Lamentations 2:3

ג (Gimel)

2:3 In fierce anger ¹  he destroyed ² 

the whole army ³  of Israel.

He withdrew his right hand ⁴ 

as the enemy attacked. ⁵ 

He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob; ⁶ 

it consumed everything around it. ⁷ 

Lamentations 2:5

ה (He)

2:5 The Lord, ⁸  like an enemy,

destroyed ⁹  Israel.

He destroyed ¹⁰  all her palaces;

he ruined her ¹¹  fortified cities.

He made everyone in Daughter Judah

mourn and lament. ¹² 

Lamentations 2:12

ל (Lamed)

2:12 Children ¹³  say to their mothers, ¹⁴ 

“Where are food and drink?” ¹⁵ 

They faint ¹⁶  like a wounded warrior

in the city squares.

They die slowly ¹⁷ 

in their mothers’ arms. ¹⁸ 

[2:3]  ¹ tc The MT reads אַף (’af, “anger”), while the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate) reflect אַפּוֹ (’appo, “His anger”). The MT is the more difficult reading syntactically, while the ancient versions are probably smoothing out the text.

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “cut off, scattered.”

[2:3]  ³ tn Heb “every horn of Israel.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3, 17; Ezek 29:21) (BDB 901 s.v. 2), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” Cutting off the “horn” is a figurative expression for destroying warriors (Jer 48:25; Ps 75:10 [HT 11]).

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “he caused his right hand to turn back.” The implication in such contexts is that the Lord’s right hand protects his city. This image of the right hand is consciously reversed in 2:4.

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the presence of the enemy.” This figurative expression refers to the approach of the attacking army.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “he burned in Jacob like a flaming fire.”

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Or “He burned against Jacob, like a raging fire consumes all around.”

[2:5]  ⁸ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his.” For consistency this has been translated as “her.”

[2:5]  ¹² tn Heb “He increased in Daughter Judah mourning and lamentation.”

[2:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to their mother,” understood as a collective singular.

[2:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Where is bread and wine?” The terms “bread” and “wine” are synecdoches of specific (= bread, wine) for general (= food, drink).

[2:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “as they faint” or “when they faint.”

[2:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “as their life is poured out.” The term בְּהִשְׁתַּפֵּךְ (bÿhishtappekh), Hitpael infinitive construct + the preposition בּ (bet), from שָׁפַךְ (shafakh, “to pour out”) may be rendered “as they expire” (BDB 1050 s.v. שָׁפַךְ), referring to the process of dying. Note the repetition of the word “pour out” with various direct objects in this poem at 2:4, 11, 12, and 19.

[2:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “chest, lap.”