Did you know there are different types of books of the Bible? There are history books (1 Samuel), prophecy books (Revelation), Gospels (Matthew), etc. One of the types of books in the Bible is poetry.
Lamentations is a poetry book.
Poems often use something called "figurative language." Two aspects of figurative language are called similes and metaphors. These are ways to compare one thing to another.
Simile:
- Uses "like" or "as" to compare two things.
- Example: "The ocean is as cold as ice."
Metaphor:
- Compares two things without using the words "like" or "as."
- Example: "He is a bear in the morning when he wakes up."
Click below to see how figurative language appears in Lamentations chapter 1.
Here are a few similes in this book of the Bible:
How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.
(Lamentations 1:1)
From the daughter of Zion
all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
before the pursuer.
(Lamentations 1:6)
...he has poured out his fury like fire.
(Lamentations 2:4)
The Lord has become like an enemy...
(Lamentations 2:6)
Their heart cried to the Lord.
O wall of the daughter of Zion,
let tears stream down like a torrent
day and night!
(Lamentations 2:18)
Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord!
(Lamentations 2:19)