Lamentations 2

God’s Anger over Israel

1How the Lord has 12covered the daughter of Zion With a cloud in His anger! He has 3hurled The 4glory of Israel from heaven to earth, And has not remembered His 5footstool In the day of His anger.2The Lord has 67destroyed; He has not spared All the settlements of Jacob. In His wrath He has 8overthrown The strongholds of the daughter of Judah, He has 9hurled them down to the ground; He has 10profaned the kingdom and its leaders.3In fierce anger He has cut off 11All the 12strength of Israel; He has 13pulled back His right hand From the enemy. And He has 14burned in Jacob like a flaming fire Consuming on all sides.4He has bent His 15bow like an enemy; His right hand is positioned like an adversary, And He has killed everything that was 16pleasant to the eye. In the tent of the daughter of Zion He has 17poured out His wrath like fire.5The Lord has become like an 18enemy. He has 19engulfed Israel; He has engulfed all its 20palaces, He has destroyed its strongholds And 21caused great mourning and grieving in the daughter of Judah.6And He has treated His 22tabernacle violently, like a despised garden; He has 23destroyed His appointed 24meeting place. The Lord has 25caused The appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion to be forgotten, And He has 26despised king and priest In the indignation of His anger.7The Lord has 27rejected His altar, He has 28repudiated His sanctuary; He 29has handed over The walls of her palaces to the enemy. They have made a 30noise in the house of the Lord As on the day of an appointed feast.8The Lord determined to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has 31stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from 32destroying, And He has 33caused rampart and wall to mourn; They have languished together.9Her 34gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her leaders are among the nations; The 35Law is gone. Her prophets, too, find 36No vision from the Lord.10The elders of the daughter of Zion 37Sit on the ground and 3839are silent. They have thrown 40dust on their heads; They have put on 41sackcloth. The 42virgins of Jerusalem Have bowed their heads to the ground.11My 43eyes fail because of tears, My 4445spirit is greatly troubled; My 4647heart is poured out on the earth 48Because of the 49destruction of the daughter of my people, When 50little ones and infants languish In the streets of the city.12They say to their mothers, “51Where is grain and wine?” As they faint like a wounded person In the streets of the city, As their 52lives are poured out 53In their mothers’ arms.13How shall I admonish you? What 54shall I compare to you, Daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I liken to you as I comfort you, 55Virgin daughter of Zion? For your collapse is as vast as the sea; Who can 56heal you?14Your 57prophets have seen for you Worthless and deceptive visions; And they have not 58exposed your wrongdoing So as to restore you from captivity, But they have 59seen for you worthless and misleading pronouncements.15All who pass along the way 60Clap their hands in ridicule at you; They 6162hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city of which they said, ‘63Perfect in beauty, 64A joy to all the earth’?”16All 65your enemies Have opened their mouths wide against you; They 66hiss and 67gnash their teeth. They say, “We have 68engulfed her! This certainly is the 69day which we awaited; We have reached it, we have seen it!”17The Lord has 70done what He determined; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has torn down 71without sparing, And He has helped the enemy to 72rejoice over you; He has 73exalted the 74might of your adversaries.18Their 75heart cried out to the Lord: “You 76wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your 77tears stream down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let 78your eyes have no rest.19Arise, whimper in the 79night At the beginning of the night watches; 80Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Raise your hands to Him For the 81life of your little ones Who 82languish because of hunger At the head of every street.20See, Lord, and look! With 83whom have You dealt this way? Should women really 84eat their 85children, The little ones who were 86born healthy? Should 87priest and prophet really be killed In the sanctuary of the Lord?21On the ground in the streets Lie 88young and old; My 89virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword. You have put them to death on the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, 90without sparing.22You called as on the day of an appointed feast My 91terrors on every side; And there was 92no one who survived or escaped On the day of the Lord’s anger. As for those 93whom I brought forth healthy and whom I raised, My enemy annihilated them.”