Lamentations 1:15
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It's easy to read "called an assembly" as just a gathering of enemies, but the original word here can also mean a sacred feast or festival. God's judgment is so complete that even His judgment against Jerusalem is depicted as a gruesome celebration for her destroyers, turning a joyous religious concept into a terrifying pronouncement of doom.
“The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The speaker, personifying Jerusalem or Judah, laments the devastating loss of its strongest warriors, not in honorable combat, but within its own city walls. God has intentionally brought together an enemy force, described as a "solemn assembly" or feast, specifically to crush its young men. This crushing defeat is then depicted as God treading the "virgin daughter of Judah" in a winepress, a powerful image of complete subjugation and destruction.
The verse paints a stark picture of defeat, with Judah's strongest warriors not falling in glorious battle, but being crushed 'in the midst' of their own city. What does this intimate, ignominious destruction reveal about God's judgment?
The Shame of Internal Defeat
The prophet laments that God has "trodden under foot all my mighty men in my midst." This isn't just about military defeat; it's about a profound shame.
The text speaks of God summoning an 'assembly' against Judah. But this wasn't a gathering for celebration; it was a dark, twisted 'festival' of divine judgment. What does this eerie imagery convey?
A Proclaimed Day of Wrath
Ask a follow-up
The phrase "he hath called an assembly against me" carries a heavy double meaning, especially given the original language.
The image of God treading a winepress is visceral and brutal. What does this potent metaphor communicate about the intensity and totality of God's judgment on Judah?
Crushed Under Divine Wrath
The climax of the verse uses the powerful metaphor of a winepress to describe God's action against Judah.
Understand the original words
salal · Hebrew Verb
To cast off, refuse, or treat as worthless. Biblically, it refers to God's act of withdrawing His protection or favor due to covenant infidelity.
gath · Hebrew Noun
A facility for pressing grapes; metaphorically used to describe a place of intense judgment, crushing, or destruction of a people or nation.
betulah · Hebrew Noun
A poetic designation for the city or people of Jerusalem, emphasizing its perceived purity, vulnerability, and covenantal relationship with God.
This verse powerfully captures the devastation of Jerusalem's final fall to Babylon. The imagery of God calling an 'assembly' and 'treading the winepress' highlights that this was not just a military defeat, but a divine judgment executed through human hands.
722 BC
Fall of Samaria
The Northern Kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrian Empire, marking a significant loss of a Hebrew kingdom and a foreshadowing of future judgments.
c. 605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquers Judah and begins deporting members of the royal family and elite to Babylon, including the prophet Daniel.
c. 597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
Babylon deports more of Jerusalem's population and treasures, including the prophet Ezekiel, following a revolt by King Jehoiachin.
587/586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem
The Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, destroy Jerusalem and its Temple, culminating the period of judgment and scattering the survivors.
c. 586 BC
Third Babylonian Deportation
Following the destruction of Jerusalem, the remaining population is largely deported to Babylon, leaving the land desolate.
539 BC
Fall of Babylon
The Persian Empire, led by Cyrus the Great, conquers Babylon, paving the way for the eventual return of the exiles to Judah.
This passage uses similar imagery of treading a winepress, but here it's in the context of God's victorious judgment against His enemies, revealing the fierce power behind His actions.
Jeremiah 51:33This verse also uses the winepress metaphor to describe God's judgment and the destruction of cities, emphasizing the thoroughness of His wrath.
Joel 3:13Here, the winepress is where God gathers nations for judgment, directly linking the act of treading grapes to the execution of His justice against peoples.
Revelation 14:19-20This New Testament passage echoes the imagery of a great winepress of God's wrath, showing how this powerful metaphor for judgment continues throughout Scripture.
Ezekiel 39:17-20This passage describes a great sacrificial feast for birds and beasts after judgment, similar to the 'assembly' called in Lamentations, highlighting the devastating scale of God's wrath.
barnesLamentations 1:15: "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."
The Lord hath trodden under foot - Or, אדני 'ădonāy has made contemptible (i. e. put into the balance, made to go up as the lighter weight, and so made despicable) "my war-horses" (put metaphorically for heroes). In the midst of me - They had not fallen gloriously in…
wesleyLamentations 1:15: "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."
1:15 An assembly - God had called an assembly of Chaldeans against the city, to crush the inhabitants of it. Trodden - God had trodden upon the Jews as men use to stamp grapes in a wine - press.
It's easy to read "called an assembly" as just a gathering of enemies, but the original word here can also mean a sacred feast or festival. God's judgment is so complete that even His judgment against Jerusalem is depicted as a gruesome celebration for her destroyers, turning a joyous religious concept into a terrifying pronouncement of doom.
The speaker, personifying Jerusalem or Judah, laments the devastating loss of its strongest warriors, not in honorable combat, but within its own city walls. God has intentionally brought together an enemy force, described as a "solemn assembly" or feast, specifically to crush its young men. This crushing defeat is then depicted as God treading the "virgin daughter of Judah" in a winepress, a powerful image of complete subjugation and destruction.
The speaker, personifying Jerusalem or Judah, laments the devastating loss of its strongest warriors, not in honorable combat, but within its own city walls. God has intentionally brought together an enemy force, described as a "solemn assembly" or feast, specifically to crush its young men. This crushing defeat is then depicted as God treading the "virgin daughter of Judah" in a winepress, a powerful image of complete subjugation and destruction.
"“The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah." — It's easy to read "called an assembly" as just a gathering of enemies, but the original word here can also mean a sacred feast or festival. God's judgment is so complete that even His judgment ag…
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Last reviewed October 2026
