Lamentations 2

1 How could My Lord, in his anger, enshroud in gloom, the daughter of Zion? have cast from the heavens to the earth, the beauty of Israel? and not have remembered his footstool, in the day of his anger?

The Lord has covered the daughter of Zion under the cloud of his anger. He has thrown the splendor of Israel down from heaven to earth. He has not remembered his footstool on the day of his anger.

2 My Lord hath swallowed up—without pity—all the pastures of Jacob, hath laid waste—in his indignation—the strongholds of the daughter of Judah, hath brought them down to the ground, —hath profaned the kingdom, and the princes thereof.

The Lord has swallowed up and has had no compassion on all the towns of Jacob. In the days of his anger he has thrown down the fortified cities of the daughter of Judah; in dishonor he has brought down to the ground the kingdom and its rulers.

3 He hath broken off—in the glow of his anger—the whole horn of Israel, hath turned back his right hand, from the face of the foe, —and hath kindled against Jacob, a very fire of flame, devouring round about.

With fierce anger he has cut off every horn of Israel. He has withdrawn his right hand from before the enemy. He has burned up Jacob like a blazing fire that devours everything around it.

4 He hath trodden his bow like a foe, his right hand erect as an adversary, and hath slain all them who delighted the eye, —In the home of the daughter of Zion, hath he poured out, as fire, his indignation.

Like an enemy he has bent his bow toward us, with his right is ready to shoot. He has slaughtered all who had been so pleasing to him in the tent of the daughter of Zion; he has poured out his wrath like fire.

5 My Lord hath become like a foe, hath swallowed up Israel, hath swallowed up all her castles, ruined his strongholds, —and hath caused to abound, in the daughter of Judah, lamentation and mourning.

The Lord has become like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces. He has destroyed her strongholds. He has increased mourning and lamentation within the daughter of Judah.

6 Thus hath he destroyed, like a garden, his pavilion, hath laid waste his place of assembly, —Yahweh, hath caused to be forgotten, in Zion, the appointed assembly and the sabbath, and hath spurned, in the indignation of his anger, the king and the priest.

He has attacked his tabernacle like a garden hut. He has destroyed the place of the solemn assembly. Yahweh has caused both solemn assembly and Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion, for he has despised both king and priest in the indignation of his anger.

7 My Lord hath rejected his altar, hath abhorred his sanctuary, hath delivered, into the hand of the foe, the walls of her castles, —A voice, have they uttered in the house of Yahweh, as on the day of an appointed assembly.

The Lord has rejected his altar and disowned his sanctuary. He has given over the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy. They have raised a shout in the house of Yahweh, as on the day of an appointed feast.

8 Yahweh hath devised to lay in ruins, the wall of the daughter of Zion, he hath stretched out a line, he hath not turned back his hand from swallowing up, —Thus hath he caused to mourn—rampart and wall, together, have they languished!

Yahweh decided to destroy the city wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out the measuring line and has not withheld his hand from destroying the wall. He has made the ramparts and wall to lament; together they wasted away.

9 Her gates, have sunk in the earth, He hath destroyed and broken in pieces, her bars, —Her king and her princes, are among the nations, There is no instruction, Even her prophets, have found no vision, from Yahweh.

Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has destroyed and broken the bars of her gate. Her king and her princes are among the nations, the law is no more and her prophets find no vision from Yahweh.

10 Seated on the ground, in silence, are the elders of the daughter of Zion, They have lifted up dust on their head, have girded themselves with sackcloth, —Bowed down to the ground is the head, of the virgins of Jerusalem.

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.

11 Blinded with tears are mine eyes, In ferment is my body, Poured out to the earth is my grief, for the sore hurt of the daughter of my people, —when child and suckling are swooning, in the broadways of the city.

My eyes have failed from their tears; my stomach churns; my inner parts are poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, children and infants faint in the streets of the city.

12 To their mothers, they keep saying, Where are corn and wine? Swooning off, like one thrust through, in the broadways of the city, pouring out their life into the bosom of their mothers.

They say to their mothers, “Where is grain and wine?” as they faint like a wounded man in the streets of the city, their lives are poured out on the bosom of their mothers.

13 How shall I solemnly admonish thee? What shall I liken to thee, thou daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare with thee, that I may comfort thee, thou virgin, daughter of Zion? for, great as the sea, is thy grievous injury, Who can heal thee?

What can I say to you, daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I compare to you, that I may comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? Your wound is as great as the sea. Who can heal you?

14 Thy prophets, have had visions for thee, false and foolish, and have not unveiled thine iniquity, to turn back thy captivity, —Yea they have had visions for thee, oracles of falsehood, and enticements!

Your prophets have seen false and worthless visions for you. They have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but for you they gave utterances that are false and misleading.

15 All passing by, have clapped, over thee, their hands, have hissed and wagged their head over the daughter of Jerusalem, —[saying], Is, this, the city, of which men used to say—The perfection of beauty! A joy to the whole earth!

All those who pass along the road clap their hands at you. They hiss and shake their heads against the daughter of Jerusalem and say, “Is this the city that they called 'The Perfection of Beauty,' 'The Joy for All of Earth'?”

16 All thy foes, have opened wide, over thee their mouth, They have hissed, and gnashed their teeth, They have said—We have swallowed [her] up! Surely, this, is the day for which we have waited, We have found! We have seen!

All your enemies open their mouths against you. They sneer and grind their teeth in rage and say, “We have swallowed her up! This is the day we have waited for! We have lived to see it!”

17 Yahweh hath done what he thought, hath carried out his word, wherewith he gave charge in the days of old, hath thrown down, and not spared, —Thus hath he let the enemy rejoice over thee, hath raised high the horn of thine adversaries.

Yahweh has done what he planned to do. He has fulfilled his word. He has overthrown you without pity, for he has permitted the enemy to rejoice over you; he has lifted up the horn of your enemies.

18 Their heart, hath made outcry, unto My Lord, —O wall of the daughter of Zion—Let tears run down as a torrent day and night, Do not give thyself relief, Let not the weeping of thine eye cease!

Their heart cried out to the Lord, walls of the daughter of Zion! Make your tears flow down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief, your eyes no relief.

19 Arise, cry out in the night, At the beginning of the watches, pour out, like waters, thy heart, right before the face of My Lord, —Lift up, above thee, the palms of thy hands, for the life of thy children, who are swooning for hunger, at the top of all the streets!

Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children who faint with hunger at the corner of every street.”

20 See, O Yahweh, and do consider, to whom thou hast acted thus severely, —Will women, devour, their own fruit—the children they have dandled? Shall priest and prophet, be slain in the sanctuary of My Lord?

See, Yahweh, and consider those you have dealt in this way. Should women eat the fruit of their wombs, the children whom they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be slaughtered in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 Youth and elder, have lain down on the ground in the streets, My virgins and my young men, have fallen by the sword, —Thou hast slain, in the day of thine anger, Thou hast slaughtered, hast not spared!

Both the young and the old lie on the dust of the streets. My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have slaughtered them without taking pity on them.

22 Wilt thou proclaim, like the day of an appointed meeting—My terrors round about? when there was not—in the day of the anger of Yahweh—fugitive or survivor, —Those whom I dandled and reared, my foe hath destroyed.

You have summoned, as you would call the people to a feast day, my terrors on every side, on the day of the anger of Yahweh no one escaped or survived; those I cared for and raised, my enemy has destroyed.