Lamentations 2:20

Lamentations 2:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
• New International Version (NIV)“Look, Lord, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Look, O Lord, and see! With whom have you dealt thus? Should women eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
• New King James Version (NKJV)“See, O Lord, and consider! To whom have You done this? Should the women eat their offspring, The children they have cuddled? Should the priest and prophet be slain In the sanctuary of the Lord?

Context of Lamentations 2:20

18The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. Wall of Daughter Zion, let your tears run down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief and your eyes no rest. 19Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water before the Lord’s presence. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger at the head of every street. Lord, look and consider to whom you have done this. Should women eat their own children, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the Lord’s sanctuary? 21Both young and old are lying on the ground in the streets. My young women and young men have fallen by the sword. You have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without compassion. 22You summon those who terrorize me on every side, as if for an appointed festival day; on the day of the Lord’s anger no one escaped or survived. My enemy has destroyed those I nurtured and reared.

Lamentations 2:20 word by word

רְאֵ֤ה יְהוָה֙ וְֽהַבִּ֔יטָה לְמִ֖י עוֹלַ֣לְתָּ כֹּ֑ה אִם־תֹּאכַ֨לְנָה נָשִׁ֤ים פִּרְיָם֙ עֹלֲלֵ֣י טִפֻּחִ֔ים אִם־יֵהָרֵ֛ג בְּמִקְדַּ֥שׁ אֲדֹנָ֖י כֹּהֵ֥ן וְנָבִֽיא׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Beholdרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and considerנָבַטnâbaţ · to lookH5027
• to whom thou hast doneעָלַל‛âlal · to abuseH5953
• thisכֹּהkôh · thusH3541
• Shall the womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• their fruitפְּרִיperîy · fruitH6529
• childrenעוֹלֵל‛ôlêl ‛ôlâl · infantH5768
• of a span longטִפֻּחִיםţippûch · tender careH2949
• shall the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• and the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• be slainהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
• in the sanctuaryמִקְדָּשׁmiqdâsh miqqedâsh · sanctuaryH4720
• of the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136

Cross-references for Lamentations 2:20

• Exodus 32:11But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand?
• Deuteronomy 9:26I prayed to the Lord: Lord God, do not annihilate your people, your inheritance, whom you redeemed through your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.
• Isaiah 63:16Yet you are our Father, even though Abraham does not know us and Israel doesn’t recognize us. You, Lord, are our Father; your name is Our Redeemer from Ancient Times.
• Isaiah 64:8Yet Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we all are the work of your hands.
• Jeremiah 14:20We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord, the iniquity of our ancestors; indeed, we have sinned against you.
• Lamentations 4:10The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children; they became their food during the destruction of my dear people.
• Leviticus 26:29You will eat the flesh of your sons; you will eat the flesh of your daughters.
• Deuteronomy 28:53“You will eat your offspring, the flesh of your sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you during the siege and hardship your enemy imposes on you.
• 2 Kings 6:28Then the king asked her, “What’s the matter?” She said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’
• Jeremiah 19:9I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and they will eat each other’s flesh in the distressing siege inflicted on them by their enemies who intend to take their life.’
• Ezekiel 5:10As a result, fathers will eat their sons within Jerusalem, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your survivors to every direction of the wind.
• Lamentations 1:19I called to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while searching for food to keep themselves alive.
• Lamentations 4:13Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous within her.
• Psalms 78:64His priests fell by the sword, and the widows could not lament.
• Isaiah 9:14So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail, palm branch and reed in a single day.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it like this. But what will you do at the end of it?

Commentaries on Lamentations 2:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Consider to whom thou hast done this - Perhaps the best sense of this difficult verse is this: "Thou art our Father, we are thy children; wilt thou destroy thy own offspring? Was it ever heard that a mother devoured her own child, a helpless infant of a span long?" That it was foretold that there should be such distress in the siege, - that mothers should be obliged to eat their own children, is evident enough from Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20The sense is: “See, Yahweh, and look! whom hast Thou treated thus? Shall women eat their fruit - children whom they must still carry?” the swaddled child being one still needing to be nursed and borne in their arms.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-22Verses 10-22 Causes for lamentation are described. Multitudes perished by famine. Even little children were slain by their mother's hands, and eaten, according to the threatening, Deut. 28:53. Multitudes fell by the sword. Their false prophets deceived them. And their neighbours laughed at them. It is a great sin to jest at others' miseries, and adds much affliction to the afflicted. Their enemies triumphed over them. The enemies of the church are apt to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Jeremiah had warned that the same cannibalism (people eating human flesh during extreme hunger) that happened during the siege of Samaria (2 Kings 6:28–29) would also happen in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 19:9; see also Lamentations 4:10; Ezekiel 5:10; compare Deuteronomy 28:53–57).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. women eat ... fruit--as threatened (Le 26:29; De 28:53, 56, 57; Jr 19:9). children ... span long--or else, "children whom they carry in their arms" [Maurer]. Schin.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 2:20

• Cannibalism
• Church
• Famine
• Measure
• Nation
• Sanctuary

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Cord
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Intercession
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Siege

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