“The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets. My virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword. You have killed them in the day of your anger. You have slaughtered, and not pitied.
Parallel Translations
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“The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets. My virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword. You have killed them in the day of your anger. You have slaughtered, and not pitied.
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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.
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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 unsparingly.
Cross-references (27)
Passages linked to Lamentations 2:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17 Therefore he brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or gray-headed. He gave them all into his hand.
- Zechariah 11:6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land,” says Yahweh; “but, behold, I will deliver the men everyone into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king. They will strike the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.”
- Jeremiah 13:14 I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says Yahweh: “I will not pity, spare, or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.” ’ ”
- Lamentations 3:43 “You have covered us with anger and pursued us. You have killed. You have not pitied.
- Jeremiah 18:21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives become childless and widows. Let their men be killed and their young men struck by the sword in battle.
- Lamentations 1:15 “The Lord has set at nothing all my mighty men within me. He has called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah as in a wine press.
- Lamentations 2:2 The Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob without pity. He has thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah. He has brought them down to the ground. He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.
- Lamentations 2:17 Yahweh has done that which he planned. He has fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old. He has thrown down, and has not pitied. He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you. He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.
- Deuteronomy 28:50 a nation of fierce facial expressions, that doesn’t respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young.
- Joshua 6:21 They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
- 1 Samuel 15:3 Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and don’t spare them; but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing baby, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
- Esther 3:13 Letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to plunder their possessions.
- Psalms 78:62-63 He also gave his people over to the sword, and was angry with his inheritance. Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song.
- Isaiah 27:11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
- Jeremiah 6:11 Therefore I am full of Yahweh’s wrath. I am weary with holding it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife will be taken, the aged with him who is full of days.
- Jeremiah 9:21 For death has come up into our windows. It has entered into our palaces to cut off the children from outside, and the young men from the streets.
- Jeremiah 11:22 therefore Yahweh of Armies says, ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by famine.
- Jeremiah 21:7 Afterward,” says Yahweh, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, even those who are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. He will strike them with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them, have pity, or have mercy.” ’
- Jeremiah 51:22 With you I will break in pieces the chariot and him who rides therein. With you I will break in pieces man and woman. With you I will break in pieces the old man and the youth. With you I will break in pieces the young man and the virgin.
- Lamentations 1:18 “Yahweh is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment. Please hear all you peoples, and see my sorrow. My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.
- Ezekiel 5:11 Therefore as I live,’ says the Lord Yahweh, ‘surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you. My eye won’t spare, and I will have no pity.
- Ezekiel 7:4 My eye will not spare you, neither will I have pity; but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.’
- Ezekiel 7:9 My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways. Your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, strike.
- Ezekiel 8:18 Therefore I will also deal in wrath. My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.”
- Ezekiel 9:5-6 To the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him, and strike. Don’t let your eye spare, neither have pity. Kill utterly the old man, the young man, the virgin, little children and women; but don’t come near any man on whom is the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” Then they began at the old men who were before the house.
- Ezekiel 9:10 As for me also, my eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way on their head.”
- Amos 4:10 “I sent plagues among you like I did Egypt. I have slain your young men with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp, yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Here he relates in the person of the Church…
Here he relates in the person of the Church another calamity, that the young and the aged were lying prostrate in the streets; and he joins children to the old men, to shew that there was no difference as to age. Then he says that dead bodies were lying promiscuously in public places. He adds, that virgins and young men had fallen by the sword; by which he confirms the previous clause, for there is nothing new said here, but only the manner is shewn by which they had been slain; for slain by the sword had been the young men and young women without any distinction; the enemies at the same time had not spared the old, while they killed the very flower of the people.
But the Prophet at the same time shews that all this was to be ascribed to God, not. that the Jews might expostulate with him, but that they might cease vainly to lament their calamities, and in order that they might on the contrary turn to God. Hence he does not say that the young and the old had been slain by the enemies, but by God himself. But it was difficult to convince the Jews of this, for they were so filled with rage against their enemies, that they could not turn their thoughts to the consideration of God’s judgments. This, then, is the reason why the Prophet makes God the author of all their calamities; Thou, he says, hast slain in the day of thy wrath; thou hast killed and not spared. And though the people seem here in a manner to contend with God, we must yet bear in mind the design of the Prophet, even to teach the people to look to God himself, so that they might know that they had to do with him. For there ought to be a passing from one truth to another, so that men, conscious of their sins, should first give glory to God, and then humbly deprecate the wrath which they have deserved. It follows at length, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Lam 2:21 The young and the old lie on…
Lam 2:21 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.
Ver. 21. The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets.] Oh, the woe of war! oh, the bloody work that the sword maketh wheresoever it is in commission! Well may it be called "an evil, an only evil," by an antonomasy. {a} {Isa 45:7}
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{a} The substitution of an epithet or appellative, or the name of an office or dignity, for a person’s proper name, as the Iron Duke for Wellington, his Grace for an archbishop. Also, conversely, the use of a proper name to express a general idea, as in calling an orator a Cicero, a wise judge a Daniel. ŒD
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain None of what sex or age soever are spared:…
None of what sex or age soever are spared: though the hands of the Chaldeans have done this, yet they have been set on and assisted by thee, and have been but the executioners of thy wrath and displeasure.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The young and the old lie on the ground…
The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets,.... 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;''
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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 hast killed,
and not pitied; the Chaldeans were only instruments; it was the Lord's doing; it was according to his will; it was what he had purposed and decreed; what he had solemnly declared and threatened; and now in his providence brought about, for the sins of the Jews, by which he was provoked to anger; and so gave them up into the hands of their enemies, to slay them without mercy; and which is here owned; the church takes notice of the hand of God in all this.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Omit “them” and “and,” which weaken the intensity of…
Omit “them” and “and,” which weaken the intensity of the passage.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Killed. Literally, "stricken" (Haydock) with unusual severity. (Worthington)
Killed. Literally, "stricken" (Haydock) with unusual severity. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Ch2 36:17).
(Ch2 36:17).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. Young and… old — More literally, boy and…
21. Young and… old — More literally, boy and old man.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) The young and the old . . .—The…
(21) The young and the old . . .—The thoughts of the mourner turn from the massacre in the sanctuary to the slaughter which did its dread work in every corner of the city.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The young and the old lie on the ground…
Lam_2:21
The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets.
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Unburied
1. When God punisheth a people for sin, He spareth neither age nor sex.
2. It is a sign of Gods anger upon a people, when they want decent burial (Psa_79:3).
3. The wicked will do most barbarous things, when God bridleth them not.
4. As God is full of mercy in His longsuffering, so is His anger unappeasable when it breaketh out. (J. Udall.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Both the young and the old lie on the…
Both the young and the old lie on the dust
It is implied here that this refers to dead people. AT: "The corpses of both the young and the old lie on the dust" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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Both the young and the old
These phrases refer to people. These two opposites are used to refer to all ages of people. AT: "Both young people and old people" or "People of all ages" (See: Nominal Adjectives and Merism)
My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword
Here the "sword" refers to their enemies. This is a euphemism that means that they were murdered by their enemies. AT: "My young women and my young men have been murdered by their enemies" or "My enemies have murdered my young women and my young men" (See: Euphemism)
you have slaughtered them
This speaks of Yahweh allowing the poeple to be slaughtered as if he killed them himself. AT: "you allowed them to be slaughtered" or "you allowed this to happen" (See: Metonymy)
as you would call the people to a feast day
"as if they were coming to a feast." This speaks of how Yahweh summoned his enemies as if he were inviting them to a feast. (See: Simile)
my terrors
Here the people the author fears are referred to as his "terrors." AT: "the attackers I was afraid of" (See: Metonymy)
on every side
This is an idiom. AT: "to attack from every direction" (See: Idiom)
on the day of the anger of Yahweh
Here "day" is used as an idiom that refers to a general period of time. AT: "at the time when Yahweh acted in his anger" or "during the time that Yahweh displayed his anger" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
virgin
sword
slaughter
wrath
compassion
terror
assembly
Yahweh
adversary
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.