CINXE.COM

<!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 NIV</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" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/lamentations/2-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NIV</a> > Lamentations 2</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div 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 International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/lamentations/2.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>How the Lord has covered Daughter Zion</p><p class="line2">with the cloud of his anger <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or How the Lord in his anger has treated Daughter Zion with contempt">a</a></sup></span> !</p><p class="line1">He has hurled down the splendor of Israel</p><p class="line2">from heaven to earth;</p><p class="line1">he has not remembered his footstool</p><p class="line2">in the day of his anger.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Without pity the Lord has swallowed up</p><p class="line2">all the dwellings of Jacob;</p><p class="line1">in his wrath he has torn down</p><p class="line2">the strongholds of Daughter Judah.</p><p class="line1">He has brought her kingdom and its princes</p><p class="line2">down to the ground in dishonor.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>In fierce anger he has cut off</p><p class="line2">every horn <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or off all the strength; or every king">b</a></sup></span> <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Horn here symbolizes strength.">c</a></sup></span> of Israel.</p><p class="line1">He has withdrawn his right hand</p><p class="line2">at the approach of the enemy.</p><p class="line1">He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire</p><p class="line2">that consumes everything around it.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Like an enemy he has strung his bow;</p><p class="line2">his right hand is ready.</p><p class="line1">Like a foe he has slain</p><p class="line2">all who were pleasing to the eye;</p><p class="line1">he has poured out his wrath like fire</p><p class="line2">on the tent of Daughter Zion.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>The Lord is like an enemy;</p><p class="line2">he has swallowed up Israel.</p><p class="line1">He has swallowed up all her palaces</p><p class="line2">and destroyed her strongholds.</p><p class="line1">He has multiplied mourning and lamentation</p><p class="line2">for Daughter Judah.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden;</p><p class="line2">he has destroyed his place of meeting.</p><p class="line1">The <span class="name">Lord</span> has made Zion forget</p><p class="line2">her appointed festivals and her Sabbaths;</p><p class="line1">in his fierce anger he has spurned</p><p class="line2">both king and priest.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><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 altar</p><p class="line2">and abandoned his sanctuary.</p><p class="line1">He has given the walls of her palaces</p><p class="line2">into the hands of the enemy;</p><p class="line1">they have raised a shout in the house of the <span class="name">Lord</span></p><p class="line2">as on the day of an appointed festival.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>The <span class="name">Lord</span> determined to tear down</p><p class="line2">the wall around Daughter Zion.</p><p class="line1">He stretched out a measuring line</p><p class="line2">and did not withhold his hand from destroying.</p><p class="line1">He made ramparts and walls lament;</p><p class="line2">together they wasted away.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Her gates have sunk into the ground;</p><p class="line2">their bars he has broken and destroyed.</p><p class="line1">Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations,</p><p class="line2">the law is no more,</p><p class="line1">and her prophets no longer find</p><p class="line2">visions from the <span class="name">Lord</span>.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>The elders of Daughter Zion</p><p class="line2">sit on the ground in silence;</p><p class="line1">they have sprinkled dust on their heads</p><p class="line2">and put on sackcloth.</p><p class="line1">The young women of Jerusalem</p><p class="line2">have bowed their heads to the ground.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>My eyes fail from weeping,</p><p class="line2">I am in torment within;</p><p class="line1">my heart is poured out on the ground</p><p class="line2">because my people are destroyed,</p><p class="line1">because children and infants faint</p><p class="line2">in the streets of the city.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>They say to their mothers,</p><p class="line2">“Where is bread and wine?”</p><p class="line1">as they faint like the wounded</p><p class="line2">in the streets of the city,</p><p class="line1">as their lives ebb away</p><p class="line2">in their mothers’ arms.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>What can I say for you?</p><p class="line2">With what can I compare you,</p><p class="line2">Daughter Jerusalem?</p><p class="line1">To what can I liken you,</p><p class="line2">that I may comfort you,</p><p class="line2">Virgin Daughter Zion?</p><p class="line1">Your wound is as deep as the sea.</p><p class="line2">Who can heal you?</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>The visions of your prophets</p><p class="line2">were false and worthless;</p><p class="line1">they did not expose your sin</p><p class="line2">to ward off your captivity.</p><p class="line1">The prophecies they gave you</p><p class="line2">were false and misleading.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>All who pass your way</p><p class="line2">clap their hands at you;</p><p class="line1">they scoff and shake their heads</p><p class="line2">at Daughter Jerusalem:</p><p class="line1">“Is this the city that was called</p><p class="line2">the perfection of beauty,</p><p class="line2">the joy of the whole earth?”</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>All your enemies open their mouths</p><p class="line2">wide against you;</p><p class="line1">they scoff and gnash their teeth</p><p class="line2">and say, “We have swallowed her up.</p><p class="line1">This is the day we have waited for;</p><p class="line2">we have lived to see it.”</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>The <span class="name">Lord</span> has done what he planned;</p><p class="line2">he has fulfilled his word,</p><p class="line2">which he decreed long ago.</p><p class="line1">He has overthrown you without pity,</p><p class="line2">he has let the enemy gloat over you,</p><p class="line2">he has exalted the horn <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Horn here symbolizes strength.">d</a></sup></span> of your foes.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>The hearts of the people</p><p class="line2">cry out to the Lord.</p><p class="line1">You walls of Daughter Zion,</p><p class="line2">let your tears flow like a river</p><p class="line2">day and night;</p><p class="line1">give yourself no relief,</p><p class="line2">your eyes no rest.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Arise, cry out in the night,</p><p class="line2">as the watches of the night begin;</p><p class="line1">pour out your heart like water</p><p class="line2">in the presence of the Lord.</p><p class="line1">Lift up your hands to him</p><p class="line2">for the lives of your children,</p><p class="line1">who faint from hunger</p><p class="line2">at every street corner.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>“Look, <span class="name">Lord</span>, and consider:</p><p class="line2">Whom have you ever treated like this?</p><p class="line1">Should women eat their offspring,</p><p class="line2">the children they have cared for?</p><p class="line1">Should priest and prophet be killed</p><p class="line2">in the sanctuary of the Lord?</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“Young and old lie together</p><p class="line2">in the dust of the streets;</p><p class="line1">my young men and young women</p><p class="line2">have fallen by the sword.</p><p class="line1">You have slain them in the day of your anger;</p><p class="line2">you have slaughtered them without pity.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/lamentations/2-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“As you summon to a feast day,</p><p class="line2">so you summoned against me terrors on every side.</p><p class="line1">In the day of the <span class="name">Lord</span>’s anger</p><p class="line2">no one escaped or survived;</p><p class="line1">those I cared for and reared</p><p class="line2">my enemy has destroyed.”</p></div><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">1</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>How the Lord in his anger<br />     has treated Daughter Zion with contempt</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">3</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>off<br />     all the strength</i>; or <i>every king</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">3</span> <span class="footnotebot"><i>Horn</i> here symbolizes strength.</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">d</span> <span class="fnverse">17</span> <span class="footnotebot"><i>Horn</i> here symbolizes strength.</span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.</p><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../lamentations/1.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Lamentations 1"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Lamentations 1" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../lamentations/3.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Lamentations 3"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Lamentations 3" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/lamentations/2-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenubib2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>