Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
The eating and drinking are tears supplied in overflowing amount, picturing sorrow so constant and complete that grief itself has become sustenance. It portrays Judah in distress under the Assyrian threat. It stands as a complaint questioning how long the Lord God of hosts will remain angry against the prayer of His people, surrounded by appeals to the Shepherd of Israel who dwells between the cherubim to shine forth, to stir up strength before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, to come and save, and to turn the people again and cause His face to shine so they shall be saved. It is a prayer of strong faith seeking help from heaven at a time when the honor of Jehovah is at stake, that deliverance may demonstrate to the nations of earth that the God of the Hebrews still lives and reigns and that He alone is God over all earthly kingdoms.
The eating and drinking are tears supplied in overflowing amount, picturing sorrow so constant and complete that grief itself has become sustenance. It portrays Judah in distress under the Assyrian threat. It stands as a complaint questioning how long the Lord God of hosts will remain angry against the prayer of His people, surrounded by appeals to the Shepherd of Israel who dwells between the cherubim to shine forth, to stir up strength before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, to come and save, and to turn the people again and cause His face to shine so they shall be saved. It is a prayer of strong faith seeking help from heaven at a time when the honor of Jehovah is at stake, that deliverance may demonstrate to the nations of earth that the God of the Hebrews still lives and reigns and that He alone is God over all earthly kingdoms.