Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out your heart like water before the face of the LORD: lift up your hands toward him for the life of your young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
cry out
Psalm 42:8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Psalm 119:55,147,148 I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law…
watches
Judges 7:19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
Matthew 14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Mark 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
pour
1 Samuel 1:15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
1 Samuel 7:6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
Job 3:24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
lift up
Psalm 28:2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
Psalm 63:4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Psalm 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
that faint
Lamentations 2:11,12 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city…
Lamentations 4:1-9 How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street…
Isaiah 51:20 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.
Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.
The imagery of pouring out one's heart like water suggests complete vulnerability and openness before God. Water, once poured out, cannot be gathered back, symbolizing total surrender and transparency. This metaphor is echoed in Psalm 62:8, where believers are encouraged to trust in God and pour out their hearts to Him. In the context of Lamentations, this act of pouring out is a plea for mercy and relief from suffering. It reflects the biblical principle that God desires sincere and heartfelt prayer, as seen in the prayers of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:15 and David in Psalm 142:2.
Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street.
Lifting hands in prayer is a biblical gesture of seeking God's help and blessing, as seen in 1 Timothy 2:8 and Psalm 28:2. This act signifies dependence on God and a plea for His intervention. The mention of children fainting from hunger highlights the dire consequences of the Babylonian siege, where famine and deprivation were rampant. This imagery is a poignant reminder of the covenant curses outlined in Deuteronomy 28:53-57, where disobedience to God would lead to such calamities. The suffering of children underscores the depth of the nation's distress and the urgent need for repentance and divine aid. The reference to the corners of every street indicates the widespread nature of the suffering, emphasizing the totality of the devastation experienced by Jerusalem.
“Arise, cry out in the night…” (Lamentations 2:19)
• God prompts immediate, active response; no waiting for daylight when disaster strikes.
• Nighttime cries show urgency (Psalm 119:62; Acts 16:25) and faith that God hears even in the dark (Psalm 139:11–12).
• The command “arise” rebukes passivity. When sorrow weighs heavy, the believer stands up and addresses God without delay (Mark 1:35).
“…from the first watch of the night.”
• In ancient Israel the first watch began just after sundown. The point is to start praying as soon as the need appears (Exodus 14:24; Mark 6:48).
• Early vigilance guards against spiritual numbness (1 Thessalonians 5:6).
• Regular, intentional prayer watches shape families and communities, reminding them that God is Lord over every hour, not merely the convenient ones.
“Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.”
• God welcomes unfiltered emotion—tears, fears, and confession—poured out completely (Psalm 62:8).
• Like Hannah who “poured out” her soul (1 Samuel 1:15), we empty ourselves so He can fill us.
• Water imagery highlights total release—nothing held back, no attempt to retrieve what has been surrendered (Hebrews 4:16).
• The “presence of the Lord” assures that lament is not venting into the void; it is communion with the living God who both hears and heals.
“Lift up your hands to Him…”
• A physical act reinforcing inner dependence (Psalm 28:2; 63:4).
• Raised hands mirror Moses on the hill as Israel fought below (Exodus 17:11); intercession influences outcomes.
• The New Covenant continues the posture: “I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands” (1 Timothy 2:8).
• This gesture also signals surrender—acknowledging God’s sovereignty while pleading for mercy.
“…for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street.”
• Jerusalem’s siege produced literal starvation (Lamentations 4:4, 10), fulfilling Deuteronomy 28:53’s warning.
• Children’s suffering intensifies the call; intercession is not abstract but tied to real, fragile lives (Joel 1:19).
• Today, spiritual hunger surrounds us—young hearts perishing without truth (Matthew 9:36).
• Prayer must move toward compassionate action: sharing bread, gospel, and protective care (James 2:15-16; Mark 6:37).
Lamentations 2:19 summons God’s people to urgent, wholehearted intercession. Rise without delay, keep watch through the night, pour out every grief before the Lord, lift up surrendered hands, and plead specifically for the vulnerable. The verse reassures that earnest prayer, grounded in trust and expressed with both heart and body, matters to God and can turn tragedy toward hope.
(19) In the beginning of the watches--i.e., of each watch, so that the lamentation was continued throughout the night.Lift up thy hands.--The wall is still addressed in its character as a mourner, beholding the children dying of hunger and lifting up her hands as in despairing supplication for them.
Verse 19. - In the beginning of the watches. This would seem to be most naturally explained as referring to the first watch of the night. When most are wrapped in their first and sweetest sleep, the daughter of Zion is to "arise and cry." Others explain, "at the beginning of each of the night watches;" i.e. all the night through. Previously to the Roman times, the Jews had divided the night into three watches (comp. Judges 3:19). Pour out thine heart like water; i.e. give free course to thy complaint, shedding tears meanwhile. The expression is parallel partly to phrases like "I am poured out like water" (Psalm 22:14), partly to "Pour out your heart before him" (Psalm 62:8). In the top of every street; rather, at every street corner (and so Lamentations 4:1).