The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, [and] come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into [their] hands, [from whom] I am not able to rise up.
The yoke {H5923} of my transgressions {H6588} is bound {H8244} by his hand {H3027}: they are wreathed {H8276}, and come up {H5927} upon my neck {H6677}: he hath made my strength {H3581} to fall {H3782}, the Lord {H136} hath delivered {H5414} me into their hands {H3027}, from whom I am not able {H3201} to rise up {H6965}.
"My sins have been bound into a yoke, knit together by his hand. It weighs down on my neck, and it saps my strength. Adonai has put me into the power of those I cannot withstand.
My transgressions are bound into a yoke, knit together by His hand; they are draped over my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has delivered me into the hands of those I cannot withstand.
The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand; They are knit together, they are come up upon my neck; he hath made my strength to fail: The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand.
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Isaiah 47:6
I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. -
Deuteronomy 28:48
Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all [things]: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. -
Jeremiah 28:14
For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also. -
Ezekiel 25:4
Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. -
Proverbs 5:22
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. -
Ezekiel 25:7
Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD. -
Jeremiah 25:9
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Context
Lamentations 1:14 is part of a deeply sorrowful poem, traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, written in the aftermath of the devastating destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 586 BC. This chapter personifies Jerusalem, often referred to as Zion, as a desolate widow, weeping over her ruin and the captivity of her people. The city, once glorious, now sits alone, her former allies having abandoned her. This specific verse, spoken from the perspective of personified Jerusalem, shifts from describing external suffering to acknowledging the internal cause: the nation's own sin and rebellion against God. It is a profound confession of guilt, recognizing that the severe judgment is not arbitrary but a direct consequence of their transgressions.
Key Themes
Linguistic Insights
The term "yoke" (Hebrew: 'ol) is a powerful agricultural metaphor, typically a wooden beam fitted over the necks of oxen to harness them for work. Here, it is not a literal yoke but the "yoke of my transgressions," symbolizing the heavy burden and bondage brought by sin. The verb "wreathed" (Hebrew: śārak) implies being twisted or intertwined, emphasizing how sins have become inextricably bound around the nation, making escape impossible and intensifying the feeling of being trapped and suffocated.
Practical Application
Lamentations 1:14 serves as a sobering reminder of the serious consequences of sin, both for individuals and nations. It teaches us that: