Bible Strands
Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet speaks to the people of Jerusalem as their rulers flee and the city faces imminent military collapse.
The words — שְׁעוּ (she.'U) means "look away," and אֲמָרֵר ('a.ma.Rer) translates literally to "I will show bitterness," establishing the speaker's command for uninterrupted mourning.
The thread — This demand for unconsoled grief appears in Jeremiah 9:1, Matthew 2:18, and Psalms 77:2.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to accept that certain divine judgments demand raw, unmediated mourning rather than immediate comfort, asking them to stand with the reality of destruction without seeking relief.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 9:1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
- Matthew 2:18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
- Psalms 77:2 In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
- Jeremiah 13:17 But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
- Jeremiah 31:15 This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
- Micah 1:8 Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.
- Ruth 1:20 “Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me.
- Isaiah 15:3 In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping.
- Isaiah 33:7 Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
- Jeremiah 4:19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.