Lamentations 2:11-22
English Standard Version
11 (A)My eyes are spent with weeping;
(B)my stomach churns;
(C)my bile is poured out to the ground
(D)because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
(E)because infants and babies (F)faint
in the streets of the city.
12 They cry to their mothers,
(G)“Where is bread and wine?”
(H)as they faint like a wounded man
in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
on their mothers' bosom.
13 What can I say for you, (I)to what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
(J)What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
(K)For your ruin is vast as the sea;
who can heal you?
14 (L)Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
(M)they have not exposed your iniquity
to (N)restore your fortunes,
(O)but have seen for you (P)oracles
that are false and misleading.
15 All who pass along the way
clap their hands at you;
(Q)they hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
(R)the perfection of beauty,
(S)the joy of all the earth?”
16 (T)All your enemies
rail against you;
they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
they cry: “We (U)have swallowed her!
Ah, this is the day we longed for;
now we have it; (V)we see it!”
17 The Lord has done what he purposed;
he has carried out (W)his word,
which he commanded (X)long ago;
(Y)he has thrown down (Z)without pity;
(AA)he has made the enemy rejoice over you
and exalted the (AB)might of your foes.
18 Their heart cried to the Lord.
O (AC)wall of the daughter of Zion,
(AD)let tears stream down like a torrent
(AE)day and night!
(AF)Give yourself no rest,
(AG)your eyes no respite!
19 “Arise, (AH)cry out in the night,
at the beginning of the night watches!
(AI)Pour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord!
(AJ)Lift your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
(AK)who faint for hunger
at the head of every street.”
20 Look, O Lord, and see!
(AL)With whom have you dealt thus?
(AM)Should women eat the fruit of their womb,
the children of (AN)their tender care?
Should (AO)priest and prophet be killed
in the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 In the dust of the streets
(AP)lie the young and the old;
(AQ)my young women and my young men
have fallen by the sword;
(AR)you have killed them in the day of your anger,
slaughtering (AS)without pity.
22 You summoned as if to (AT)a festival day
(AU)my terrors on every side,
(AV)and on the day of the anger of the Lord
no one escaped or survived;
(AW)those whom I held and raised
my enemy destroyed.
Lamentations 2:11-22
New International Version
11 My eyes fail from weeping,(A)
I am in torment within(B);
my heart(C) is poured out(D) on the ground
because my people are destroyed,(E)
because children and infants faint(F)
in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where is bread and wine?”(G)
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away(H)
in their mothers’ arms.(I)
13 What can I say for you?(J)
With what can I compare you,
Daughter(K) Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
that I may comfort you,
Virgin Daughter Zion?(L)
Your wound is as deep as the sea.(M)
Who can heal you?
14 The visions of your prophets
were false(N) and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
to ward off your captivity.(O)
The prophecies they gave you
were false and misleading.(P)
15 All who pass your way
clap their hands at you;(Q)
they scoff(R) and shake their heads(S)
at Daughter Jerusalem:(T)
“Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,(U)
the joy of the whole earth?”(V)
16 All your enemies open their mouths
wide against you;(W)
they scoff and gnash their teeth(X)
and say, “We have swallowed her up.(Y)
This is the day we have waited for;
we have lived to see it.”(Z)
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled(AA) his word,
which he decreed long ago.(AB)
He has overthrown you without pity,(AC)
he has let the enemy gloat over you,(AD)
he has exalted the horn[a] of your foes.(AE)
18 The hearts of the people
cry out to the Lord.(AF)
You walls of Daughter Zion,(AG)
let your tears(AH) flow like a river
day and night;(AI)
give yourself no relief,
your eyes no rest.(AJ)
19 Arise, cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart(AK) like water
in the presence of the Lord.(AL)
Lift up your hands(AM) to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint(AN) from hunger
at every street corner.
20 “Look, Lord, and consider:
Whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,(AO)
the children they have cared for?(AP)
Should priest and prophet be killed(AQ)
in the sanctuary of the Lord?(AR)
Footnotes
- Lamentations 2:17 Horn here symbolizes strength.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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