Lamentations 2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2
The Judgment of the Lord
1 Behold how the Lord in his anger
has enveloped in darkness the daughter of Zion.
He has hurled down from heaven to earth
the glory of Israel,
without any sign of regard for his footstool
on the day of his anger.
2 Without mercy, the Lord has destroyed
all the dwellings of Jacob.
In his wrath he has torn down
the fortresses of the daughter of Judah.
He has thrown to the ground in dishonor
the kingdom and its rulers.
3 In his fierce anger he broke off
all the strength of Israel.
He withdrew the protection of his right hand
at the approach of the enemy.
He blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire
that consumes everything in its path.
4 Like an enemy he bent his bow,
with his right hand prepared for action.
Like a foe he slew all those
in whom he once took great pride.
He poured forth his fury like fire
over the tent of the daughter of Zion.
5 The Lord has become an enemy;[a]
he has annihilated Israel.
He has destroyed all its palaces
and left all its strongholds in ruins.
For the daughter of Judah
he has multiplied mourning and lamentation.
6 He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden
and destroyed his tabernacle.
The Lord has erased in Zion
every memory of festivals and Sabbaths.
In his fierce anger he has treated with contempt
king and priest alike.
7 The Lord has rejected his altar
and abandoned his sanctuary.
He has delivered the walls of her palaces
into the power of the enemy
who raised a clamor in the house of the Lord
as on a festival day.
8 The Lord was determined to destroy
the walls of the daughter of Zion.
He marked off its boundaries with a measuring line
and did not relent in his purpose.
He caused both wall and rampart to lament;
together they crumbled to the ground.
9 The bars of her gates have been shattered,
and the gates themselves have sunk into the ground.
Her king and her princes are in exile among the Gentiles;
there is no instruction any longer from priests,
and her prophets have not received
any vision from the Lord.[b]
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
sit on the ground in silence.
They have strewn dust on their heads
and wrapped themselves in sackcloth.
The maidens of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes are exhausted from weeping,
and torment afflicts my innermost being.
My gall is poured out on the earth
because of the destruction of my people,
as children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.
12 They keep crying out to their mothers,
“Where is there bread and something to drink?”
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
and breathe their last
in their mothers’ arms.
13 To what can I liken you or compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I do to rescue and comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
Your ruin is as vast as the sea.
Who can heal you?
14 The visions that your prophets revealed to you
were false and worthless.
They did not lay bare your guilt
so that you might reverse your fortunes.
The visions they proclaimed to you
were erroneous and deceptive.[c]
15 All those who pass by
clap their hands at you.
They hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem,
“Is this the city once described as perfect in beauty,
the joy of the whole world?”
16 All your enemies do not hesitate
to open their mouths against you.
They hiss and gnash their teeth;
they cry out, “We have devoured her!
This is the day we longed for;
at last we have seen it.”
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has carried out his threat.
As he decreed from days of old,
he has destroyed without pity.
He has permitted the enemy to rejoice over you
and exalted the strength of your foes.
18 Cry out to the Lord,
O wall of the daughter of Zion.
Let your tears flow like a torrent
both day and night.
Allow yourself no respite;
give your eyes no rest.
19 Arise and cry out during the night
at the beginning of every watch.[d]
Pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children
who are fainting from hunger
at the corner of every street.
20 Look, O Lord, and consider:
whom have you ever treated in this fashion?
Should women eat their little ones,
the children to whom they gave birth?
Should priest and prophet be killed
in the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 The young and the old are lying dead
on the ground in the streets.
My young women and my young men
have fallen by the sword.
On the day of your anger you have slain them,
slaughtering them without pity.
22 As if it were for a day of festival,
you summoned my enemies from every side.
On the day of the Lord’s anger
no one escaped and no one survived.
All those whom I bore and reared
my enemy has completely annihilated.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 2:5 The Lord has become an enemy: the one who had been their best friend had turned against them and left them powerless against their foes.
- Lamentations 2:9 God had blessed his people with priests and prophets, but because they had persecuted them and denounced their visions, the people would be without prophets and visions.
- Lamentations 2:14 How to distinguish between true and false prophets is necessary to grow in the spiritual life (see 1 Jn 4:1-6). It’s easy to listen to those who say what we want to hear, but much better to gain the wisdom of true prophets who challenge and question our actions and motives.
- Lamentations 2:19 Watch: there were three each night.
Lamentaciones 2
Biblia del Jubileo
Alef:
2 ¡Cómo oscureció el Señor en su furor a la hija de Sion! Derribó del cielo a la tierra la hermosura de Israel, y no se acordó del estrado de sus pies en el día de su ira.
Bet:
2 Destruyó el Señor, y no perdonó; destruyó en su furor todas las tiendas de Jacob; echó por tierra las fortalezas de la hija de Judá, contaminó el Reino y sus príncipes.
Guímel:
3 Cortó con la ira de su furor todo el cuerno de Israel; hizo volver atrás su diestra delante del enemigo; y se encendió en Jacob como llama de fuego que ha devorado alrededor.
Dálet:
4 Entesó su arco como enemigo, afirmó su mano derecha como adversario, y mató toda cosa hermosa a la vista en la tienda de la hija de Sion; derramó como fuego su enojo.
He:
5 Fue el Señor como enemigo; destruyó a Israel, destruyó todos sus palacios, disipó sus fortalezas, y multiplicó en la hija de Judá la tristeza y el luto.
Vau:
6 Y traspasó como de huerto su tabernáculo, destruyó su congregación. El SEÑOR hizo olvidar en Sion solemnidades y sábados; y desechó en la ira de su furor rey y sacerdote.
Zain:
7 Desechó el Señor su altar, menospreció su Santuario, entregó en mano del enemigo los muros de sus palacios; dieron grito en la Casa del SEÑOR como en día de fiesta.
Chet:
8 El SEÑOR determinó destruir el muro de la hija de Sion; extendió el cordel, no retrajo su mano de destruir; se enlutó el antemuro y el muro; fueron destruidos juntamente.
Tet:
9 Sus puertas fueron echadas por tierra, destruyó y quebrantó sus cerrojos; su rey y sus príncipes son llevados entre los gentiles; no hay ley; sus profetas tampoco hallaron visión del SEÑOR.
Yod:
10 Se sentaron en tierra, callaron los ancianos de la hija de Sion; echaron polvo sobre sus cabezas, se ciñieron de cilicio; las hijas de Jerusalén bajaron sus cabezas a tierra.
Caf:
11 Mis ojos desfallecieron de lágrimas, rugieron mis entrañas, mi hígado se derramó por tierra por el quebrantamiento de la hija de mi pueblo, desfalleciendo el niño y el que mamaba, en las plazas de la ciudad.
Lámed:
12 Decían a sus madres: ¿Dónde está el trigo y el vino? Desfalleciendo como muertos en las calles de la ciudad, derramando sus almas en el regazo de sus madres.
Mem:
13 ¿Qué testigo te traeré, o a quién te haré semejante, oh hija de Jerusalén? ¿A quién te compararé para consolarte, oh Virgen hija de Sion? Porque grande es tu quebrantamiento como el mar; ¿quién te medicará?
Nun:
14 Tus profetas te predicaron vanidad y locura; y no descubrieron tu iniquidad para estorbar tu cautiverio, sino que te predicaron vanas profecías y disgresiones.
Sámec:
15 Todos los que pasaban por el camino, batieron las manos sobre ti. Silbaron, y movieron sus cabezas sobre la hija de Jerusalén, diciendo: ¿Es ésta la ciudad que decían de perfecta hermosura, el gozo de toda la tierra?
Pe:
16 Todos tus enemigos abrieron sobre ti su boca; y silbaron, y rechinaron los dientes; dijeron: Devoremos; cierto este es el día que esperábamos; lo hemos hallado, lo hemos visto.
Ayin:
17 El SEÑOR hizo lo que determinó, cumplió su palabra que él había mandado desde tiempo antiguo; destruyó, y no perdonó; y alegró sobre ti al enemigo, y enalteció el cuerno de tus adversarios.
Tsade:
18 El corazón de ellos clamaba al Señor: Oh muro de la hija de Sion, echa lágrimas como un arroyo día y noche; no descanses, ni calle la niña de tu ojo.
Cof:
19 Levántate, da voces en la noche, en el principio de las velas; derrama como agua tu corazón ante la presencia del Señor; alza tus manos a él por la vida de tus pequeñitos, que desfallecen de hambre en las entradas de todas las calles.
Resh:
20 Mira, oh SEÑOR, y considera a quién has vendimiado así. ¿Han de comer las mujeres su fruto, los pequeñitos de sus crías? ¿Han de ser muertos en el Santuario del Señor el sacerdote y el profeta?
Sin:
21 Niños y viejos yacían por tierra en las calles; mis vírgenes y mis jóvenes cayeron a espada. Mataste en el día de tu furor; degollaste, no perdonaste.
Tau:
22 Llamaste, como a día de solemnidad, mis temores de todas partes; ni hubo en el día del furor del SEÑOR quien escapara ni quedara vivo; los que crié y mantuve, mi enemigo los acabó.
Biblia del Jubileo 2000 (JUS) © 2000, 2001, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2020 by Ransom Press International