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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Lamentations 2 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/lamentations/2.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" 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id="topheading"><a href="../lamentations/1.htm" title="Lamentations 1">◄</a> Lamentations 2 <a href="../lamentations/3.htm" title="Lamentations 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/lamentations/2.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">God’s Anger at Sin</p><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>The Lord in his anger</p><p class="line2">has cast a dark shadow over beautiful Jerusalem.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a></p><p class="line1">The fairest of Israel’s cities lies in the dust,</p><p class="line2">thrown down from the heights of heaven.</p><p class="line1">In his day of great anger,</p><p class="line2">the Lord has shown no mercy even to his Temple.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a></p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Without mercy the Lord has destroyed</p><p class="line2">every home in Israel.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a></p><p class="line1">In his anger he has broken down</p><p class="line2">the fortress walls of beautiful Jerusalem.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a></p><p class="line1">He has brought them to the ground,</p><p class="line2">dishonoring the kingdom and its rulers.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>All the strength of Israel</p><p class="line2">vanishes beneath his fierce anger.</p><p class="line1">The Lord has withdrawn his protection</p><p class="line2">as the enemy attacks.</p><p class="line1">He consumes the whole land of Israel</p><p class="line2">like a raging fire.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>He bends his bow against his people,</p><p class="line2">as though he were their enemy.</p><p class="line1">His strength is used against them</p><p class="line2">to kill their finest youth.</p><p class="line1">His fury is poured out like fire</p><p class="line2">on beautiful Jerusalem.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a></p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel</p><p class="line2">like an enemy.</p><p class="line1">He has destroyed her palaces</p><p class="line2">and demolished her fortresses.</p><p class="line1">He has brought unending sorrow and tears</p><p class="line2">upon beautiful Jerusalem.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>He has broken down his Temple</p><p class="line2">as though it were merely a garden shelter.</p><p class="line1">The LORD has blotted out all memory</p><p class="line2">of the holy festivals and Sabbath days.</p><p class="line1">Kings and priests fall together</p><p class="line2">before his fierce anger.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>The Lord has rejected his own altar;</p><p class="line2">he despises his own sanctuary.</p><p class="line1">He has given Jerusalem’s palaces</p><p class="line2">to her enemies.</p><p class="line1">They shout in the LORD’s Temple</p><p class="line2">as though it were a day of celebration.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>The LORD was determined</p><p class="line2">to destroy the walls of beautiful Jerusalem.</p><p class="line1">He made careful plans for their destruction,</p><p class="line2">then did what he had planned.</p><p class="line1">Therefore, the ramparts and walls</p><p class="line2">have fallen down before him.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Jerusalem’s gates have sunk into the ground.</p><p class="line2">He has smashed their locks and bars.</p><p class="line1">Her kings and princes have been exiled to distant lands;</p><p class="line2">her law has ceased to exist.</p><p class="line1">Her prophets receive</p><p class="line2">no more visions from the LORD.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>The leaders of beautiful Jerusalem</p><p class="line2">sit on the ground in silence.</p><p class="line1">They are clothed in burlap</p><p class="line2">and throw dust on their heads.</p><p class="line1">The young women of Jerusalem</p><p class="line2">hang their heads in shame.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>I have cried until the tears no longer come;</p><p class="line2">my heart is broken.</p><p class="line1">My spirit is poured out in agony</p><p class="line2">as I see the desperate plight of my people.</p><p class="line1">Little children and tiny babies</p><p class="line2">are fainting and dying in the streets.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>They cry out to their mothers,</p><p class="line2">“We need food and drink!”</p><p class="line1">Their lives ebb away in the streets</p><p class="line2">like the life of a warrior wounded in battle.</p><p class="line1">They gasp for life</p><p class="line2">as they collapse in their mothers’ arms.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>What can I say about you?</p><p class="line2">Who has ever seen such sorrow?</p><p class="line1">O daughter of Jerusalem,</p><p class="line2">to what can I compare your anguish?</p><p class="line1">O virgin daughter of Zion,</p><p class="line2">how can I comfort you?</p><p class="line1">For your wound is as deep as the sea.</p><p class="line2">Who can heal you?</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Your prophets have said</p><p class="line2">so many foolish things, false to the core.</p><p class="line1">They did not save you from exile</p><p class="line2">by pointing out your sins.</p><p class="line1">Instead, they painted false pictures,</p><p class="line2">filling you with false hope.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>All who pass by jeer at you.</p><p class="line2">They scoff and insult beautiful Jerusalem,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">f</span></a> saying,</p><p class="line1">“Is this the city called ‘Most Beautiful in All the World’</p><p class="line2">and ‘Joy of All the Earth’?”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>All your enemies mock you.</p><p class="line2">They scoff and snarl and say,</p><p class="line1">“We have destroyed her at last!</p><p class="line2">We have long waited for this day,</p><p class="line2">and it is finally here!”</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>But it is the LORD who did just as he planned.</p><p class="line2">He has fulfilled the promises of disaster</p><p class="line2">he made long ago.</p><p class="line1">He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy.</p><p class="line2">He has caused her enemies to gloat over her</p><p class="line2">and has given them power over her.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>Cry aloud<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">g</span></a> before the Lord,</p><p class="line2">O walls of beautiful Jerusalem!</p><p class="line1">Let your tears flow like a river</p><p class="line2">day and night.</p><p class="line1">Give yourselves no rest;</p><p class="line2">give your eyes no relief.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Rise during the night and cry out.</p><p class="line2">Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord.</p><p class="line1">Lift up your hands to him in prayer,</p><p class="line2">pleading for your children,</p><p class="line1">for in every street</p><p class="line2">they are faint with hunger.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>“O LORD, think about this!</p><p class="line2">Should you treat your own people this way?</p><p class="line1">Should mothers eat their own children,</p><p class="line2">those they once bounced on their knees?</p><p class="line1">Should priests and prophets be killed</p><p class="line2">within the Lord’s Temple?</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“See them lying in the streets—</p><p class="line2">young and old,</p><p class="line1">boys and girls,</p><p class="line2">killed by the swords of the enemy.</p><p class="line1">You have killed them in your anger,</p><p class="line2">slaughtering them without mercy.</p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“You have invited terrors from all around,</p><p class="line2">as though you were calling them to a day of feasting.</p><p class="line1">In the day of the LORD’s anger,</p><p class="line2">no one has escaped or survived.</p><p class="line1">The enemy has killed all the children</p><p class="line2">whom I carried and raised.”</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:1a </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">the daughter of Zion;</span><span class="ft"> also in 2:8, 10, 18.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:1b </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">his footstool.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:2a </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">Jacob;</span><span class="ft"> also in 2:3b. See note on 1:17.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:2b </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">the daughter of Judah;</span><span class="ft"> also in 2:5.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:4 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">on the tent of the daughter of Zion.</span><br><span class="fn">f</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:15 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">the daughter of Jerusalem.</span><br><span class="fn">g</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">2:18 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">Their heart cried.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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