Lamentations 2:17

17 The LORD has ¹done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down ²without sparing, And He has caused the enemy to ³rejoice over you; He has ⁴exalted the might of your adversaries.

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 in derision at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem, "Is this the city of which they said, 'The perfection of beauty, A joy to all the earth '?"

16 All your enemies Have opened their mouths wide against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, "We have swallowed her up! Surely this is the day for which we waited; We have reached it, we have seen it."

17 The LORD has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without sparing, And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the might of your adversaries.

18 Their heart cried out to the Lord , "O wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.

19 "Arise, cry aloud in the night At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord ; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who are faint because of hunger At the head of every street."

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 4:28
• 2. Lamentations 2:1, 2; Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 7:8, 9; Ezekiel 8:18
• 3. Psalms 35:24, 26; Psalms 89:42; Isaiah 14:29
• 4. Deuteronomy 28:43, 44; Lamentations 1:5

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "horn"