Lamentations 2:8

Lamentations 2:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together.
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord determined to tear down the wall around Daughter Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withhold his hand from destroying. He made ramparts and walls lament; together they wasted away.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The Lord determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out the measuring line; he did not restrain his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to lament; they languished together.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The Lord has purposed to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line; He has not withdrawn His hand from destroying; Therefore He has caused the rampart and wall to lament; They languished together.

Context of Lamentations 2:8

6And He has violently broken down His temple like a [fragile] garden hedge; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place. The Lord has caused the appointed feast and Sabbath To be forgotten in Zion And has despised and rejected the king and the priest In the indignation of His anger. 7The Lord has rejected His altar; He has abandoned His sanctuary. He has given into the hand of the enemy The walls of her palaces; They have made a noise in the house of the Lord As on a day of an appointed feast. The Lord determined to lay in ruins The [city] wall of the Daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not stopped His hand from destroying. He has caused the rampart and the wall to lament (mourn in grief); They have languished together. 9Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are [exiled] among the nations; The law is no more. Also, her prophets no longer find Vision from the Lord. 10The elders of the Daughter of Zion Sit on the ground keeping silent; They have thrown dust on their heads, They have covered themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Have bowed their heads to the ground.

Lamentations 2:8 word by word

חָשַׁ֨ב יְהוָ֤ה׀ לְהַשְׁחִית֙ חוֹמַ֣ת בַּת־צִיּ֔וֹן נָ֣טָה קָ֔ו לֹא־הֵשִׁ֥יב יָד֖וֹ מִבַּלֵּ֑עַ וַיַּֽאֲבֶל־חֵ֥ל וְחוֹמָ֖ה יַחְדָּ֥ו אֻמְלָֽלוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• hath purposedחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: deviseH2803
• to destroyשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
• the wallחוֹמָהchômâh · wallH2346
• of the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
• he hath stretched outנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
• a lineקַוqav qâv · lineH6957
• he hath not withdrawnשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
• his handיָדyâd · handH3027
• from destroyingבָּלַעbâla‛ · to swallow upH1104
• therefore he made the rampartחֵלchêyl chêl · rampartH2426
• to lamentאָבַל'âbal · to mournH56
• they languishedאָמַל'âmal · be weakH535
• togetherיָחְדָּוyachad · togetherH3162

Cross-references for Lamentations 2:8

• Lamentations 2:17The Lord has done what He planned; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has demolished without sparing, And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the power of your enemies.
• Isaiah 5:5So now let me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will take away its thorn-hedge, and it will be burned up; I will break down its stone wall and it will be trampled down [by enemies].
• Jeremiah 5:10“Go up through the rows of Jerusalem’s vineyards and destroy [them], But do not completely destroy everything. Strip away her branches and the tendrils [of her vines], For they are not the Lord’s.
• 2 Samuel 8:2He defeated Moab, and measured them with a length of rope, making them lie down on the ground; he measured two lengths to [choose those to] put to death, and one full length to [choose those to] be kept alive. And the [surviving] Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
• 2 Kings 21:13I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem clean just as one wipes a [dirty] bowl clean, wiping it and turning it upside down.
• Isaiah 28:17I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the mason’s level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And waters will flood over the secret [hiding] place.
• Isaiah 34:11But the pelican and the porcupine will take possession of it; The owl and the raven will dwell in it. And He will stretch over it (Edom) the measuring line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.
• Amos 7:7Thus He showed me [a vision], and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand [to determine if the wall was straight or if it needed to be destroyed].
• Job 13:21Withdraw Your hand from me and remove this bodily suffering, And let not the dread of You terrify me.
• Ezekiel 20:22Yet I withdrew My hand and acted for My Name’s sake, that it would not be profaned in the sight of the [pagan] nations in whose sight I had brought them out [of slavery].
• Lamentations 2:2The Lord has swallowed up; He has not spared All the country places of Jacob. In His wrath He has thrown down The strongholds of the Daughter of Judah (Jerusalem). He has brought them down to the ground [in disgrace]; He has debased the kingdom and its princes.
• Isaiah 3:26And Jerusalem’s gates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn [as those who wail for the dead]; And she, being ruined and desolate, will sit upon the ground.
• Jeremiah 14:2“Judah mourns And her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothes And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

Commentaries on Lamentations 2:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8He hath stretched out a line - The line of devastation; marking what was to be pulled down and demolished.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8A line - Compare Isaiah 34:11. The destruction is systematic and thorough.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Ramparts were stone walls or earth mounds built around a city to protect it from enemy attacks.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. stretched ... a line--The Easterns used a measuring-line not merely in building, but in destroying edifices (2Ki 21:13; Is 34:11); implying here the unsparing rigidness with which He would exact punishment. Teth.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Cord
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Rampart
• lament, lamentation

Commentaries on Lamentations 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings