It's helpful
to know that Lamentations is written, not in prose, but in poetry. Lyrical
poetry in fact.
This does not
mean that it rhymes, either in the original Hebrew or in the translated
English. It does mean that we can look for the rhythm of a recurring thought.
Let's have a look. Perhaps the very first verse gives us an example. Using the
King James Version, I'll set it out line by line, even though the translators
chose not to set it out in this fashion. I wonder why.
How doth the city
sit solitary,
that was full of people!
How is she become
as a widow!
she that was great among the provinces,
And princess among the provinces,
how is she
become tributary!
the NRSVue
version (New Revised Standard Version updated edition) has it:
How lonely sits
the city
that once was full of people!
How like a widow
she has become,
she that was great among the nations!
She
that was a princess among the provinces
Has become subject to forced labor.
Thomas Leishman’s article The Genius of Hebrew Poetry (see The Christian Science Journal Feb. 1940) is excellent on this subject.
I love this opening. It is engaging…one wonders what has caused this state of affairs. Let's read on in our Bibles, dear friends.
Julie Swannell
1 comment:
What an eye-opener that is! I love the transformation that occurs when we read it in the NRSV. It really is poetic and lyrical in this version, and becomes such an arresting opening stanza to set the tone for what is to follow.
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