Lamentations 5:20

Translation
King James Version
Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?
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KJV (with Strong's)
Wherefore dost thou forget H7911 us for ever H5331, and forsake H5800 us so long H753 time H3117?
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Complete Jewish Bible
Why do you never remember us? Why abandon us for so long a time?
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Berean Standard Bible
Why have You forgotten us forever? Why have You forsaken us for so long?
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American Standard Version
Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, Andforsake us so long time?
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World English Bible Messianic
Why do you forget us forever, And forsake us so long time?
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Geneva Bible (1599)
Wherefore doest thou forget vs for euer, and forsake vs so long time?
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Young's Literal Translation
Why for ever dost Thou forget us? Thou forsakest us for length of days!
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See also
Psalms 44:24Psalms 13:1Jeremiah 14:19Jeremiah 14:21Psalms 89:46Psalms 79:5Psalms 74:1
In the KJVVerse 20,463 of 31,102

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SUMMARY

Lamentations 5:20 is a profound and heart-wrenching cry from a people devastated by national catastrophe, expressing their raw anguish and desperate plea to God. It articulates the deep human struggle with perceived divine abandonment, questioning why God seems to have forgotten and forsaken them for an agonizingly long period. This verse encapsulates the communal suffering and the yearning for God's remembrance and intervention in a time of overwhelming despair and desolation, serving as a poignant articulation of a people's profound crisis of faith amidst overwhelming judgment.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: Lamentations 5:20 concludes the fourth section of the final chapter, which functions as a communal prayer or liturgy of lament. Unlike the preceding four chapters, which are acrostic poems, Chapter 5 is a twenty-two-verse communal prayer, matching the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, though not following an acrostic pattern. This structural shift from individual laments to a collective plea underscores the shared trauma and desperation of the survivors of Jerusalem's destruction. The verses immediately preceding this one (Lamentations 5:16-19) detail the profound physical, social, and spiritual degradation experienced by the people—their crown has fallen, their hearts are faint, Zion is desolate—setting the stage for this direct, anguished question to God, a climax of their suffering and a desperate appeal for divine attention and restoration.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The book of Lamentations is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah and serves as a poetic response to the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. This event marked the end of the Davidic monarchy, the desolation of the holy city, and the exile of its people, shattering their national identity and their understanding of God's covenant promises. Culturally, the people understood their suffering as a consequence of their sin and God's judgment, a theological framework articulated in Deuteronomy 28. Yet, the prolonged nature of their distress, the utter devastation, and the seeming silence of God led to a profound crisis of faith. The lament reflects the cultural practice of mourning and expressing grief openly, but also the theological tension of reconciling God's justice with His covenant faithfulness, especially when His presence felt so utterly withdrawn.
  • Key Themes: Lamentations 5:20 contributes significantly to several overarching themes within the book and broader biblical narrative. Foremost is the theme of divine abandonment and perceived forgetfulness, a stark contrast to God's covenant promises of perpetual presence and care, as seen in passages like Deuteronomy 31:6. The verse also highlights the permissibility and necessity of lament in the face of overwhelming suffering, demonstrating that honest, even challenging, prayer is a valid expression of faith, echoing the psalmist's cries in Psalm 13:1. Furthermore, it underscores the longing for restoration and divine remembrance, implying that despite the despair, there remains a flicker of hope that God will recall His covenant and intervene, a hope that finds its ultimate expression in the book's concluding plea for renewal in Lamentations 5:21. This verse encapsulates the tension between God's judgment and His enduring covenant love.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • forget (Hebrew, shâkach', H7911): Meaning "to mislay, i.e. to be oblivious of, from want of memory or attention." In this context, it speaks to the profound feeling of being overlooked and neglected by God, as if their suffering has slipped from His divine consciousness. It's not an accusation of God's literal forgetfulness, but an expression of the human experience of feeling utterly abandoned and unremembered in their deepest pain, a desperate cry for divine recall and intervention.
  • for ever (Hebrew, netsach', H5331): Properly meaning "a goal," or "the bright object at a distance traveled towards." Figuratively, it denotes "splendor," "truthfulness," or "confidence," but most commonly used adverbially to mean "continually" or "to the most distant point of view," hence "always" or "perpetual." Here, it emphasizes the perceived unending nature of their suffering and God's absence, highlighting the deep weariness and hopelessness that comes with prolonged distress, a hyperbolic expression born of extreme anguish.
  • forsake (Hebrew, ʻâzab', H5800): A primitive root meaning "to loosen, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc." It conveys the sense of being left destitute, abandoned, or given up. The people feel that God has actively withdrawn His presence and protection, leaving them vulnerable and without divine support, a stark contrast to the covenant promise that God would never forsake His people (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Verse Breakdown

  • "Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever,": This opening clause is a rhetorical question, not seeking information but expressing profound anguish and bewilderment. The "wherefore" (Hebrew: lamah) conveys a desperate "why?" or "for what purpose?" The people perceive God's action (or inaction) as an active forgetting, an intentional turning away from their plight, a feeling of being erased from divine memory. The addition of "for ever" intensifies this feeling, suggesting an eternal, unending state of divine neglect, a hyperbole born of deep suffering that magnifies their sense of hopelessness.
  • "and forsake us so long time?": This second clause parallels and amplifies the first, reinforcing the sense of abandonment. "Forsake" (Hebrew: ʻâzab) highlights the feeling of being left alone, without divine help or intervention, as if God has actively withdrawn His protective hand. The phrase "so long time" (Hebrew: le'orekh yamim, literally "for length of days") underscores the prolonged nature of their suffering and God's perceived absence, emphasizing the weariness and exhaustion that accompanies extended periods of hardship. Both clauses together paint a vivid picture of a people feeling utterly desolate and cut off from their God, their lament a desperate plea for an end to their interminable pain.

Literary Devices

Lamentations 5:20 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its profound emotional weight and theological tension. The most prominent is the Rhetorical Question, "Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?" This is not a query for information but an impassioned expression of pain, frustration, and desperate longing for divine intervention. It allows the community to voice their deepest fears and accusations without necessarily implying a loss of faith, but rather a wrestling within it, a raw honesty before God. Parallelism is evident in the two clauses, where "forget us for ever" is mirrored and intensified by "forsake us so long time," creating a rhythmic and emphatic lament that underscores the dual nature of their perceived divine abandonment. The use of Hyperbole in "for ever" and "so long time" amplifies the perceived duration and intensity of their suffering and God's perceived absence, reflecting the subjective, overwhelming experience of interminable distress. Finally, there is an implicit Personification of God, as if He possesses human faculties of memory and attention that He has willfully withheld, allowing the people to articulate their feelings of personal slight and neglect by the Divine, making their cry more immediate and relatable.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Lamentations 5:20 resonates deeply with the biblical theology of suffering, divine sovereignty, and the enduring nature of God's covenant. While the people feel forgotten and forsaken, the very act of lamenting to God demonstrates a foundational belief in His existence, His power, and His ultimate ability to hear and respond. This verse highlights the tension between God's justice in allowing such devastation due to sin and His promised faithfulness to His people. It implicitly appeals to God's character as one who does not ultimately forget His covenant or forsake His own. The raw honesty of this lament, mirrored throughout the Psalms, teaches that true faith can encompass profound questioning and expressions of despair, ultimately leading back to reliance on God's character even when His actions are incomprehensible. It is a testament to the enduring hope that even in the deepest valleys, God remains the ultimate source of remembrance and restoration.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Lamentations 5:20 offers profound comfort and validation to those who find themselves in seasons of prolonged suffering, feeling abandoned or forgotten by God. It teaches us that authentic faith does not demand stoicism or the suppression of pain, but rather invites us to bring our rawest emotions, our deepest questions, and our most agonizing doubts directly before God. The very act of crying out, even in accusation, is an act of faith, acknowledging God's existence and His ultimate power to intervene. This verse encourages perseverance in prayer, reminding us that even when God feels distant, He is still the one to whom we turn. It affirms that our lament is heard, and that in the space between our desperate cry and God's ultimate answer, hope can be sustained by the knowledge that He is good, even when His ways are mysterious. We are invited to trust that God's perceived silence is not His absence, and His timing, though often inscrutable, is perfect, always working for the ultimate good of those who love Him.

Questions for Reflection

  • In what areas of your life do you feel forgotten or forsaken by God?
  • How does the honesty of Lamentations 5:20 encourage you to be more authentic in your prayers?
  • What is the difference between questioning God out of despair and questioning God out of a desire to understand and draw closer?
  • How can you maintain hope and trust in God's faithfulness when His presence feels distant or His intervention delayed?

FAQ

Is it really okay to question God's actions, as this verse does?

Answer: Yes, the Bible, particularly the Psalms and books like Lamentations and Job, provides ample precedent for honest, even challenging, questioning of God. This is not a sign of weak faith, but often a profound expression of deep faith wrestling with difficult realities. The lament tradition, exemplified in Psalm 22:1, demonstrates that bringing our pain, confusion, and even accusations directly to God is a legitimate and spiritually healthy practice. It acknowledges God's sovereignty and His capacity to hear and handle our rawest emotions, ultimately strengthening our relationship with Him by fostering authenticity and deeper reliance.

Does God actually "forget" or "forsake" His people?

Answer: From a theological perspective, God does not literally forget or forsake His people in the sense of a human lapse of memory or a permanent withdrawal of His presence. The Bible consistently affirms God's unfailing remembrance of His covenant and His steadfast love, as seen in Isaiah 49:15-16 and Hebrews 13:5. However, from the human perspective of profound suffering and the experience of divine judgment or silence, God's actions or perceived inaction can feel like forgetfulness or abandonment. Lamentations 5:20 expresses this deeply human experience of desolation, not necessarily a theological statement about God's immutable nature, but a raw cry from the depths of despair. It reflects the tension between divine truth and human experience, a tension that is ultimately resolved through faith and perseverance in the knowledge of God's unchanging character and promises.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Lamentations 5:20, with its agonizing cry of feeling forgotten and forsaken, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus Himself echoed this very lament, crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). In that moment, Jesus, the perfect Son, experienced the ultimate divine abandonment, bearing the full weight of humanity's sin and the Father's wrath. He was truly forgotten and forsaken, so that we, who were alienated from God by our transgressions, might never be. His suffering on the cross, detailed prophetically in Isaiah 53, was the complete embodiment of the lament of a people cut off from God. Through His atoning sacrifice, Christ bridged the chasm of sin and restored humanity's relationship with God, ensuring that those who believe in Him are eternally remembered and never forsaken. The hope for remembrance and restoration expressed in Lamentations is fully realized in Christ's resurrection, which guarantees our future with God and the promise of a new heaven and new earth where there will be no more sorrow or crying, and God will dwell with His people forever, as described in Revelation 21:3-4. Thus, the deepest human cry of abandonment is met and overcome by the deepest divine love revealed in Christ, our faithful High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15).

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Commentary on Lamentations 5 verses 17–22

Here, I. The people of God express the deep concern they had for the ruins of the temple, more than for any other of their calamities; the interests of God's house lay nearer their hearts than those of their own (Lam 5:17, Lam 5:18): For this our heart is faint, and sinks under the load of its own heaviness; for these things our eyes are dim, and our sight is gone, as is usual in a deliquium, or fainting fit. "It is because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the holy mountain, and the temple built upon that mountain. For other desolations our hearts grieve and our eyes weep; but for this our hearts faint and our eyes are dim." Note, Nothing lies so heavily upon the spirits of good people as that which threatens the ruin of religion or weakens its interests; and it is a comfort if we can appeal to God that that afflicts us more than any temporal affliction to ourselves. "The people have polluted the mountain of Zion with their sins, and therefore God has justly made it desolate, to such a degree that the foxes walk upon it as freely and commonly as they do in the woods." It is sad indeed when the mountain of Zion has become a portion for foxes (Psa 63:10); but sin had first made it so, Eze 13:4.

II. They comfort themselves with the doctrine of God's eternity, and the perpetuity of his government (Lam 5:19): But thou, O Lord! remainest for ever. This they are taught to do by that psalm which is entitled, A prayer of the afflicted, Psa 102:27, Psa 102:28. When all our creature-comforts are removed from us, and our hearts fail us, we may then encourage ourselves with the belief, 1. Of God's eternity: Thou remainest for ever. What shakes the world gives no disturbance to him who made it; whatever revolutions there are on earth there is no change in the Eternal Mind; God is still the same, and remains for ever infinitely wise and holy, just and good; with him there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. 2. Of the never-failing continuance of his dominion: Thy throne is from generation to generation; the throne of glory, the throne of grace, and the throne of government, are all unchangeable, immovable; and this is matter of comfort to us when the crown has fallen from our head. When the thrones of princes, that should be our protectors, are brought to the dust, and buried in it, God's throne continues still; he still rules the world, and rules it for the good of the church. The Lord reigns, reigns for ever, even thy God, O Zion!

III. They humbly expostulate with God concerning the low condition they were now in, and the frowns of heaven they were now under (Lam 5:20): "Wherefore dost thou forsake us so long time, as if we were quite deprived of the tokens of thy presence? Wherefore dost thou defer our deliverance, as if thou hadst utterly abandoned us? Thou art the same, and, though the throne of thy sanctuary is demolished, thy throne in heaven is unshaken. But wilt thou not be the same to us?" Not as if they thought God had forgotten and forsaken them, much less feared his forgetting and forsaking them for ever; but thus they express the value they had for his favour and presence, which they thought it long that they were deprived of the evidence and comfort of. The last verse may be read as such an expostulation, and so the margin reads it: "For wilt thou utterly reject us? Wilt thou be perpetually wroth with us, not only not smile upon us and remember us in mercy, but frown upon us and lay us under the tokens of thy wrath, not only not draw nigh to us, but cast us out of thy presence and forbid us to draw nigh unto thee? How ill this be reconciled with thy goodness and faithfulness, and the stability of thy covenant?" We read it, "But thou hast rejected us; thou hast given us cause to fear that thou hast. Lord, how long shall we be in this temptation?" Note, Thou we may not quarrel with God, yet we may plead with him; and, though we may not conclude that he has cast off, yet we may (with the prophet, Jer 12:1) humbly reason with him concerning his judgments, especially the continuance of the desolations of his sanctuary.

IV. They earnestly pray to God for mercy and grace: "Lord, do not reject us for ever, but turn thou us unto thee; renew our days," Lam 5:21. Though these words are not put last, yet the Rabbin, because they would not have the book to conclude with those melancholy words (Lam 5:22), repeat this prayer again, that the sun may not set under a cloud, and so make these the last words both in writing and reading this chapter. They here pray, 1. For converting grace to prepare and qualify them for mercy: Turn us to thee, O Lord! They had complained that God had forsaken and forgotten them, and then their prayer is not, Turn thou to us, but, Turn us to thee, which implies an acknowledgment that the cause of the distance was in themselves. God never leaves any till they first leave him, nor stands afar off from any longer than while they stand afar off from him; if therefore he turn them to him in a way of duty, no doubt but he will quickly return to them in a way of mercy. This agrees with that repeated prayer (Psa 80:3, Psa 80:7, Psa 80:19), Turn us again, and then cause thy face to shine. Turn us from our idols to thyself, by a sincere repentance and reformation, and then we shall be turned. This implies a further acknowledgment of their own weakness and inability to turn themselves. There is in our nature a proneness to backslide from God, but no disposition to return to him till his grace works in us both to will and to do. So necessary is that grace that we may truly say, Turn us or we shall not be turned, but shall wander endlessly; and so powerful and effectual is that grace that we may as truly say, Turn us, and we shall be turned; for it is a day of power, almighty power, in which God's people are made a willing people, Psa 110:3. 2. For restoring mercy: Turn us to thee, and then renew our days as of old, put us into the same happy state that our ancestors were in long ago and that they continued long in; let it be with us as it was at the first, and at the beginning, Isa 1:26. Note, If God by his grace renew our hearts, he will be his favour renew our days, so that we shall renew our youth as the eagle, Psa 103:5. Those that repent, and do their first works, shall rejoice, and recover their first comforts. God's mercies to his people have been ever of old (Psa 25:6); and therefore they may hope, even then when he seems to have forsaken and forgotten them, that the mercy which was from everlasting will be to everlasting.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 17–22. Public domain.
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Thomas AquinasAD 1274
Then, there is a wondered indigration. As said: "Why dost thou forget us forever, why dost thou so long forsake us?" Just as the prophet Isaiah 49:15 exclains: "Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?"
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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