Chapter 2

How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud⁵⁵ in his anger, [and] cast down⁵² from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered¹ not his footstool ⁷²⁷² in the day of his anger!

The Lord hath swallowed up¹⁴ all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied:¹ he hath thrown down¹ in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought [them] down⁵² to the ground: he hath polluted¹⁴ the kingdom and the princes thereof.

He hath cut off¹ in [his] fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn⁵² back his right hand from before the enemy,⁶ and he burned⁴ against Jacob like a flaming fire, [which] devoureth¹ round about.

He hath bent¹ his bow like an enemy:⁶ he stood¹² with his right hand as an adversary, and slew⁴ all [that were] pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out¹ his fury like fire.

The Lord was as an enemy:⁶ he hath swallowed up¹⁴ Israel, he hath swallowed up¹⁴ all her palaces: he hath destroyed¹⁴ his strong holds, and hath increased⁵⁵ in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.

And he hath violently taken away⁴ his tabernacle, as [if it were of] a garden: he hath destroyed¹⁴ his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten¹⁴ in Zion, and hath despised⁴ in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.

The Lord hath cast off¹ his altar, he hath abhorred¹⁴ his sanctuary, he hath given up⁵² into the hand of the enemy⁶ the walls of her palaces; they have made¹ a noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast.

The LORD hath purposed¹ to destroy⁵³ the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out¹ a line, he hath not withdrawn⁵² his hand from destroying:¹⁵ therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament;⁵⁵ they languished⁴⁹ together.

Her gates are sunk¹ into the ground; he hath destroyed¹⁴ and broken¹⁴ her bars: her king and her princes [are] among the Gentiles: the law [is] no [more]; her prophets also find¹ no vision from the LORD.

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit⁴ upon the ground, [and] keep silence:⁴ they have cast up⁵² dust upon their heads; they have girded¹ themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down⁵² their heads to the ground.

Mine eyes do fail¹ with tears, my bowels are troubled,³⁹ my liver is poured⁸ upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings⁶ swoon⁹ in the streets of the city.

They say⁴ to their mothers, Where [is] corn and wine? when they swooned⁹⁹ as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out⁹⁹ into their mothers' bosom.

What thing shall I take to witness^{55 5749 4} for thee? what thing shall I liken¹⁷ to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal⁵⁵ to thee, that I may comfort¹⁷ thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach [is] great like the sea: who can heal⁴ thee?

Thy prophets have seen¹ vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered¹⁴ thine iniquity, to turn away⁵³ thy captivity; ⁷⁶²² but have seen⁴ for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.

All that pass by^{6 1870} clap¹ [their] hands at thee; they hiss¹ and wag⁵⁵ their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, [saying, Is] this the city that [men] call⁴ The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?

All thine enemies⁶ have opened¹ their mouth against thee: they hiss¹ and gnash⁴ the teeth: they say,¹ We have swallowed [her] up:¹⁴ certainly this [is] the day that we looked for;¹⁴ we have found,¹ we have seen¹ [it].

The LORD hath done¹ [that] which he had devised;¹ he hath fulfilled¹⁴ his word that he had commanded¹⁴ in the days of old: he hath thrown down,¹ and hath not pitied:¹ and he hath caused [thine] enemy⁶ to rejoice¹⁷ over thee, he hath set up⁵² the horn of thine adversaries.

Their heart cried¹ unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down⁵⁴ like a river day and night: give⁴ thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.⁴

Arise,³ cry out³ in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out³ thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up³ thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint⁷ for hunger in the top of every street.

Behold,³ O LORD, and consider⁵⁴ to whom thou hast done²² this. Shall the women eat⁴ their fruit, [and] children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain¹¹ in the sanctuary of the Lord?

The young and the old lie¹ on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen¹ by the sword; thou hast slain¹ [them] in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed,¹ [and] not pitied.¹

Thou hast called⁴ as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD'S anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled¹⁴ and brought up¹⁴ hath mine enemy⁶ consumed.¹⁴