Lamentations 2 21

Lamentations 2:21 kjv

The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied.

Lamentations 2:21 nkjv

"Young and old lie On the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword; You have slain them in the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered and not pitied.

Lamentations 2:21 niv

"Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and young women have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity.

Lamentations 2:21 esv

In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity.

Lamentations 2:21 nlt

"See them lying in the streets ?
young and old,
boys and girls,
killed by the swords of the enemy.
You have killed them in your anger,
slaughtering them without mercy.

Lamentations 2 verses

Lamentations 2 21 meaning

Lamentations 2:21 profoundly describes the total devastation and widespread suffering inflicted upon Jerusalem during its siege and destruction. It portrays a scene of horrific carnage where young and old, male and female, lie dead in the streets, having been slaughtered indiscriminately by divine judgment. The verse emphasizes that God Himself was the active agent in this cataclysm, executing His fierce anger without any mercy or compassion, as a direct consequence of His people's sins.

Lamentations 2 21 Context

Lamentations 2:21 is set against the backdrop of Jerusalem's destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BC, as an act of divine judgment. The chapter is characterized by a stark acknowledgment of God's direct involvement in the calamity. The prophet, likely Jeremiah, speaks for the ravaged city (Daughter Zion), detailing the horrors experienced. Chapter 2 opens with a strong assertion of God's deliberate dismantling of Zion, emphasizing that the Lord Himself has become like an enemy. Verse 21 comes after a description of the widespread suffering, famine, and death within the city, intensifying the portrayal of the disaster as a full-scale slaughter executed by God. It specifically highlights the indiscriminate nature of the death, touching all demographic groups, leaving no one spared from the Creator's fierce anger.

Lamentations 2 21 Word analysis

• Young and old (נַעַר, na'ar, "young person" and וְזָקֵן, v'zaqen, "and old man"): These terms represent the full spectrum of society, from the most vigorous to the most venerable. Their combined presence underscores the indiscriminacy of the death, highlighting that no age group was exempt from the divine judgment. This contrasts with cultural values that normally protect the vulnerable and respect elders.
• lie together (יִשְׁכְּבוּ, yishkevu, "they lie down/are laid down"): This verb implies not merely resting, but being felled in death, abandoned. In the context of "in the dust on the streets," it signifies that the bodies were unburied, dishonored, and left to decay openly, which was a great curse and disgrace in ancient Near Eastern culture, violating basic human dignity and religious rites.
• in the dust on the streets (בָאָרֶץ חוּץ, ba'aretz chutz, "on the ground outside/in the streets"): "Dust" (implicit from "on the ground") points to the state of desolation and degradation, the lowliest possible place for the dead. "On the streets" indicates a public, undignified end, witnessed by all, symbolizing the utter humiliation of the city.
• my young women (בְּתוּלֹתַי, betulotay, "my virgins"): The possessive suffix ("my") deepens the personal lament of Zion, feeling the loss as her own children. "Virgins" emphasizes purity, vulnerability, and the tragic loss of future generations and familial lineage. This specifically targets the most sensitive and protected group in ancient society.
• my young men (וּבַחוּרַי, u'vachuray, "and my chosen ones/young men"): Also bearing the possessive suffix, "my young men" signifies the loss of strength, potential, and the city's future defenders or contributors. Their fall indicates the complete military defeat and the decimation of those who should have protected the city.
• have fallen (נָפְלוּ, naflu, "they have fallen") by the sword (בַחֶרֶב, bacherev, "by the sword"): "Fallen" is a common euphemism for death in battle. "By the sword" identifies the primary instrument of death, indicative of violent, warlike destruction and conquest, here explicitly linked to God's judgment rather than solely human conflict.
• you have slain them (הָרַגְתָּ, harágta, "you have killed"): The direct address "you" (referring to God) and the active verb "slain" unambiguously state God's direct agency in the killing. This moves beyond indirect allowing of events to active participation, presenting God as the orchestrator and executor of the judgment.
• in the day of your anger (בְּיוֹם אַפֶּךָ, b'yom appekha, "in the day of your nose/anger/wrath"): This phrase powerfully links the destruction to God's righteous wrath. It signifies a specific time of divine indignation and retribution, often prophesied as "the Day of the Lord," making the event not random but a precise execution of divine justice.
• you have slaughtered them (טָבַחְתָּ, távachta, "you have slaughtered"): This verb carries a much stronger, more brutal connotation than harágta. It is typically used for the killing of animals, often for sacrifice or consumption, but here applied to humans, it conveys an image of merciless, indiscriminate butchery, stripping the victims of their human dignity.
• not sparing (לֹא חָמַלְתָּ, lo chamalta, "you have not had pity/spared"): This final phrase reiterates the absolute lack of divine mercy. It means God withheld no compassion, confirming the completeness and severity of His judgment. This seals the verse with a sense of utter finality and the unmitigated consequence of their sin.

Lamentations 2 21 Bonus section

The intense personalization of "my virgins" and "my young men" through the suffix 'ay' is key to understanding the profound grief in Lamentations. This is Daughter Zion (Jerusalem) mourning her own children, highlighting not just loss, but also the symbolic destruction of her future, identity, and the covenant relationship. The horror described is not just physical but spiritual; the desecration of the dead went against God's law (Deut 21:23) and was seen as a profound curse, meaning that the living faced not just death but also eternal dishonor for their deceased loved ones, emphasizing the completeness of God's judgment and the depth of Israel's spiritual fall. This absolute state of no pity stands in stark contrast to God's character as "merciful and gracious" (Exo 34:6), demonstrating that even His boundless mercy has boundaries when covenant stipulations are perpetually violated.

Lamentations 2 21 Commentary

Lamentations 2:21 offers one of the Bible's most graphic and unsettling portrayals of divine judgment, emphasizing the utter desolation of Jerusalem. The prophet depicts an apocalyptic scene of widespread, indiscriminate death, where all societal groups – young, old, virgins, and young men – meet their end in the most public and undignified manner, their bodies strewn unburied in the city's thoroughfares. This imagery communicates profound dishonor, a direct reversal of God's covenant blessings which included burial and protection. The striking aspect of the verse is its unflinching declaration of God's direct agency. It's not Babylon alone, but "You (God) have slain them... you have slaughtered them, not sparing." This theological assertion underscores that the calamity was not merely a tragic military defeat but a deliberate, decisive act of God's righteous wrath, "in the day of your anger," against His disobedient people. The use of strong verbs like "slain" (harágta) and especially "slaughtered" (távachta – often used for animals) highlights the absolute mercilessness and the depth of the judgment, demonstrating that God had exhausted His patience and was enacting the full measure of covenant curses promised for unfaithfulness. The verse serves as a stark reminder of the gravity of sin and the severity of divine justice when His grace is continually rejected.