BibleWord.ai› Bible› Lamentations› Chapter 2› Verse 21

Lamentations 2:21

Old Testament Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Lamentations 2:21 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “The youth and the old man 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 slaughtered, [and] not pitied.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

The youth and the old man 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 slaughtered, [and] not pitied.
Lamentations 2:21 — American Standard Version

Context — Lamentations 2

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
18Their 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 respite; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
19Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; Pour out thy 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 at the head of every street.
20See, 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?
21The youth and the old man 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 slaughtered, [and] not pitied.
22Thou hast called, as in the day of a solemn assembly, my terrors on every side; And there was none that escaped or remained in the day of Jehovah`s anger: Those that I have dandled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.
← Lamentations 2:20Lamentations 2:22 →
← Full Chapter 2 Lamentations Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets, etc.] Young men and old men, virgins and aged women; these promiscuously lay on the ground in the public streets, fainting and dying for want of food; or lay killed there by the sword of the enemy; the Chaldeans sparing neither age nor sex. The Targum interprets it of their sleeping on the ground, “young men slept on the ground in the villages, and old men who used to lie on pillows of fine wool, and on beds of ivory;” but the former sense is confirmed by what follows: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; by the sword of the Chaldeans, when they entered the city: thou hast slain [them] in the day of thine anger: thou…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“(Ch2 36:17).”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Omit “them” and “and,” which weaken the intensity of the passage. return to 'Top of Page'”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“young: Deu 28:50; Jos 6:21; Sa1 15:3; Ch2 36:17; Est 3:13; Jer 51:22; Eze 9:6 my virgins: Lam 1:15, Lam 1:18; Psa 78:63; Jer 9:21, Jer 11:22, Jer 18:21; Amo 4:10 thou hast killed: Lam 2:2, Lam 2:17, Lam 3:43; Isa 27:11; Jer 13:14, Jer 21:7; Eze 5:11, Eze 7:4, Eze 7:9, Eze 8:18; Eze 9:5, Eze 9:10; Zac 11:6 Lamentations 2:22”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Read Lamentations 2 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification