Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. Is it...: or, It is nothing pass by: Heb. pass by the way?
Lamentations 1:12 (KJV)
The cry of Lamentations is not a question expecting comfort; it is a summons to witness suffering that might otherwise be passed by unremarked. Today’s news carries the weight of many such cries—children caught in epidemics, families displaced by weather, captives held in darkness, refugees still fleeing after years of persecution. The ancient voice asks us to pause and truly see, not to explain away or resolve quickly, but to let the reality of others’ sorrow enter us. To pass by such witness unmoved is itself a kind of turning away that faith calls us to resist.
What prompted this
Today's headlines are dominated by suffering—natural disasters destroying homes, epidemics spreading among children, mass abductions, and geopolitical tensions that weigh on vulnerable populations caught between larger powers.
- China warns it will safeguard its interests after US widens sanctions against Iran BBC World
- Lockerbie bombing trial postponed days before it was due to start BBC World
- US removes Syria from list of state sponsors of terrorism BBC World
- Tornado tears through French village, leaving dozens hurt and homes ravaged BBC World
- Trump calls leaders to isolate Iran. And, SCOTUS backs Trump for now on mail-in voting NPR News
- How the AIDS crisis helped create a multibillion-dollar death-speculation market NPR News
- Can Trump's economic war against Iran do what airstrikes and negotiations couldn't? NPR News
- How to understand this heat wave (as told by NPR's senior climate editor) NPR News
- Prince Harry quits board of wildlife charity after rangers’ human rights abuses The Guardian
- Video shows hundreds held captive after Nigeria mosque kidnapping The Guardian