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 2:15

ס (Samek)

2:15 All who passed by on the road

clapped their hands to mock you. ⁷ 

They sneered and shook their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem.

“Ha! Is this the city they called ⁸ 

‘The perfection of beauty, ⁹ 

the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ¹⁰ 

[2:2]  ¹ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “has swallowed up.”

[2:2]  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.

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the dwellings of Jacob.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “the strongholds.”

[2:2]  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.”

[2:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).

[2:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “of which they said.”

[2:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.

[2:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.