2Lamentations 2

The Was Like an Enemy / The Prophet Speaks:

1The Lord was angry! So he disgraced Zion though it was Israel's pride and his own place of rest. In his anger he threw Zion down from heaven to earth.Select Lamentations 2:1

2The Lord had no mercy! He destroyed the homes of Jacob's descendants. In his anger he tore down every walled city in Judah; he toppled the nation together with its leaders, leaving them in shame.Select Lamentations 2:2

3The Lord was so furiously angry that he wiped out the whole army of Israel by not supporting them when the enemy attacked. He was like a raging fire that swallowed up the descendants of Jacob.Select Lamentations 2:3

4He attacked like an enemy with a bow and arrows, killing our loved ones. He has burned to the ground the homes on Mount Zion.Select Lamentations 2:4

5The Lord was like an enemy! He left Israel in ruins with its palaces and fortresses destroyed, and with everyone in Judah moaning and weeping.Select Lamentations 2:5

6He shattered his temple like a hut in a garden; he completely wiped out his meeting place, and did away with festivals and Sabbaths in the city of Zion. In his fierce anger he rejected our king and priests.Select Lamentations 2:6

7The Lord abandoned his altar and his temple; he let Zion's enemies capture her fortresses. Noisy shouts were heard from the temple, as if it were a time of celebration.Select Lamentations 2:7

8The Lord had decided to tear down the walls of Zion stone by stone. So he started destroying and did not stop until walls and fortresses mourned and trembled.Select Lamentations 2:8

9Zion's gates have fallen facedown on the ground; the bars that locked the gates are smashed to pieces. Her king and royal family are prisoners in foreign lands. Her priests don't teach, and her prophets don't have a message from the Lord.Select Lamentations 2:9

10Zion's leaders are silent. They just sit on the ground, tossing dirt on their heads and wearing sackcloth. Her young women can do nothing but stare at the ground.Select Lamentations 2:10

11My eyes are red from crying, my stomach is in knots, and I feel sick all over. My people are being wiped out, and children lie helpless in the streets of the city.Select Lamentations 2:11

12A child begs its mother for food and drink, then blacks out like a wounded soldier lying in the street. The child slowly dies in its mother's arms.Select Lamentations 2:12

13Zion, how can I comfort you? How great is your pain? Lovely city of Jerusalem, how can I heal your wounds, gaping as wide as the sea?Select Lamentations 2:13

14Your prophets deceived you with false visions and lying messages— they should have warned you to leave your sins and be saved from disaster.Select Lamentations 2:14

15Those who pass by shake their heads and sneer as they make fun and shout, “What a lovely city you were, the happiest on earth, but look at you now!”Select Lamentations 2:15

16Zion, your enemies curse you and snarl like wild animals, while shouting, “This is the day we've waited for! At last, we've got you!”Select Lamentations 2:16

17The Lord has done everything that he had planned and threatened long ago. He destroyed you without mercy and let your enemies boast about their powerful forces.Select Lamentations 2:17

18Zion, deep in your heart you cried out to the Lord. Now let your tears overflow your walls day and night. Don't ever lose hope or let your tears stop.Select Lamentations 2:18

19Get up and pray for help all through the night. Pour out your feelings to the Lord, as you would pour water out of a jug. Beg him to save your people, who are starving to death at every street crossing.Select Lamentations 2:19

Jerusalem Speaks:

20Think about it, Lord! Have you ever been this cruel to anyone before? Is it right for mothers to eat their children, or for priests and prophets to be killed in your temple?Select Lamentations 2:20

21My people, both young and old, lie dead in the streets. Because you were angry, my young men and women were brutally slaughtered.Select Lamentations 2:21

22When you were angry, Lord, you invited my enemies like guests for a party. No one survived that day; enemies killed my children, my own little ones.Select Lamentations 2:22