Lamentations 1:5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Lamentations 1:5 tn Heb “her foes became [her] head” (הָיוּ צָרֶיהָ לְרֹאשׁ, hayu tsareha l^eroʾsh) or more idiomatically “have come out on top.” This is a Semitic idiom for domination or subjugation, with “head” as a metaphor for leader.
2. Lamentations 1:5 tn The nuance expressed in the LXX is that her enemies prosper (cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
3. Lamentations 1:5 tn Heb “because of her many rebellions.” The plural פְּשָׁעֶיהָ (p^eshaʿeha, “her rebellions”) is an example of the plural of repeated action or characteristic behavior (see IBHS 121 §7.4.2c). The third person feminine singular suffix (“her”) probably functions as a subjective genitive: “her rebellions” = “she has rebelled.”
4. Lamentations 1:5 tn The singular noun שְׁבִי (sh^evi) is a collective singular, meaning “captives, prisoners.” It functions as an adverbial accusative of state: “[they] went away as captives.”