Lamentations 2:21

Lamentations 2:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied.
• New International Version (NIV)“Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and young women have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity.
• English Standard Version (ESV)In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Young and old lie On the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword; You have slain them in the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered and not pitied.

Context of Lamentations 2:21

19Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in every street they are faint with hunger. 20“O Lord, think about this! Should you treat your own people this way? Should mothers eat their own children, those they once bounced on their knees? Should priests and prophets be killed within the Lord’s Temple? “See them lying in the streets— young and old, boys and girls, killed by the swords of the enemy. You have killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without mercy. 22“You have invited terrors from all around, as though you were calling them to a day of feasting. In the day of the Lord’s anger, no one has escaped or survived. The enemy has killed all the children whom I carried and raised.”

Lamentations 2:21 word by word

שָׁכְב֨וּ לָאָ֤רֶץ חוּצוֹת֙ נַ֣עַר וְזָקֵ֔ן בְּתוּלֹתַ֥י וּבַחוּרַ֖י נָפְל֣וּ בֶחָ֑רֶב הָרַ֙גְתָּ֙ בְּי֣וֹם אַפֶּ֔ךָ טָבַ֖חְתָּ לֹ֥א חָמָֽלְתָּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The youngנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• and the oldזָקֵןzâqên · oldH2205
• lieשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• on the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• in the streetsחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• my virginsבְּתוּלָהbethûlâh · virginH1330
• and my young menבָּחוּרbâchûr bâchûr · youthH970
• are fallenנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• by the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• thou hast slainהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
• in the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of thine angerאַף'aph · face: angerH639
• thou hast killedטָבַחţâbach · to slaughterH2873
• not pitiedחָמַלchâmal · to spareH2550

Cross-references for Lamentations 2:21

• Deuteronomy 28:50a fierce and heartless nation that shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young.
• Joshua 6:21They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.
• 1 Samuel 15:3Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
• 2 Chronicles 36:17So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.
• Esther 3:13Dispatches were sent by swift messengers into all the provinces of the empire, giving the order that all Jews—young and old, including women and children—must be killed, slaughtered, and annihilated on a single day. This was scheduled to happen on March 7 of the next year. The property of the Jews would be given to those who killed them.
• Jeremiah 51:22With you I will shatter men and women, old people and children, young men and young women.
• Ezekiel 9:6Kill them all—old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin right here at the Temple.” So they began by killing the seventy leaders.
• Lamentations 1:15“The Lord has treated my mighty men with contempt. At his command a great army has come to crush my young warriors. The Lord has trampled his beloved city like grapes are trampled in a winepress.
• Psalms 78:63Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs.
• Jeremiah 9:21For death has crept in through our windows and has entered our mansions. It has killed off the flower of our youth: Children no longer play in the streets, and young men no longer gather in the squares.
• Jeremiah 11:22So this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says about them: “I will punish them! Their young men will die in battle, and their boys and girls will starve to death.
• Jeremiah 18:21So let their children starve! Let them die by the sword! Let their wives become childless widows. Let their old men die in a plague, and let their young men be killed in battle!
• Amos 4:10“I sent plagues on you like the plagues I sent on Egypt long ago. I killed your young men in war and led all your horses away. The stench of death filled the air! But still you would not return to me,” says the Lord.
• Lamentations 2:2Without mercy the Lord has destroyed every home in Israel. In his anger he has broken down the fortress walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He has brought them to the ground, dishonoring the kingdom and its rulers.
• Lamentations 3:43“You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy.
• Isaiah 27:11The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy.

Commentaries on Lamentations 2:21

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Omit “them” and “and,” which weaken the intensity of the passage.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. 1-22This chapter vividly shows the Lord acting as the one who destroys Jerusalem.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. (2Ch 36:17). Tau.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 2:21

• Famine
• Nation
• Women

In the dictionaries

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

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