=The Hebrew Bible | publisher=National Geographic Books | publication-place=New York London | date=2019-01-08 | isbn=0-393-29249-5 | page=}}</ref> and the ''[[New American Bible Revised Edition]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usccb.org/bible/lamentations/0 |title=The Book of Lamentations |publisher=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |language=en |access-date=9 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118185054/https://bible.usccb.org/bible/lamentations/0 | archive-date=2023-11-18}}</ref>

==Composition==
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 141.png|thumb|right|The lamentations of Jeremiah are depicted in this 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld]].]]
The traditional ascription of authorship to [[Jeremiah]] derives from the impetus to ascribe all biblical books to inspired biblical authors. Jeremiah, a prophet who prophesied its demise at the time, was an obvious choice.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}} In [[2 Chronicles 35]]:25 Jeremiah is said to have composed a lament for the death of King [[Josiah]],{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}{{sfn|Berlin|2014}}{{sfn|Clines|2003|p=617}} but there is no reference to Josiah in the book of Lamentations and no reason to connect it to Jeremiah.{{sfn|Clines|2003|p=617}} However, the modern consensus amongst scholars is that Jeremiah did not write Lamentations; like most ancient literary texts, the author or authors remain anonymous.

Scholars are divided over whether the book is the work of one or multiple authors.{{sfn|Dobbs-Allsopp|2002|pp=4–5}} According to the latter position, a different poet wrote each of the book's chapters and then joined to form the book.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}{{sfn|Berlin|2014}} One clue pointing to multiple authors is that the gender and situation of the first-person witness changes—the narration is feminine in the first and second lamentations, but masculine in the third, while the fourth and fifth are eyewitness reports of Jerusalem's destruction.{{sfn|Lee|2008|pp=566–567}} Conversely, the similarities of style, vocabulary, and theological outlook and the uniform historical setting are arguments for one author.{{sfn|Huey|1993|p=443}}

The book's language fits an [[Babylonian Exile|Exilic]] date (586–520&nbsp;BCE), and the poems probably originated from [[Judea]]ns who remained in the land.{{sfn|Dobbs-Allsopp|2002|pp=4–5}} The fact that the acrostics of chapters 2&ndash;4 follow the {{Transliteration|he|pe-ayin}} order of the pre-Exilic [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]] further supports the position that they are not postexilic compositions.{{sfn|First|2017}}{{sfn|First|2014}}{{sfn|Pitre|Bergsma|2018}} However, the sequence of the chapters is not chronological, and the poems were not necessarily written by eyewitnesses to the events. The book was compiled between 586&nbsp;BCE and the end of the 6th century BCE, when the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] was rebuilt.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}{{sfn|Berlin|2014}} Because [[Second Isaiah]], whose work is dated to 550–538&nbsp;BCE, seems to have known at least parts of Lamentations, the book was probably in circulation by the mid-6th century, but the exact time, place, and reason for its composition are unknown.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}

==In liturgy==
Lamentations is recited annually by Jews on the fast day of [[Tisha B'Av]] (the Ninth of [[Av (month)|Av]]) (July–August), mourning the destructions of both the [[First Temple]] (by the Babylonians in 586&nbsp;BCE) and the [[Second Temple]] (by the Romans in 70&nbsp;CE).{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}{{sfn|Berlin|2014}}{{sfn|Aarons|Levitsky|2019|p=36}} In many manuscripts and for [[Jewish prayer|synagogue liturgical]] use, [[#Verse 21|Lamentations 5:21]] is repeated after verse 22, so that the reading does not end with a painful statement—a practice also performed for the last verse of [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]], [[Book of Ecclesiastes|Ecclesiastes]], and [[Book of Malachi|Malachi]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellicott |first=C. J. |title=A Bible Commentary for English Readers |chapter=Lamentations 5:22 |publisher=Arkose Press |year=2015 |orig-year=1878 |isbn=9781345350784}}</ref> "so that the reading in the Synagogue might close with words of comfort".<ref>Skinner, J., [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/isaiah/66.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Isaiah 66, accessed 1 July 2019</ref>

In [[Christian]] tradition, readings from Lamentations are part of the [[Holy Week]] liturgies.{{sfn|Berlin|2018|p=1163}}

In [[Western Christianity]], readings (often chanted) and choral settings of extracts from the book are used in the [[Lent]]en religious service known as {{lang|la|[[Tenebrae]]}} ([[Latin]] for 'darkness'). In the [[Church of England]], readings are used at [[Morning Prayer (Anglican)|Morning]] and [[Evening Prayer (Anglican)|Evening Prayer]] on the [[Holy Monday|Monday]] and [[Holy Tuesday|Tuesday]] of [[Holy Week]], and at Evening Prayer on [[Good Friday]].

In the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], the book's third chapter is chanted on the 12th hour of the Good Friday service, which commemorates the [[burial of Jesus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robertson-Wilson |first=Marian |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/mi/17/ |title=Bountiful Harvest: Essays in Honor of S. Kent Brown |date=2011 |publisher=Maxwell Institute Publications |editor-last=Skinner |editor-first=Andrew |pages=365–366 |chapter=Chapter 18 Good Friday and the Copts: Glimpses in to the Drama of This Holy Day |chapter-url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=19&article=1016&context=mi&type=additional |isbn=9780842528047}}</ref>

==Surviving manuscripts==
[[File:Texts of the OT.svg|thumb|right|Known and hypothesized families of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, where "MT" is the Masoretic Text.]]

Many of the oldest surviving manuscripts are from centuries after the period of authorship. In [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]], the [[Leningrad Codex]] (1008) is a [[Masoretic Text]] version.{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=35-37}} Since 1947, the whole book is missing from the [[Aleppo Codex]].<ref name="nce2-bible">{{citation | author=P. W. Skehan | contribution=BIBLE (TEXTS) | title=New Catholic Encyclopedia | title-link=New Catholic Encyclopedia | edition=2nd | volume=2 | publisher=Gale | year=2003 | pages=355–362}}</ref> Fragments containing parts of the book in Hebrew were found among the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]: 4Q111 (30–1 BCE),{{sfn|Ulrich|2010|pp=749–752}}<ref name=thewaytoyahuweh>{{Cite web |url=https://thewaytoyahuweh.com/dead-sea-scrolls/general-info/#lamentations |title=General Info |website=The Way To Yahuweh |language=en |date=5 January 2018 |access-date=2024-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901111114/https://thewaytoyahuweh.com/dead-sea-scrolls/general-info/ |archive-date=2024-09-01}}</ref>{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2008 |p=43}} 3Q3 (30 BCE–50 CE), 5Q6 (50 CE), and 5Q7 (30 BCE–50 CE).<ref name=thewaytoyahuweh/>{{sfn|Ulrich|2010|p=750}}{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2008|p=28}}{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2008|p=105}}{{sfn|Ulrich|2010|p=753}}

There is also a translation into [[Koine Greek]] known as the [[Septuagint]], made in the last few centuries BCE. The Septuagint translation added an introductory line before the first stanza:
:''And it came to pass, after Israel was taken captive, and Jerusalem made desolate, that Jeremias sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said,''<ref>Brenton, C., [https://biblehub.com/sep/lamentations/1.htm Brenton Septuagint Translation] of Lamentations 1, accessed 19 June 2019</ref>

Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include [[Codex Vaticanus]] (4th century), [[Codex Sinaiticus]] (4th century), [[Codex Alexandrinus]] (5th century) and [[Codex Marchalianus]] (6th century).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=73-74}}

==In music==
* The [[King James Version]] of Lamentations 1:12 are cited as texts in the English-language [[oratorio]] "[[Messiah (Handel)|Messiah]]" by [[George Frideric Handel]] (HWV 56).<ref name="Block 2001">
{{cite journal
| last = Block
| first = Daniel I.
| author-link = Daniel I. Block
| year = 2001
| title = Handel's Messiah: Biblical and Theological Perspectives
| journal = [[Didaskalia (journal)|Didaskalia]]
| volume = 12
| number = 2
| url = http://www.sbts.edu/documents/icw/messiah.pdf
| access-date = 19 July 2011
}}
</ref>
* Handel also used verses from Lamentations in the [[Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline]]'s second movement, "The Ways of Zion do Mourn."{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
* [[Edward Gibbons]] adapted some of the text in his [[verse anthem]] ''How hath ye City sate solitary''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harley |first=John |year=1999 |title=Orlando Gibbons and the Gibbons Family of Musicians |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-840-14209-9 |pages=20–21 }}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet]]'': musical settings.

==References==
[[File:Page131-Babylonian-kethuvim-codex.jpg|thumb|right|The first page of the Book of Lamentations in a codex of the Kethuvim in the Babylonian Hebrew Masoretic tradition (10th century).]]

=== Citations ===
{{reflist|20em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book
|last1     = Aarons
|first1    = Victoria
|last2     = Levitsky
|first2    = Holli
|title     = New Directions in Jewish American and Holocaust Literatures: Reading and Teaching
|date      = 2019
|publisher = SUNY Press
|isbn      = 978-1-4384-7320-8
|url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=bsGKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36
}}
* {{Cite journal
|last    = Assis
|first   = Ellie
|title   = The Alphabetic Acrostic in the Book of Lamentations
|journal = The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
|volume = 69
|pages = 710{{hyphen}}724
|location = Ramat Gan, Israel
|year    = 2007
|issue = 4
|url     = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290869814
|jstor = 43726112
}}
* {{Cite book
|last                              = Berlin
|first                             = Adele
|author-link                       = Adele Berlin
|title                             = Lamentations: A Commentary
|publisher                         = Westminster John Knox Press
|year                              = 2004
|url                               = https://books.google.com/books?id=iTH9qth5cbEC
|isbn                              = 9780664229740
}}
* {{cite book 
|last1               = Berlin
|first1              = Adele
|editor1-last        = Berlin
|editor1-first       = Adele
|editor2-last        = Brettler
|editor2-first       = Marc Zvi
|title               = The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition
|date                = 2014
|publisher           = Oxford University Press
|isbn                = 978-0-19-939387-9
|edition             = 2nd
|url                 = https://books.google.com/books?id=yErYBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT3344
}}
* {{cite book
|last1               = Berlin
|first1              = Adele
|editor1-last        = Coogan
|editor1-first       = Michael
|editor2-last        = Brettler
|editor2-first       = Marc
|editor3-last        = Newsom
|editor3-first       = Carol
|editor4-last        = Perkins
|editor4-first       = Pheme
|title               = The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version
|date                = 2018
|publisher           = Oxford University Press
|isbn                = 978-0-19-027611-9
|url                 = https://books.google.com/books?id=UnpVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1163
}}
* {{Cite book
|last                              = Clines
|first                             = David J.A.
|author-link                       = David J. A. Clines
|chapter                           = Lamentations
|editor1-last                      = Dunn
|editor1-first                     = James D. G.
|editor1-link                      = James Dunn (theologian)
|editor2-last                      = Rogerson
|editor2-first                     = John William
|editor2-link                      = John W. Rogerson
|title                             = Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible
|publisher                         = Eerdmans
|year                              = 2003
|chapter-url                       = https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA617
|isbn                              = 9780802837110
}}
* {{Cite book
|last                              = Dobbs-Allsopp
|first                             = F.W.
|title                             = Lamentations
|publisher                         = Westminster John Knox Press
|year                              = 2002
|url                               = https://books.google.com/books?id=X_ywAxcj8gkC
|isbn                              = 9780664237547
}}
* {{cite journal
|last1=First
|first1=Mitchell
|title     = Using the Pe–Ayin Order of the Abecedaries of Ancient Israel to Date the Book of Psalms
|journal   = Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
|date      = June 2014
|volume    = 38
|issue     = 4
|pages     = 471–485
|doi       = 10.1177/0309089214536490
|s2cid=170926400
|url       = https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0309089214536490
|issn      = 0309-0892
}}
*{{Cite book|title = A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature|last = Fitzmyer|first = Joseph A.| authorlink = Joseph Fitzmyer | publisher = William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TILXeWJ2eNAC | year = 2008 |isbn = 9780802862419 | location = Grand Rapids, MI | access-date= February 15, 2019}}
* {{cite book 
|last1        = First 
|first1       = Mitchell 
|title        = Pe before Ayin in Biblical Pre-Exilic Acrostics
|url          = https://www.thetorah.com/article/pe-before-ayin-in-biblical-pre-exilic-acrostics
|year         = 2017
}}
* {{Cite book
 |last          = Hayes
 |first         = John H.
 |chapter       = The Songs of Israel
 |editor1-last  = McKenzie
 |editor1-first = Steven L.
 |editor2-last  = Graham
 |editor2-first = Matt Patrick
 |title         = The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues
 |publisher     = Westminster John Knox Press
 |year          = 1998
 |chapter-url   = https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC&pg=PA153
 |isbn          = 9780664256524
 |url-access    = registration
 |url           = https://archive.org/details/hebrewbibletoday0000unse
}}
* {{Cite book
|last                              = Hillers
|first                             = Delbert R.
|chapter                           = Lamentations of Jeremiah
|editor1-last                      = Metzger
|editor1-first                     = Bruce M.
|editor2-last                      = Coogan
|editor2-first                     = Michael D.
|title                             = The Oxford Companion to the Bible
|publisher                         = Oxford University Press
|year                              = 1993
|url                               = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458
|url-access                        = registration
|isbn                              = 9780199743919
}}
* {{Cite book
|last                              = Huey
|first                             = F. B. Jr.
|chapter                           = Jeremiah, Lamentations
|title                             = The New American Commentary
|volume                            = 16
|publisher                         = Broadman & Holman Publishers
|year                              = 1993
|pages =448
|language = en
|isbn = 9781430086192
|url = https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/product/jeremiah-lamentations-2/
}}
* {{cite book
|last      = Joyce
|first     = Paul M.
|title     = Lamentations Through the Centuries
|year      = 2013
|publisher = John Wiley & Sons
|isbn      = 9781118332641
|url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=rxNuBAAAQBAJ
}}
* {{Cite book
|last                              = Lee
|first                             = Archie C. C.
|chapter                           = Book of Lamentations
|editor-last                       = Sakenfeld
|editor-first                      = Katherine Doob
|title                             = The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible
|volume                            = 3
|publisher                         = Abingdon Press
|year                              = 2008
|isbn                              = 978-0-687-33365-3
}}
* {{cite book
|last1              = Pitre
|first1             = Brant J.
|last2              = Bergsma
|first2             = John S.
|title              = A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament
|date               = 2018
|publisher          = Ignatius Press
|isbn               = 978-1-58617-722-5
|page               = 280
|url                = https://books.google.com/books?id=nvEmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA820
}}
*{{Cite book | editor-last = Ulrich | editor-first = Eugene | editor-link = Eugene Ulrich | title = The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants | year = 2010 | publisher = Brill | url = https://archive.org/details/TheBiblicalQumranScrolls |access-date= May 15, 2017 | isbn= 9789004181830}}
*{{cite book | last = Würthwein | first = Ernst | authorlink = Ernst Würthwein | title = The Text of the Old Testament | publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans |location = Grand Rapids, MI | year=  1995 | translator-first1 = Erroll F.| translator-last1 = Rhodes |isbn = 0-8028-0788-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC | access-date= January 26, 2019}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=5bwdAAAAQBAJ&dq=4QLam&pg=PA177 Kotzé, Gideon. "The Qumran Manuscripts of Lamentations: A Text-Critical Study"]. ''Studia Semitica Neerlandica'' BRILL, 2013. {{ISBN|9789004242098}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{wikisource|Lamentations (Bible)|Lamentations}}
'''Jewish translations'''
* [https://www.sefaria.org/Lamentations Lamentations] with multiple translations of the text & [[Rashi]]'s commentary, as well as numerous other classic Hebrew commentaries at Sefaria.org
* [https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt3201.htm Book of Lamentations with Hebrew/English and MP3 chanting of the entire book in Hebrew]. (Website also contains other books of the bible.)
* [http://www.neohasid.org/resources/laments/ Laments (R. David Seidenberg)]: a fresh translation with linear Hebrew and English, on neohasid.org
* [https://oztorah.com/2007/06/eichah-the-book-of-lamentations/ A synopsis of Eichah's chapters]
'''Christian translations'''
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/kjv/lam.htm Lamentations at Sacred Texts] KJV, Tan, Sep, Vul
* {{librivox book | title=Lamentations}} Various versions
'''Translations maintaining acrostic structure'''
* [http://catholicbible.online/knox/OT/Lam/ch_1 Knox Translation] (22 letters: A to V, omitting W to Z)
'''Translations maintaining metrical rhythm (qinah)'''
* [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/lamentations/0 New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)]
'''Translations maintaining both acrostics and qinah'''
* [http://servicemusic.org.uk/scripture/lamentations/ ServiceMusic translation] (22 letters: A to Z, omitting four intermediate letters)

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou | [[Biblical poetry|Hebrew]] [[lament]]||}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Book of Ruth|Ruth]] }}
{{s-ttl | title  = [[Tanakh|Hebrew Bible]] }}
{{s-aft | after  = [[Ecclesiastes]] }}
{{s-bef | before = [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] | rows = 3 }}
{{s-ttl | title  = [[Protestantism|Protestant]]<br>[[Old Testament]] }}
{{s-aft | after  = [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] }}
{{s-ttl | title  = [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]<br>[[Old Testament]] }}
{{s-aft | after  = [[Book of Baruch|Baruch]] | rows = 2 }}
{{s-ttl | title  = [[Eastern Orthodox Church|E. Orthodox]]<br>[[Old Testament]] }}
{{s-end}}
{{Book of Lamentations}}
{{Books of the Bible}}
{{The Three Weeks}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Book of Lamentations| ]]
[[Category:6th-century BC books]]
[[Category:Texts assigned to Jeremiah]]
[[Category:Ketuvim| 06]]
[[Category:Tisha B'Av]]
[[Category:Laments]]
[[Category:Major prophets]]