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Sunday, August 24th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Contemporary English Version

Lamentations 2:2

The 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.

Bible Study Resources

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Mercy;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Day of the Lord;   Lamentations, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Acrostic;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Swallow;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Jerusalem;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Pity;   Siege;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Army;   Bar Kokba and Bar Kokba War;   Ben 'Azzai;   Bet Ha-Midrash;   Bethar;   Dyes and Dyeing;   Eleazar of Modi'im (Modaim);   Hanameel;   ḥanina (Hananiah) B. Gamaliel Ii.;   Ishmael;   Johanan B. Torta;   Judah I.;   Magdala;   Martyrs, the Ten;   Midrashim, Smaller;   Pseudo-Messiahs;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Without compassion the Lord has swallowed upall the dwellings of Jacob.In his wrath he has demolishedthe fortified cities of Daughter Judah.He brought them to the groundand defiled the kingdom and its leaders.
Hebrew Names Version
The Lord has swallowed up all the habitations of Ya`akov, and has not pitied: He has thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Yehudah; He has brought them down to the ground; he has profaned the kingdom and the princes of it.
King James Version
The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof.
English Standard Version
The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has brought down to the ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers.
New American Standard Bible
The Lord has destroyed; He has not spared All the settlements of Jacob. In His wrath He has overthrown The strongholds of the daughter of Judah, He has hurled them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its leaders.
New Century Version
The Lord swallowed up without mercy all the houses of the people of Jacob; in his anger he pulled down the strong places of Judah. He threw her kingdom and its rulers down to the ground in dishonor.
Amplified Bible
The Lord has swallowed up; He has not spared All the country places of Jacob. In His wrath He has thrown down The strongholds of the Daughter of Judah (Jerusalem). He has brought them down to the ground [in disgrace]; He has debased the kingdom and its princes.
World English Bible
The Lord has swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and has not pitied: He has thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; he has profaned the kingdom and the princes of it.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The Lord hath destroyed al the habitations of Iaakob, & not spared: he hath throwen downe in his wrath ye strong holds of the daughter of Iudah: he hath cast the downe to ye ground: he hath polluted the kingdome and the princes thereof.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The Lord has swallowed up; He has not spared All the habitations of Jacob. In His wrath He has thrown down The strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
Legacy Standard Bible
The Lord has swallowed up; He has not sparedAll the habitations of Jacob.In His wrath He has pulled downThe strongholds of the daughter of Judah;He has brought them down to the ground;He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
Berean Standard Bible
Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob. In His wrath He has demolished the fortified cities of the Daughter of Judah. He brought to the ground and defiled her kingdom and its princes.
Complete Jewish Bible
Without pity Adonai swallowed up all the dwellings of Ya‘akov. In his wrath he broke down the strongholds of the daughter of Y'hudah, brought them down to the ground, thus profaning the kingdom and its rulers.
Darby Translation
The Lord hath swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob, and hath not spared; he hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah: he hath brought [them] down to the ground; he hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof.
Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord destroyed the houses of Jacob. He destroyed them without mercy. In his anger he destroyed the fortresses of Daughter Judah. He threw the kingdom of Judah and its rulers to the ground. He ruined the kingdom of Judah.
George Lamsa Translation
The LORD has drowned without pity all the habitations of Jacob, he has thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has brought down to the ground her slain men, her kings, and her princes.
Good News Translation
The Lord destroyed without mercy every village in Judah And tore down the forts that defended the land. He brought disgrace on the kingdom and its rulers.
Lexham English Bible
The Lord has devoured; he has not shown mercy to all the dwellings of Jacob; he has broken down in his wrath the fortifications of the daughter of Judah; he has leveled to the ground, he has dishonored the kingdom and its commanders.
Literal Translation
The Lord swallowed up all of Jacob's dwelling-places, and did not pity. In His wrath He has thrown down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah. He made them touch to the earth. He has defiled the kingdom and its rulers.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The LORDE hath cast downe all the glory of Iacob without eny fauoure: All the stronge places of the doughter Iuda hath he broken in his wrath, & throwne them downe to the grounde: hir kyngdome & hir prynces hath he suspended.
American Standard Version
The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: He hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He hath brought them down to the ground; he hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof.
Bible in Basic English
The Lord has given up to destruction all the living-places of Jacob without pity; pulling down in his wrath the strong places of the daughter of Judah, stretching out on the earth the wounded, even her king and her rulers.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The Lord hath swallowed up unsparingly all the habitations of Jacob; He hath thrown down in His wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He hath brought them down to the ground; He hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof.
King James Version (1611)
The Lord hath swallowed vp all the habitations of Iacob, and hath not pitied: he hath throwen downe in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Iudah: he hath brought them down to the ground: hee hath polluted the kingdome and the princes thereof.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The Lorde hath cast out all the habitations of Iacob without any fauour, all the strong places of the daughter of Iuda hath he broken in his wrath, and throwen them downe to the grounde, her kingdome and her princes hath he prophaned.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
BETH. In the day of his wrath the Lord has overwhelmed her as in the sea, and not spared: he has brought down in his fury all the beautiful things of Jacob; he has brought down to the ground the strong-holds of the daughter of Juda; he has profaned her kings and her princes.
English Revised Version
The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied; he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Beth. The Lord castide doun, and sparide not alle the faire thingis of Jacob; he distried in his strong veniaunce the strengthis of the virgyn of Juda, and castide doun in to erthe; he defoulide the rewme, and the princes therof.
Update Bible Version
The Lord has swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and has not pitied: He has thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; he has profaned the kingdom and the princes thereof.
Webster's Bible Translation
The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought [them] down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and its princes.
New English Translation

ב (Bet)

The Lord destroyed mercilessly all the homes of Jacob's descendants. In his anger he tore down the fortified cities of Daughter Judah. He knocked to the ground and humiliated the kingdom and its rulers.
New King James Version
The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied All the dwelling places of Jacob. He has thrown down in His wrath The strongholds of the daughter of Judah; He has brought them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
New Living Translation
Without 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.
New Life Bible
The Lord has destroyed all the places of Jacob. In His anger He has broken down the strong-places of Judah. He has brought the nation and its leaders down to the ground in shame.
New Revised Standard
The Lord has destroyed without mercy all the dwellings of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of daughter Judah; he has brought down to the ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
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.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Beth. The Lord hath cast down headlong, and hath not spared, all that was beautiful in Jacob: he hath destroyed in his wrath the strong holds of the virgin of Juda, and brought them down to the ground: he hath made the kingdom unclean, and the princes thereof.
Revised Standard Version
The Lord has destroyed without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has brought down to the ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers.
Young's Literal Translation
Swallowed up hath the Lord, He hath not pitied any of the pleasant places of Jacob, He hath broken down in His wrath The fortresses of the daughter of Judah, He hath caused to come to the earth, He polluted the kingdom and its princes.
THE MESSAGE
The Master, without a second thought, took Israel in one gulp. Raging, he smashed Judah's defenses, made hash of her king and princes.

Contextual Overview

1 The Prophet Speaks: The 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. 2 The 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. 3 The 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. 4 He attacked like an enemy with a bow and arrows, killing our loved ones. He has burned to the ground the homes on Mount Zion. 5 The Lord was like an enemy! He left Israel in ruins with its palaces and fortresses destroyed, and with everyone in Judah moaning and weeping. 6 He 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. 7 The 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. 8 The 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. 9 Zion'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 .

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

swallowed: Lamentations 2:17, Lamentations 2:21, Lamentations 3:43, Job 2:3, *marg. Psalms 21:9, Isaiah 27:11, Jeremiah 13:14, Jeremiah 21:7, Ezekiel 5:11, Ezekiel 7:4, Ezekiel 7:9, Ezekiel 8:18, Ezekiel 9:10, Zechariah 11:5, Zechariah 11:6, Matthew 18:33

he hath thrown: Lamentations 2:5, Lamentations 2:17, Jeremiah 5:10, Micah 5:11, Micah 5:12, Malachi 1:4, 2 Corinthians 10:4

brought them down to: Heb. made to touch, Isaiah 25:12, Isaiah 26:5, Psalms 89:39

polluted: Psalms 89:39, Psalms 89:40, Isaiah 23:9, *marg. Isaiah 43:28, Isaiah 47:6

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 20:19 - swallow Nehemiah 2:17 - Ye see Psalms 56:1 - swallow Isaiah 22:5 - breaking Jeremiah 5:17 - they shall impoverish Jeremiah 9:11 - the cities Jeremiah 39:8 - burned Lamentations 2:8 - destroying Ezekiel 36:3 - swallowed Hosea 8:8 - swallowed

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came and then morning—that was the sixth day.
Genesis 2:8
The Lord made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there.
Genesis 2:11
The first one is the Pishon River that flows through the land of Havilah,
Exodus 23:12
Work the first six days of the week, but rest and relax on the seventh day. This law is not only for you, but for your oxen, donkeys, and slaves, as well as for any foreigners among you.
Exodus 31:17
This day will always serve as a reminder, both to me and to the Israelites, that I made the heavens and the earth in six days, then on the seventh day I rested and relaxed.
Deuteronomy 5:14
but the seventh day of the week belongs to me, your God. No one is to work on that day—not you, your children, your oxen or donkeys or any other animal, not even those foreigners who live in your towns. And don't make your slaves do any work.
Isaiah 58:13
But first, you must start respecting the Sabbath as a joyful day of worship. You must stop doing and saying whatever you please on this special day.
John 5:17
But Jesus said, "My Father has never stopped working, and that is why I keep on working."
Hebrews 4:4
In fact, somewhere the Scriptures say that by the seventh day, God had finished his work, and so he rested.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied,.... As he regarded not his own habitation the temple, nor the ark his footstool, it is no wonder he should be unconcerned about the habitations of others; as of the inhabitants of the land of Judea and of Jerusalem, particularly of the king, his nobles, and the great men; these the Lord swallowed up, or suffered to be swallowed up, as houses in an earthquake, and by an inundation, so as to be seen no more; and this he did without showing the least reluctance, pity, and compassion; being so highly incensed and provoked by their sins and transgressions:

he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; not only the dwelling houses of the people, but the most fortified places, their castles, towers, and citadels:

he hath brought [them] down to the ground; and not only battered and shook them, but beat them down, and laid them level with the ground; and all this done in the fury of his wrath, being irritated to it by the sins of his people; even the daughter of Judah, or the congregation thereof, as the Targum:

he hath polluted the kingdom, and the princes thereof; what was reckoned sacred, the kingdom of the house of David, and the kings and princes of it, the Lord's anointed; these being defiled with sin, God cast them away, as filth to the dunghill, and gave them up into the hands of the Gentiles, who were reckoned unclean; and thus they were profaned. Jarchi interprets these princes of the Israelites in common, who were called a kingdom of priests; and makes mention of a Midrash, that explains them of the princes above, or of heaven.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Habitations - The dwellings of the shepherds in the pastures Jeremiah 49:19. These are described as swallowed up by an earthquake, while the storm itself throws down the fortified cities of Judah.

Polluted - i. e. profaned it, made common or unclean what before was holy.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Lamentations 2:2. The Lord hath swallowed up — It is a strange figure when thus applied: but Jehovah is here represented as having swallowed down Jerusalem and all the cities and fortifications in the land: that is, he has permitted them to be destroyed. See Lamentations 1:5.


 
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