Lamentations 2:8-19
New International Version
8 The Lord determined to tear down
the wall around Daughter Zion.(A)
He stretched out a measuring line(B)
and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts(C) and walls lament;
together they wasted away.(D)
9 Her gates(E) have sunk into the ground;
their bars(F) he has broken and destroyed.
Her king and her princes are exiled(G) among the nations,
the law(H) is no more,
and her prophets(I) no longer find
visions(J) from the Lord.
10 The elders of Daughter Zion
sit on the ground in silence;(K)
they have sprinkled dust(L) on their heads(M)
and put on sackcloth.(N)
The young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.(O)
11 My eyes fail from weeping,(P)
I am in torment within(Q);
my heart(R) is poured out(S) on the ground
because my people are destroyed,(T)
because children and infants faint(U)
in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers,
“Where is bread and wine?”(V)
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away(W)
in their mothers’ arms.(X)
13 What can I say for you?(Y)
With what can I compare you,
Daughter(Z) Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
that I may comfort you,
Virgin Daughter Zion?(AA)
Your wound is as deep as the sea.(AB)
Who can heal you?
14 The visions of your prophets
were false(AC) and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
to ward off your captivity.(AD)
The prophecies they gave you
were false and misleading.(AE)
15 All who pass your way
clap their hands at you;(AF)
they scoff(AG) and shake their heads(AH)
at Daughter Jerusalem:(AI)
“Is this the city that was called
the perfection of beauty,(AJ)
the joy of the whole earth?”(AK)
16 All your enemies open their mouths
wide against you;(AL)
they scoff and gnash their teeth(AM)
and say, “We have swallowed her up.(AN)
This is the day we have waited for;
we have lived to see it.”(AO)
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled(AP) his word,
which he decreed long ago.(AQ)
He has overthrown you without pity,(AR)
he has let the enemy gloat over you,(AS)
he has exalted the horn[a] of your foes.(AT)
Footnotes
- Lamentations 2:17 Horn here symbolizes strength.
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