Lamentations 2:2

2 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.

Lamentations 2:2 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 2:2

The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and
hath not pitied
As he regarded not his own habitation the temple, nor the ark his footstool, it is no wonder he should be unconcerned about the habitations of others; as of the inhabitants of the land of Judea and of Jerusalem, particularly of the king, his nobles, and the great men; these the Lord swallowed up, or suffered to be swallowed up, as houses in an earthquake, and by an inundation, so as to be seen no more; and this he did without showing the least reluctance, pity, and compassion; being so highly incensed and provoked by their sins and transgressions: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of
Judah;
not only the dwelling houses of the people, but the most fortified places, their castles, towers, and citadels: he hath brought [them] down to the ground;
and not only battered and shook them, but beat them down, and laid them level with the ground; and all this done in the fury of his wrath, being irritated to it by the sins of his people; even the daughter of Judah, or the congregation thereof, as the Targum: he hath polluted the kingdom, and the princes thereof;
what was reckoned sacred, the kingdom of the house of David, and the kings and princes of it, the Lord's anointed; these being defiled with sin, God cast them away, as filth to the dunghill, and gave them up into the hands of the Gentiles, who were reckoned unclean; and thus they were profaned. Jarchi interprets these princes of the Israelites in common, who were called a kingdom of priests; and makes mention of a Midrash, that explains them of the princes above, or of heaven.

Lamentations 2:2 In-Context

1 Look how the Lord in his anger has brought Jerusalem to shame. from the sky to the earth; he did not remember the Temple, his footstool, on the day of his anger.

2 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.

3 In his anger he has removed all the strength of Israel; he took away his power from Israel when the enemy came. that burns up everything around it.

4 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.

5 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.