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

18Cry out from your heart to the Lord, O wall of Daughter Zion! Make your tears flow like a river all day and all night long! Do not rest; do not let your tears stop! ק (Qof) 19Get up! Cry out in the night when the night watches start! Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord! Lift up your hands to him for your children’s lives; they are fainting at every street corner. ר (Resh) Look, O Lord! Consider! Whom have you ever afflicted like this? Should women eat their offspring, their healthy infants? Should priest and prophet be killed in the Lord’s sanctuary? ש (Sin/Shin) 21The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; you slaughtered them without mercy. ת (Tav) 22As if it were a feast day, you call enemies to terrify me on every side. On the day of the Lord’s anger no one escaped or survived. My enemy has finished off those healthy infants whom I bore and raised.

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 and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
• Deuteronomy 9:26I prayed to him: O, Lord God, do not destroy your people, your valued property that you have powerfully redeemed, whom you brought out of Egypt by your strength.
• Isaiah 63:16For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, Lord, are our father; you have been called our protector from ancient times.
• Isaiah 64:8Yet, Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the product of your labor.
• Jeremiah 14:20Lord, we confess that we have been wicked. We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. We have indeed sinned against you.
• Lamentations 4:10The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed. כ (Kaf)
• Leviticus 26:29You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.
• Deuteronomy 28:53You will then eat your own offspring, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you, because of the severity of the siege by which your enemies will constrict you.
• 2 Kings 6:28Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’
• Jeremiah 19:9I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”’”
• Ezekiel 5:10Therefore fathers will eat their sons within you, Jerusalem, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter any survivors to the winds.
• Lamentations 1:19I called for my lovers, but they had deceived me. My priests and my elders perished in the city. Truly they had searched for food to keep themselves alive. ר (Resh)
• Lamentations 4:13But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous. נ (Nun)
• Psalms 78:64Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep.
• Isaiah 9:14So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail, both the shoots and stalk in one day.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!

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