LAMENTATIONS 1:1-18; 2:5; 4:14 [41.292, 42.289, 43.161 {233,768,1216}]
Comments:
1. Fragment identifications are based on
42.289 {768}.
2. This text is quite different than the MT.
A. Occasionally the verses are so different
that the MT and the DSS are translated and put one above the other after the
initial (normal) reconstruction, highlighting only the differences.
3. Features: occasionally YHWH (the
LORD/YHWH) for MT's adonai (Lord); and vice versa.
4. 1:16 and 1:17 are reversed (and have
minor differences). However, the DSS version disrupts the acrostic of chapter
1.
Lamentations 1:1b-6a [42.289, 43.161 {768,1216} Bottom Right Fragment]
1:1 How lonely sits the city That was
full of people! She has become like a widow Who was
once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the
provinces Has become a forced laborer!
2 She weeps bitterly in the night, And her tears are on her
cheeks; She has none to comfort her Among
all her lovers.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They
have become her enemies.
3
4 The roads of
5 Her adversaries have become her masters,
Her enemies prosper; For the LORD has caused her grief Because of the multitude of her transgressions; Her little ones have gone away As
captives before the adversary.
6a And all her majesty Has departed from the daughter of
Lamentations 1:6b-10a [41.292, 42.289,
43.161 {233,768,1216} Top Fragment, Right Column]
6b Her princes have become like bucks That have found no {or to it/them} no and
pasture; And they have fled without without {different word} strength Before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and homelessness
{It appears as though the beginning of v7 is
omitted; the line would be too long (i.e. omit `In the days of her
affliction and homelessness
Comparison, highlighting differences:
MT: In the days of her affliction and
homelessness
DSS: The LORD remembers all our pain That were from the days of
old When her people fell into the hand of the adversary, And no one helped. Her adversaries mocked at her brokenness/destruction.
8
9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; She did
not consider her future; Therefore she has fallen astonishingly {spelled differently}; She has no comforter. "See, O
LORD, my affliction, For the enemy has magnified himself!"
10a The adversary has stretched out
his hand Over all her precious things, For she has seen the
nations enter her sanctuary,
Lamentations 1:10b-18a [42.289, 43.161 {768,1216} Top Fragment, Left column]
10b The ones whom
Thou didst command That they should not enter into Thy congregation.
11 All her people groan seeking bread; They have given their her precious
things for food To restore their her lives themselves. "See, O LORD, and look,
For I am despised."
12 "Is it nothing to all you who pass this way? Look and see if there is any pain like my pain
Which was severely dealt out to me, Which the LORD
inflicted, caused them to sojourn {or `attacked'} on the day of His fierce anger.
13 "From on high He sent fire into my bones, And it He
prevailed over me over them; He has
spread a net for my feet; He has turned me back; He has made me desolate {spelled differently}, all day and
faint {NASB `Faint all day long'}.
14 "The yoke of my transgressions
is ?????? is bound; {Most translations say something like "is
bound," but the translation of the MT's word is uncertain (so note NRSV)}.
By His hand and they are he/it is knit together; They have come upon my neck; He has made my strength fail; The Lord {Adonai} The LORD {YHWH} has given me into the hands Of those against whom I am not able to stand.
Comparison,
highlighting differences:
MT: The yoke of my transgressions is
?????, By His hand they are knit together; They have come upon my neck; He has made my strength
fail; The
Lord {Adonai} has given me into
the hands Of those against
whom I am not able to stand.
DSS: The yoke of my transgressions is bound by His hand, and it is
knit together; They have come upon my neck; He has
made my strength fail; The LORD {YHWH}
has given me into the hand Of those against whom I am not able to stand.
15 "The Lord has rejected all my
strong men In my midst; He has called an appointed time against me To crush my young men; The Lord {Adonai} The LORD {YHWH} has trodden as in a wine press The
virgin daughter of Judah.
16 "For these things I weep; My
eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter, One who restores
my soul; My children are desolate Because the enemy has prevailed."
17 The
daughter of Zion stretches out her hands; There is no one to comfort her among all her lovers; Righteous are You, O
LORD; The Lord has lied in wait for The LORD has commanded concerning Jacob That the ones round about him should be his adversaries; Jerusalem The righteous has
become an unclean thing among them.
Comparision,
highlighting the differences:
MT:
DSS: The
daughter of
{addition to v17;
roughly equals v 16} "For these things my eyes weep; My tears run down; Because
far from me is a
comforter, One who restores my soul;
My children are desolate Because the enemy has prevailed."
Comparison
of MT v16 and DSS v17 addition:
MT: "For these things I weep; My eyes My eyes {2x in MT} run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter, One who
restores my soul; My children are desolate Because the enemy has
prevailed."
DSS: "For these things my eyes weep; My tears run down; Because far from me is a comforter, One
who restores my soul; My children are desolate Because the enemy has
prevailed."
18 "The LORD {YHWH} The Lord {Adonai},
He% is righteous; For I
have rebelled against His command; Hear now, all peoples, And behold my pain;
My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity.
Lamentations 2:5 [42.289, 43.161 {768,1216}
2:5 The Lord has become like an enemy. He has
swallowed up
Lamentations 4:14? [42.289 {768} Bottom
Right Fragment]
4:14 They wandered, blind, in the
streets; They were defiled with blood So that no one could touch their garments.
Key to the English Text Reconstructions
SIMILARITIES: Regular = MT yes, DSS yes; Italics
= MT yes, DSS probable; Small
Type = MT yes, DSS hole
DIFFERENCES: Italics/Bold (Blue) = MT yes, DSS no; Underline/Bold (Red) = DSS yes, MT no; Underline
(Purple) = DSS probable, MT no
OTHER: .... = blank space, apparently with
no writing; $ = present in NASB, but missing in MT; % = correction of NASB to
make it reflect MT; Phrase in {brackets} = explanation.
ABBREVIATIONS: MT = Masoretic Text (1,000
years old); DSS = Dead Sea Scrolls (2,000 years old); NASB = New American
Standard Bible, a literal English Bible translation