Lamentations 2:17

17 The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out 1his word, which he commanded 2long ago; 3he has thrown down 4without pity; 5he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the 6might of your foes.

Lamentations 2:17 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 2:17

The Lord hath done [that] which he had devised
It was not so much the Chaldeans that did it, though they ascribed it to themselves; but it was the Lord's doing, and what he had deliberately thought of, purposed and designed within himself; all whose purposes and devices certainly come to pass: he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old;
not only by the mouth of Jeremiah, years ago, or in the times of Isaiah, long before him; but even in the days of Moses; see ( Leviticus 26:17 ) , &c. ( Deuteronomy 28:20 ) So the Targum,

``which he commanded to Moses the prophet from ancient days, that if the children of Israel would not keep the commands of the Lord, he would take vengeance on them:''
he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied;
he hath thrown down, or caused to be thrown down, without any pity, the walls of Jerusalem; and not only the houses and palaces in it, but also his own house, the temple: and he hath caused [thine] enemy to rejoice over thee;
giving thorn victory, and putting all into their hands; on which they insulted them, and gloried over them: he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries;
increased their strength and power, their kingdom and authority; and which swelled their pride, and made them more haughty and insolent.

Lamentations 2:17 In-Context

15 All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?"
16 All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry: "We have swallowed her! Ah, this is the day we longed for; now we have it; we see it!"
17 The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes.
18 Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!
19 "Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street."

Cross References 6

  • 1. See Leviticus 26:14-45; Deuteronomy 28:15-68
  • 2. Lamentations 1:7; Jeremiah 46:26
  • 3. See ver. 2
  • 4. ver. 2, 21
  • 5. [Psalms 38:16; Psalms 89:42]
  • 6. [ver. 3]
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.