The Meaning of Lamentations 2:10 Explained

Lamentations 2:10

KJV: The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.

YLT: Sit on the earth -- keep silent do the elders of the daughter of Zion, They have caused dust to go up on their head, They have girded on sackcloth, Put down to the earth their head have the virgins of Jerusalem.

Darby: The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence; they have cast dust upon their heads, they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their head to the ground.

ASV: The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence; They have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The elders  of the daughter  of Zion  sit  upon the ground,  [and] keep silence:  they have cast up  dust  upon their heads;  they have girded  themselves with sackcloth:  the virgins  of Jerusalem  hang down  their heads  to the ground. 

What does Lamentations 2:10 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The most respected leaders of the Israelites had suffered humiliation, and now sat on the ground with dust on their heads, signs of mourning. Girding with sackcloth and bowing to the ground also expressed grief over what the Lord had done. Thus the Lord broke down the leaders of the nation as well as its walls.

Chapter Summary: Lamentations 2

1  Jeremiah laments the misery of Jerusalem
20  He complains thereof to God

What do the individual words in Lamentations 2:10 mean?

Sit on the ground [and] keep silence The elders of the daughter of Zion they throw dust on their heads and gird themselves with sackcloth Bow to the ground Their heads the virgins of Jerusalem -
יֵשְׁב֨וּ לָאָ֤רֶץ יִדְּמוּ֙ זִקְנֵ֣י בַת־ צִיּ֔וֹן הֶֽעֱל֤וּ עָפָר֙ עַל־ רֹאשָׁ֔ם חָגְר֖וּ שַׂקִּ֑ים הוֹרִ֤ידוּ לָאָ֙רֶץ֙ רֹאשָׁ֔ן בְּתוּלֹ֖ת יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם ס

יֵשְׁב֨וּ  Sit 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
לָאָ֤רֶץ  on  the  ground 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
יִדְּמוּ֙  [and]  keep  silence 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּמַם 
Sense: to be silent, be still, wait, be dumb, grow dumb.
זִקְנֵ֣י  The  elders 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: old.
בַת־  of  the  daughter 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
צִיּ֔וֹן  of  Zion 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
הֶֽעֱל֤וּ  they  throw 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
עָפָר֙  dust 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
רֹאשָׁ֔ם  their  heads 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
חָגְר֖וּ  and  gird  themselves 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָגַר  
Sense: to gird, gird on, gird oneself, put on a belt.
שַׂקִּ֑ים  with  sackcloth 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שַׂק  
Sense: mesh, sackcloth, sack, sacking.
הוֹרִ֤ידוּ  Bow 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
לָאָ֙רֶץ֙  to  the  ground 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
רֹאשָׁ֔ן  Their  heads 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine plural
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
בְּתוּלֹ֖ת  the  virgins 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: בְּתוּלָה  
Sense: virgin.
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם  of  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation