Lamentations 5:13The young men bare the mill; The children stumbled under the wood.
The setting
Jerusalem, 586 BC. After Babylon's siege, survivors survey the devastation. Children who once played now carry adult burdens through rubble-filled streets in modern-day East Jerusalem, Israel.
The emotion here: devastated watching the innocent suffer
The original word
ṭāḥan (טָחַן) — to grind grain, backbreaking work usually done by animals or slaves
Why it matters
Grinding grain was typically women's work or done by donkeys — forcing young men into this role was ultimate humiliation
Read with care
What most readers miss in Lamentations 5:13
The Hebrew emphasizes these are YOUNG MEN doing children's work — complete role reversal showing societal collapse
Common misconceptionPeople think this is just about hard work, but it's about complete social breakdown — children forced into adult roles while adults are dead or enslaved.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Lamentations 5:13
Bible Genome reading
Lamentations 5:13 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Lamentations 5:13 comes from the book of Lamentations, written during the Exile period. These words are attributed to Jeremiah. The dominant emotion in this verse is grieving, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the poetry genre of biblical literature. Key themes include child labor, innocence lost. Notable phrases: young men bare mill; children stumbled under wood. This verse is a prayer.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same grieving
“By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you…”
— Genesis 3:19
“Jesus wept.”
— John 11:35
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?”
— Psalms 22:1
“They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.”
— Psalms 22:18
“for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;”
— Romans 3:23
Your reflection
What does Lamentations 5:13 mean to you, today?
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