Lamentations 2:2-8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 2:1-9

It is a very sad representation which is here made of the state of God's church, of Jacob and Israel, of Zion and Jerusalem; but the emphasis in these verses seems to be laid all along upon the hand of God in the calamities which they were groaning under. The grief is not so much that such and such things are done as that God has done them, that he appears angry with them; it is he that chastens them, and chastens them in wrath and in his hot displeasure; he has become their enemy, and fights... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 2:2

The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied ,.... As he regarded not his own habitation the temple, nor the ark his footstool, it is no wonder he should be unconcerned about the habitations of others; as of the inhabitants of the land of Judea and of Jerusalem, particularly of the king, his nobles, and the great men; these the Lord swallowed up, or suffered to be swallowed up, as houses in an earthquake, and by an inundation, so as to be seen no more; and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 2:3

He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel ,.... All its power and strength, especially its kingly power, which is often signified by a horn in Scripture; see Daniel 7:24 ; this the Lord took away in his fierce anger, and left the land destitute of all relief, help, defence and protection; whether from its king and princes, or from its men of war or fortified places; all being cut off and destroyed: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy ; either his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 2:4

He hath bent his bow like an enemy ,.... God sometimes appears as if he was an enemy to his people, when he is not, by his conduct and behaviour; by the dispensations of his providence they take him to be so, as Job did, Job 16:9 ; he bends his bow, or treads it, for the bending or stretching the bow was done by the foot; and as the Targum, "and threw his arrows at me:' he stood with his right hand as an adversary ; with arrows in it, to put into his bow or with his sword drawn, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 2:5

The Lord was as an enemy ,.... Who formerly was on their side, their God and guardian, their protector and deliverer, but now against them; and a terrible thing it is to have God for an enemy, or even to be as one; this is repeated, as being exceeding distressing, and even intolerable. Mr. Broughton renders it, "the Lord is become a very enemy"; taking "caph" for a note of reality, and not of similitude; he hath swallowed up Israel ; the ten tribes, or the Jewish nation in general; as a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 2:6

And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden ,.... The house of the sanctuary or temple, as the Targum; which was demolished at once with great force and violence, and as easily done as a tent or tabernacle is taken down; and no more account made of it than of a cottage or lodge in a vineyard or garden, set up while the fruit was, gathering; either to shelter from the heat of the sun in the day, or to lodge in at night; see Isaiah 1:8 ; he hath destroyed... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 2:7

The Lord hath cast off his altar ,.... Whether of incense, or of burnt offerings; the sacrifices of which used to be acceptable to him; but now the altar being cast down and demolished, there were no more offerings; nor did he show any desire of them, but the reverse: he hath abhorred his sanctuary ; the temple; by suffering it to be profaned, pulled down, and burnt, it looked as if he had an abhorrence of it, and the service in it; as he had, as it was performed without faith in Christ,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 2:8

The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion ,.... Either the wall of the city, as Aben Ezra; or the wall that encompassed the temple, and all the outward courts of it, as Dr. Lightfoot F19 Prospect of the Temple, c. 17. p. 1089. thinks; this the Lord had determined to destroy, and according to his purposes did destroy it, or suffer it to be demolished; and so all were laid open for the enemy to enter: he hath stretched out a line ; a line of destruction, to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 2:2

The Lord hath swallowed up - It is a strange figure when thus applied: but Jehovah is here represented as having swallowed down Jerusalem and all the cities and fortifications in the land: that is, he has permitted them to be destroyed. See Lamentations 2:6 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 2:3

The horn of Israel - His power and strength. It is a metaphor taken from cattle, whose principal strength lies in their horns. Hath drawn back his right hand - He did not support us when our enemies came against us. read more

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