Lamentations 2:20

18 Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

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

Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied.

22 Thou hast called 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 swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
KJV
Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
WEB
“Look, LORD, and see to whom you have done thus! Should the women eat their offspring, the children that they held and bounced on their knees? Should the priest and the prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
ASV
See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
DARBY
See, Jehovah, and consider to whom thou hast done this! Shall the women eat their fruit, the infants that they nursed? Shall priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
BLB
See, O YHWH, and consider! To whom have You dealt this [way]? Shall women eat their own fruit, the infants of the tender care? Shall he be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord—priest and prophet?
ÅB
Se, Herre, se! Hvem har du gjort slik med? Skal kvinner spise sin livsfrukt, de spede barn som bæres på armen? Skal prest og profet slås ihjel i Herrens helligdom?
OTB
Se, Herre, og overvei: Hvem har du noen gang behandlet slik? Skal kvinner spise sine avkom, barna de har fostret? Skal prest og profet bli drept i Herrens helligdom?
B1930
Se, Herre, se! Hvem har du gjort således med? Skal kvinner ete sin livsfrukt, de spede barn som bæres på armen? Skal prest og profet slås ihjel i Herrens helligdom?

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Lamentations 4:10

    The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.

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  • Jeremiah 19:9

    And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.

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  • Psalms 78:64

    Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

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  • Lamentations 4:13

    For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,

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  • Exodus 32:11

    And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

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  • Deuteronomy 9:26

    I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

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  • Lamentations 1:19

    I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls.

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  • Isaiah 9:14–17

    Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.

    Read in context