Lamentations 2
Expanded Bible
The Lord Destroyed Jerusalem
2 Look how the Lord in his anger
has ·brought Jerusalem to shame [L treated the daughter of Zion with contempt; or brought a cloud over the daughter of Zion].
He has thrown down the ·greatness [splendor; beauty] of Israel
from the ·sky [heavens] to the earth;
he did not remember his footstool [C the Temple; Ps. 99:5; 132:7],
on the day of his anger.
2 The Lord swallowed up without ·mercy [pity]
all the ·houses [homes; dwellings] of the people of Jacob;
in his anger he ·pulled down [demolished]
the strong places of [L the daughter of] Judah.
He threw her kingdom and its rulers
down to the ground in dishonor.
3 In his anger he has ·removed [cut to pieces]
all the ·strength [L horn; C a symbol of pride and power] of Israel;
he took away his ·power [L right hand] from Israel
when the enemy came.
He burned against the people of Jacob [C another name for Israel] like a flaming fire
that burns up everything around it.
4 Like an enemy, he ·prepared to shoot [bent; drew] his bow,
and his right hand was against us [Ps. 7:12–13].
Like an ·enemy [foe], he killed
all ·the good-looking people [L which eye desired];
he poured out his anger like fire
on the tents of ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple].
5 The Lord was like an enemy;
he swallowed up Israel.
He swallowed up all her palaces
and destroyed all her strongholds.
He has ·caused more [multiplied] moaning and groaning
for ·Judah [L the daughter of Judah].
6 He ·cut down [laid waste to; violently treated] his ·Temple [L booth] like a ·garden [vineyard];
he destroyed the meeting place.
The Lord has made ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] forget
the ·set feasts [or meeting place] and Sabbath days.
He has ·rejected [despised] the king and the priest
in his great anger.
7 The Lord has rejected his altar
and ·abandoned [disavowed] his ·Temple [L Holy Place; Ezek. 9–11].
He has ·handed over to [L delivered into the hand of] the enemy
the walls of its [C probably Jerusalem’s] palaces.
·Their uproar [L They gave forth voice] in the Lord’s ·Temple [L house]
was like that of a feast day.
8 The Lord planned to destroy
the wall around ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple].
He ·measured the wall [L extended a measuring line; C usually used in construction but here in demolition]
and did not stop himself from ·destroying [L swallowing] it.
He made the walls and ·defenses [ramparts] ·sad [mourn];
together they have ·fallen [languished].
9 ·Jerusalem’s [L Its] gates have ·fallen [sunk] to the ground;
he destroyed and smashed the bars [C of the gates; Ps. 107:16; Is. 45:2; Jer. 51:30; Nah. 3:13].
Her king and her princes are among the nations.
The ·teaching [law; instruction; C God’s law] has stopped,
and the prophets do not have
visions from the Lord.
10 The elders of ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple]
sit on the ground in silence.
They throw dust on their heads
and put on ·rough cloth [sackcloth; burlap; signs of grief or repentance].
The young women of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground [C in sorrow].
11 My eyes ·have no more tears [L are exhausted from tears],
and ·I am sick to my stomach [L my innards/stomach/bowels are agitated].
·I feel empty inside [L My bile/gall is poured out on the ground],
because ·my people [L the daughter of my people] have been ·destroyed [shattered; broken].
Children and ·babies [nurslings] are fainting
in the ·streets [public areas] of the city.
12 They ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain and wine?”
They faint like wounded soldiers
in the ·streets [public areas] of the city
and ·die [L pour out their lives] in their mothers’ ·arms [L bosom].
13 What can I ·say [testify] about you, [L daughter] Jerusalem?
What can I compare you to?
What can I say you are like?
How can I comfort you, ·Jerusalem [L virgin daughter Zion; C location of the Temple]?
Your ·ruin [wound] is as ·deep [great] as the sea.
·No one [L Who…?] can heal you.
14 Your prophets saw visions,
but they were ·false [empty] and ·worth nothing [insipid; nonsense; Ezek. 10:10–12].
They did not ·point out [expose] your ·sins [guilt]
to ·keep you from being captured [or restore your fortunes].
They ·preached what was [L saw oracles for you that were] ·false [empty]
and ·led you wrongly [fraudulent].
15 All who pass by on the road
clap their hands at you [C in approval of Jerusalem’s destruction; Ezek. 25:6];
they ·make fun of [hiss at; C in scorn; 1 Kin. 9:8; Jer. 19:8; Zeph. 2:15] [L the daughter of] Jerusalem
and shake their heads.
They ask, “Is this the city that people called
the most beautiful city,
the ·happiest place on [joy of the whole] earth [Ps. 48:2]?”
16 All your enemies ·open [L crack] their mouths
to speak against you.
They make fun and ·grind [gnash] their teeth [C in anger].
They say, “We have swallowed you up.
This is the day we were ·waiting [hoping] for!
We have finally seen it happen.”
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has ·kept [fulfilled] his ·word [threat; C the covenant curses; Deut. 28:45–50]
that he commanded ·long ago [L in days of old].
He has ·destroyed [demolished] without ·mercy [pity],
and he has let your enemies laugh at you [C such as Edom; Obad. 1–21].
He has ·strengthened [L exalted the horn of; C symbol of pride and power] your enemies.
18 ·The people [L Their hearts] cry out to the Lord.
Wall of ·Jerusalem [L the daughter of Zion; C the location of the Temple],
let your tears flow
like a ·river [torrent; wadi] day and night.
Do not ·stop [L allow yourself relaxation]
or let your eyes rest.
19 Get up, cry out in the night,
·even as the night begins [L at the beginning of the night watches; C the night was divided into three four-hour watches].
Pour out your heart like water
·in prayer to [L before the presence/face of] the Lord.
Lift up your hands in prayer to him
for the life of your children
who are ·fainting [growing weak] with hunger
·on every street corner [L at the head of every street].
20 Jerusalem says: “Look, Lord, and see
to whom you have done this.
·Women [L Should women…?] eat their own ·babies [L fruit; C short for “fruit of their womb”],
the children ·they have cared for [they have nursed/borne; or which are well-formed; Deut. 28:53–55; Jer. 19:6–9].
·Priests and prophets are [L Should priests and prophets be…?] killed
in the ·Temple [L holy place] of the Lord.
21 “People young and old
lie outside on the ground.
My young women and young men
have ·been killed [L fallen] by the sword.
You killed them on the day of your anger;
you ·killed [slaughtered] them without ·mercy [pity].
22 “You invited ·terrors [or enemies] to come against me on every side,
as if ·you were inviting them to a feast [L on an appointed/feast day].
No one escaped or remained alive
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
My enemy has ·killed [annihilated]
those I ·cared for [nursed; bore] and brought up.”
Lamentations 2
New American Standard Bible
God’s Anger over Israel
2 How the Lord has [a](A)covered the daughter of Zion
With a cloud in His anger!
He has (B)hurled
The (C)glory of Israel from heaven to earth,
And has not remembered His (D)footstool
In the day of His anger.
2 The Lord has [b](E)destroyed; He has not spared
All the settlements of Jacob.
In His wrath He has (F)overthrown
The strongholds of the daughter of Judah,
He has (G)hurled them down to the ground;
He has (H)profaned the kingdom and its leaders.
3 In fierce anger He has cut off
[c]All the (I)strength of Israel;
He has (J)pulled back His right hand
From the enemy.
And He has (K)burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
Consuming on all sides.
4 He has bent His (L)bow like an enemy;
His right hand is positioned like an adversary,
And He has killed everything that was (M)pleasant to the eye.
In the tent of the daughter of Zion
He has (N)poured out His wrath like fire.
5 The Lord has become like an (O)enemy.
He has (P)engulfed Israel;
He has engulfed all its (Q)palaces,
He has destroyed its strongholds
And (R)caused great mourning and grieving in the daughter of Judah.
6 And He has treated His [d]tabernacle violently, like a despised garden;
He has (S)destroyed His appointed [e]meeting place.
The Lord has (T)caused
The appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion to be forgotten,
And He has (U)despised king and priest
In the indignation of His anger.
7 The Lord has (V)rejected His altar,
He has [f]repudiated His sanctuary;
He (W)has handed over
The walls of her palaces to the enemy.
They have made a (X)noise in the house of the Lord
As on the day of an appointed feast.
8 The Lord determined to destroy
The wall of the daughter of Zion.
He has (Y)stretched out a line,
He has not restrained His hand from [g]destroying,
And He has (Z)caused rampart and wall to mourn;
They have languished together.
9 Her (AA)gates have sunk into the ground,
He has destroyed and broken her bars.
Her king and her leaders are among the nations;
The (AB)Law is gone.
Her prophets, too, find
(AC)No vision from the Lord.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
(AD)Sit on the ground and [h](AE)are silent.
They have thrown (AF)dust on their heads;
They have put on (AG)sackcloth.
The (AH)virgins of Jerusalem
Have bowed their heads to the ground.
11 My (AI)eyes fail because of tears,
My [i](AJ)spirit is greatly troubled;
My [j](AK)heart is poured out on the earth
(AL)Because of the [k]destruction of the daughter of my people,
When (AM)little ones and infants languish
In the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“(AN)Where is grain and wine?”
As they faint like a wounded person
In the streets of the city,
As their (AO)lives are poured out
[l]In their mothers’ arms.
13 How shall I admonish you?
What (AP)shall I compare to you,
Daughter of Jerusalem?
What shall I liken to you as I comfort you,
(AQ)Virgin daughter of Zion?
For your collapse is as vast as the sea;
Who can (AR)heal you?
14 Your (AS)prophets have seen for you
Worthless and deceptive visions;
And they have not (AT)exposed your wrongdoing
So as to restore you from captivity,
But they have (AU)seen for you worthless and misleading pronouncements.
15 All who pass along the way
(AV)Clap their hands in ridicule at you;
They (AW)[m]hiss and shake their heads
At the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city of which they said,
‘(AX)Perfect in beauty,
(AY)A joy to all the earth’?”
16 All (AZ)your enemies
Have opened their mouths wide against you;
They [n]hiss and (BA)gnash their teeth.
They say, “We have (BB)engulfed her!
This certainly is the (BC)day which we awaited;
We have reached it, we have seen it!”
17 The Lord has (BD)done what He determined;
He has accomplished His word
Which He commanded from days of old.
He has torn down (BE)without sparing,
And He has helped the enemy to (BF)rejoice over you;
He has (BG)exalted the [o]might of your adversaries.
18 Their (BH)heart cried out to the Lord:
“You (BI)wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let your (BJ)tears stream down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief,
Let [p]your eyes have no rest.
19 Arise, whimper in the (BK)night
At the beginning of the night watches;
(BL)Pour out your heart like water
Before the presence of the Lord;
Raise your hands to Him
For the (BM)life of your little ones
Who (BN)languish because of hunger
At the head of every street.
20 See, Lord, and look!
With (BO)whom have You dealt this way?
Should women really (BP)eat their [q]children,
The little ones who were [r]born healthy?
Should (BQ)priest and prophet really be killed
In the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 On the ground in the streets
Lie (BR)young and old;
My (BS)virgins and my young men
Have fallen by the sword.
You have put them to death on the day of Your anger,
You have slaughtered, (BT)without sparing.
22 You called as on the day of an appointed feast
My (BU)terrors on every side;
And there was (BV)no one who survived or escaped
On the day of the Lord’s anger.
As for those (BW)whom I brought forth healthy and whom I raised,
My enemy annihilated them.”
Footnotes
- Lamentations 2:1 Or scorned...Zion in His anger
- Lamentations 2:2 Lit engulfed
- Lamentations 2:3 Lit Every horn
- Lamentations 2:6 Or booth
- Lamentations 2:6 Or feast
- Lamentations 2:7 I.e., scornfully rejected
- Lamentations 2:8 Lit engulfing
- Lamentations 2:10 Another reading is wail
- Lamentations 2:11 Lit inward parts are in ferment
- Lamentations 2:11 Lit liver
- Lamentations 2:11 Lit breaking
- Lamentations 2:12 Lit on...breast
- Lamentations 2:15 Or whistle
- Lamentations 2:16 Or whistle
- Lamentations 2:17 Lit horn
- Lamentations 2:18 Lit the daughter of your eye
- Lamentations 2:20 Lit fruit
- Lamentations 2:20 Or tenderly cared for
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