The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress.

LAMENTATIONS 1:15KJV
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Lamentations 1:15 (KJV)

What does Lamentations 1:15 mean?

Lamentations 1:15 describes the Lord bringing severe judgment on Jerusalem by defeating its strongest warriors, gathering enemies against the city, and crushing its young people as if trampling grapes in a winepress. The verse uses vivid imagery to show how complete and overwhelming the destruction is, with Jerusalem pictured as a young woman suffering humiliation and loss.

The speaker is the city of Jerusalem, personified as a woman mourning her fate after the Babylonian invasion. The verse highlights how the Lord (H136) has allowed Jerusalem’s defenders (mighty men, H47) to be defeated within her own walls (midst, H7130), and how an assembly (H4150) of enemies has been called to break her young men (H970). The image of the virgin daughter of Judah (H1330, H1323, H3063) being trampled in a winepress (H1660) emphasizes the total devastation and sorrow experienced by the people.

The Hebrew behind Lamentations 1:15

  • "Trodden under foot" uses the word פָּרַס (parash, H5541), which means to trample or crush. This word, along with "trodden" (דָּרַךְ, darak, H1869), paints a picture of complete defeat, as grapes are crushed in a winepress.
  • "Assembly" (מוֹעֵד, mo'ed, H4150) often refers to a set gathering or appointed time. Here, it suggests that the attack on Jerusalem was not random but part of a determined plan or judgment.
  • "Virgin, the daughter of Judah" (בְּתוּלַת בַּת־יְהוּדָה, betulat bat-Yehudah, H1330, H1323, H3063) is a poetic way of describing Jerusalem as pure and beloved, making her suffering feel even more tragic.
  • "Winepress" (גַּת, gat, H1660) is a powerful image in the ancient world, symbolizing not just destruction but a process that is thorough and inescapable.

Why Lamentations 1:15 matters

  • This verse clears up any idea that Jerusalem’s downfall was just bad luck or military weakness; it emphasizes that the Lord allowed and directed these events as judgment.
  • The vivid winepress imagery connects with other biblical passages where judgment is pictured as trampling grapes, helping readers see the depth of sorrow and loss.
  • By personifying Jerusalem as a young woman, the verse invites empathy and highlights the emotional and spiritual pain of the community, not just the physical destruction.

Where else these words appear

“foot” Hebrew H5541 · used in 4 verses

  • Job 28:16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
  • Job 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
  • Psalms 119:118 Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood.

“winepress” Hebrew H1660 · used in 5 verses

  • Judges 6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
  • Nehemiah 13:15 In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.
  • Isaiah 63:2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?

“mighty” Hebrew H47 · used in 17 verses

  • Judges 5:22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
  • Psalms 50:13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
  • Isaiah 34:7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

“men” Hebrew H970 · used in 44 verses

  • Deuteronomy 32:25 The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
  • Isaiah 31:8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
  • Jeremiah 51:22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;