SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:20
Res : El resuello de nuestras narices, el ungido del SEÑOR, fue preso en sus hoyos, de quien habíamos dicho. A su sombra tendremos vida entre los gentiles.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Lamentations 4:20
Verse 20. The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord] That is, Zedekiah the king, who was as the life or the city, was taken in his flight by the Chaldeans, and his eyes were put out; so that he was wholly unfit to perform any function of government; though they had fondly hoped that if they surrendered and should be led captives, yet they should be permitted to live under their own laws and king in the land of their bondage.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 20. The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits , etc.] Or “the Messiah”, or “the Christ of the Lord” f133 ; not Josiah, as the Targum; and so Jarchi and others; for though he was the Lord’s anointed, and the life of the people, being the head of them, as every king is, especially a good one; yet he was slain, and not taken, and much less in their pits, and that not by the Chaldeans, but by the Egyptians; nor did the kingdom cease with him, or the end of the Jewish state then come, which continued some years after: but rather Zedekiah, as Aben Ezra and others, the last of the kings of Judah, with whom all agrees; he was the Lord’s anointed as king, and the preserver of the lives and liberties of the people, at least as they hoped; but when the city was taken by the Chaldeans, and he fled for his life, they pursued him, and took him; he fell into their hands, their pits, snares, and nets, as was foretold he should; and which are sometimes called the net and snare of the Lord; (see Ezekiel 12:13 17:20); (see Gill on “ Lamentations 4:19”). Many of the ancient Christian writers apply this to Christ; and particularly Theodoret takes it to be a direct prophecy of him and his sufferings. Vatablus, who interprets it of Josiah, makes him to be a type of Christ; as Calvin does Zedekiah, of whom he expounds the words; and the Targum, in the king of Spain’s Bible, is, “the King Messiah, who was beloved by us, as the breath of the spirit of life, which is in our nostrils.” What is here said may be applied to Christ; he is the life of men, he gives them life and breath, and in him they live and move; their spiritual life is from him, and is maintained and preserved by him; he lives in his people, and they in him, and they cannot live without him, no more than a man without his breath: he is the Christ of God, anointed with the Holy Ghost to the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King; and from whom Christians have their holy unction and their name: he was taken, not by the Chaldeans, but by the wicked Jews; who looked upon him as a very mischievous person, as if he had been an evil beast, a beast of prey, though the pure spotless Lamb of God; and they dug pits, laid snares, and formed schemes to take him, and at last did, and with wicked hands crucified him, and slew him; though not without his own and his Father’s will and knowledge, ( Acts 2:23); of whom we said, under his shadow we shall live among the Heathen ; in the midst of the nations round about them, unmolested by them, none daring to meddle with them; at least safe from being carried captive, as now they were. Though Jeconiah was taken and carried into Babylon, yet Zedekiah being placed upon the throne, the Jews hoped to live peaceable and quiet lives under his government, undisturbed by their neighbours; the wise and good government of a prince, and protection under it, being sometimes compared in Scripture to the shadow of a rock or tree, ( Isaiah 32:2 Ezekiel 31:6 Daniel 4:12); but now it was all over with them; their hope was gone, he being taken. Something like this may be observed in the disciples of Christ; they hoped he would have restored the kingdom to Israel, and they should have lived gloriously under his government; they trusted that it was he that should have redeemed Israel; but, when he was taken and crucified, their hope was in a manner gone, ( Luke 24:21). True believers in Christ do live peaceably, comfortably, and safely under him; they are among the Heathen, among the men of the world, liable to their reproaches, insults, and injuries; Christ is a tree, to which he is often compared, one and another, that casts a delightful, reviving, refreshing, and fructifying shadow, under which they sit with great delight, pleasure, and profit, ( Song of Solomon 2:3 Hosea 14:7); he is a rock, the shadow of which affords rest to weary souls, and shelters from the heat of divine wrath, the fiery law of God, and darts of Satan, and persecutions of men, ( Isaiah 32:2 25:4,5); and under his government, protection, and power, they dwell safely, that sin cannot destroy them, nor Satan devour them, nor the world hurt them; here they live spiritually, and shall never die eternally, ( Jeremiah 23:5,6 Psalm 91:1).
Matthew Henry Commentary
The deplorable state of the nation is contrasted with its ancien prosperity.
Lam. 4:1-12 What a change is here! Sin tarnishes the beauty of the mos exalted powers and the most excellent gifts; but that gold, tried in the fire, which Christ bestows, never will be taken from us; it outward appearance may be dimmed, but its real value can never be changed. The horrors of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem ar again described. Beholding the sad consequences of sin in the church of old, let us seriously consider to what the same causes may justly brin down the church now. But, Lord, though we have gone from thee in rebellion, yet turn to us, and turn our hearts to thee, that we ma fear thy name. Come to us, bless us with awakening, converting renewing, confirming grace.
Lam. 4:13-20 Nothing ripens a people more for ruin, nor fills the measure faster, than the sins of priests and prophets. The king himsel cannot escape, for Divine vengeance pursues him. Our anointed Kin alone is the life of our souls; we may safely live under his shadow and rejoice in Him in the midst of our enemies, for He is the true God and eternal life.
Lam. 4:21,22 Here it is foretold that an end should be put to Zion' troubles. Not the fulness of punishment deserved, but of what God ha determined to inflict. An end shall be put to Edom's triumphs. All the troubles of the church and of the believer will soon be accomplished And the doom of their enemies approaches. The Lord will bring their sins to light, and they shall lie down in eternal sorrow. Edom her represents all the enemies of the church. And the corruption, and sin of Israel, which the prophet has proved to be universal, justifies the judgments of the Lord. It shows the need of that grace in Christ Jesus which the sin and corruption of all mankind make so necessary __________________________________________________________________
Original Hebrew
רוח 7307 אפינו 639 משׁיח 4899 יהוה 3068 נלכד 3920 בשׁחיתותם 7825 אשׁר 834 אמרנו 559 בצלו 6738 נחיה 2421 בגוים׃ 1471
