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(KJV)The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together.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 He has stretched out a line; He has not withdrawn His hand from destroying; Therefore He has caused the rampart and wall to lament; They languished together.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

6He has wrecked his temple as if it were merely a shack in a field, destroying his place of meeting. The Lord has abolished appointed festivals and Sabbaths in Zion. He has despised king and priest in his fierce anger. 7The Lord has rejected his altar, repudiated his sanctuary; he has handed the walls of her palaces over to the enemy. They have raised a shout in the house of the Lord as on the day of an appointed festival. The Lord determined to destroy the wall of Daughter Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not restrain himself from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls grieve; together they waste away. 9Zion’s gates have fallen to the ground; he has destroyed and shattered the bars on her gates. Her king and her leaders live among the nations, instruction is no more, and even her prophets receive no vision from the Lord. 10The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women 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 decree, which he ordained in days of old. He has demolished without compassion, letting the enemy gloat over you and exalting the horn of your adversaries.
• Isaiah 5:5Now I will tell you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.
• Jeremiah 5:10Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them, but do not finish them off. Prune away her shoots, for they do not belong to the Lord.
• 2 Samuel 8:2He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.
• 2 Kings 21:13I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used on Samaria and the mason’s level used on the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem clean as one wipes a bowl — wiping it and turning it upside down.
• Isaiah 28:17And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the mason’s level.” Hail will sweep away the false refuge, and water will flood your hiding place.
• Isaiah 34:11Eagle owls and herons will possess it, and long-eared owls and ravens will dwell there. The Lord will stretch out a measuring line and a plumb line over her for her destruction and chaos.
• Amos 7:7He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand.
• Job 13:21remove your hand from me, and do not let your terror frighten me.
• Ezekiel 20:22But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I brought them out.
• Lamentations 2:2Without compassion the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob. In his wrath he has demolished the fortified cities of Daughter Judah. He brought them to the ground and defiled the kingdom and its leaders.
• Isaiah 3:26Then her gates will lament and mourn; deserted, she will sit on the ground.
• Jeremiah 14:2Judah mourns; her city gates languish. Her people are on the ground in mourning; Jerusalem’s cry rises 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