Lamentations 2:1-11

Lamentations 2:1-11 NCV

Look how the Lord in his anger has brought Jerusalem to shame. He has thrown down the greatness of Israel from the sky to the earth; he did not remember the Temple, his footstool, on the day of his anger. 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. In his anger he has removed all the strength of Israel; he took away his power from Israel when the enemy came. He burned against the people of Jacob like a flaming fire that burns up everything around it. Like an enemy, he prepared to shoot his bow, and his hand was against us. Like an enemy, he killed all the good-looking people; he poured out his anger like fire on the tents of Jerusalem. The Lord was like an enemy; he swallowed up Israel. He swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed all her strongholds. He has caused more moaning and groaning for Judah. He cut down his Temple like a garden; he destroyed the meeting place. The LORD has made Jerusalem forget the set feasts and Sabbath days. He has rejected the king and the priest in his great anger. The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his Temple. He has handed over to the enemy the walls of Jerusalem’s palaces. Their uproar in the LORD’s Temple was like that of a feast day. The LORD planned to destroy the wall around Jerusalem. He measured the wall and did not stop himself from destroying it. He made the walls and defenses sad; together they have fallen. Jerusalem’s gates have fallen to the ground; he destroyed and smashed the bars of the gates. Her king and her princes are among the nations. The teaching of the LORD has stopped, and the prophets do not have visions from the LORD. The elders of Jerusalem sit on the ground in silence. They throw dust on their heads and put on rough cloth to show their sadness. The young women of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground in sorrow. My eyes have no more tears, and I am sick to my stomach. I feel empty inside, because my people have been destroyed. Children and babies are fainting in the streets of the city.

Read Lamentations 2