Lamentations 5:11
What does Lamentations 5:11 mean?
A plain-English look at Lamentations 5:11 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Lamentations 5:11 means
The horrors of conquest include the violation of women in Zion and virgins in Judah’s cities. This is the shattering of persons, families, and communal honor. The verse does not sensationalize; it simply names the atrocity and lays it before God, the righteous Judge who sees every hidden crime. Such violence exposes how far the nation has fallen under judgment and how brutal the oppressors are. It also underscores the urgency: restoration must be moral and protective, not merely material. The lament refuses to be silent about evil, trusting that Jehovah will not ignore the cries of the violated and will one day answer with justice and healing.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah.
KJV
King James Version · 1611They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949They took by force the women in Zion, the virgins in the towns of Judah.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Wives in Zion they have humbled, Virgins--in cities of Judah.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752They oppressed the women in Sion, and the virgins in the cities of Juda.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890They have ravished the women in Zion, the maids in the cities of Judah.
Context
From bodily hunger, the lament turns to bodily harm. Verse 11 records sexual violence as part of the nation’s humiliation. The next verse will speak of princes and elders mistreated, moving from women’s suffering to the degradation of leadership. This sequence shows that all strata of society have been wounded. It deepens the reader’s sense that only a comprehensive work of God can renew the people.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Zechariah 14:2
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
- Deuteronomy 28:30
Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not use the fruit thereof.
- Isaiah 13:16
Their infants also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be rifled, and their wives ravished.
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