Because of this, our hearts are faint; because of these, our eyes grow dim—
Parallel translations
- WEB For this our heart is faint; For these things our eyes are dim;
- KJV For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.
- NKJV Because of this our heart is faint; Because of these things our eyes grow dim;
- NASB Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim;
- NLT Our hearts are sick and weary, and our eyes grow dim with tears.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Because of all this their hearts are faint and their eyes grow dim with sorrow. The weight of grief overwhelms them inwardly.
Overview
The poet describes a heart sickened and eyes dimmed by ceaseless weeping over Zion's ruin—the inner exhaustion that accompanies prolonged suffering. This honest expression of despair is voiced not away from God but toward Him. It models how faith can bring even its faintness to the Lord, who is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Isa 1:5Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.
- Ps 6:7My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.
- Job 17:7My eyes have grown dim with grief, and my whole body is but a shadow.
- Lam 2:11My eyes fail from weeping; I am churning within. My heart is poured out in grief over the destruction of the daughter of my people, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.
- Isa 38:14I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”
- Mic 6:13Therefore I am striking you severely, to ruin you because of your sins.
- Lam 1:22Let all their wickedness come before You, and deal with them as You have dealt with me because of all my transgressions. For my groans are many, and my heart is faint.
- Deut 28:65Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.
- Ezek 21:15So that their hearts may melt and many may stumble, I have appointed at all their gates a sword for slaughter. Yes, it is ready to flash like lightning; it is drawn for slaughter.
- Lev 26:36As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
- Ps 31:9Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well.
- Ezek 21:7And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.’ Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD.”
- Ps 69:3I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
- Jer 8:18My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me.
- Lam 1:13He sent fire from on high, and it overpowered my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.
- Jer 46:5Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!” declares the LORD.
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Christ at the center
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 5:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.