Lamentations 2:2

ב (Bet)

2:2 The Lord ¹  destroyed ²  mercilessly ³ 

all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. ⁴ 

In his anger he tore down

the fortified cities ⁵  of Daughter Judah.

He knocked to the ground and humiliated

the kingdom and its rulers. ⁶ 

Lamentations 2:5

ה (He)

2:5 The Lord, ⁷  like an enemy,

destroyed ⁸  Israel.

He destroyed ⁹  all her palaces;

he ruined her ¹⁰  fortified cities.

He made everyone in Daughter Judah

mourn and lament. ¹¹ 

Lamentations 2:16

פ (Pe)

2:16 All your enemies

gloated over you. ¹² 

They sneered and gnashed their teeth;

they said, “We have destroyed ¹³  her!

Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.

We have lived to see it!” ¹⁴ 

---

¹ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

² tn Heb “has swallowed up.”

³ tc The Kethib is written לֹא חָמַל (lo’ khamal, “without mercy”), while the Qere reads וְלֹא חָמַל (vÿlo’ khamal, “and he has shown no mercy”). The Kethib is followed by the LXX, while the Qere is reflected in many Hebrew mss and the ancient versions (Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate). The English versions are split between the Kethib: “The Lord swallowed all the dwellings of Jacob without mercy” (cf. RSV, NRSV, NIV, TEV, NJPS) and the Qere: “The Lord swallowed all the dwellings of Jacob, and has shown no mercy” (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). As these words occur between a verb and its object (חָמַל [khamal] is not otherwise followed by אֵת [’et, direct object marker]), an adverbial reading is the most natural, although interrupting the sentence with an insertion is possible. Compare 2:17, 21; 3:43. In contexts of harming, to show mercy often means to spare from harm.

⁴ tn Heb “all the dwellings of Jacob.”

⁵ tn Heb “the strongholds.”

⁶ tn Heb “He brought down to the ground in disgrace the kingdom and its princes.” The verbs חִלֵּל…הִגִּיע (higgi’…khillel, “he has brought down…he has profaned”) function as a verbal hendiadys, as the absence of the conjunction ו (vav) suggests. The first verb retains its full verbal force, while the second functions adverbially: “he has brought down [direct object] in disgrace.”

⁷ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

⁸ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

⁹ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “his.” For consistency this has been translated as “her.”

¹¹ tn Heb “He increased in Daughter Judah mourning and lamentation.”

¹² tn Heb “they have opened wide their mouth against you.”

¹³ tn Heb “We have swallowed!”

¹⁴ tn Heb “We have attained, we have seen!” The verbs מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ (matsa’nu ra’inu) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its full verbal sense and the second functions as an object complement. It forms a Hebrew idiom that means something like, “We have lived to see it!” The three asyndetic 1st person common plural statements in 2:16 (“We waited, we destroyed, we saw!”) are spoken in an impassioned, staccato style reflecting the delight of the conquerors.