Lamentations 2:20

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

ר(Resh)Jerusalem Speaks: Look, O LORD! Consider! Whom have you ever afflicted like this? Should women eat their offspring, their healthy infants? Should priest and prophet be killed in the Lord’s sanctuary?

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Lam 4:10 : 10 י(Yod) The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed.
  • Jer 19:9 : 9 I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”’”
  • Ps 78:64 : 64 Their priests fell by the sword, but their widows did not weep.
  • Exod 32:11 : 11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God and said,“O LORD, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
  • Deut 9:26 : 26 I prayed to him: O, Sovereign LORD, do not destroy your people, your valued property that you have powerfully redeemed, whom you brought out of Egypt by your strength.
  • Lam 4:13 : 13 מ(Mem) But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous.
  • Lam 4:16 : 16 פ(Pe) The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. They did not honor the priests; they did not show favor to the elders.
  • Ezek 5:10 : 10 Therefore fathers will eat their sons within you, Jerusalem, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter any survivors to the winds.
  • Ezek 9:5-6 : 5 While I listened, he said to the others,“Go through the city after him and strike people down; do not let your eye pity nor spare anyone! 6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women– wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.
  • Jer 23:11-15 : 11 Moreover, the LORD says,“Both the prophets and priests are godless. I have even found them doing evil in my temple! 12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery. They will stumble and fall headlong. For I will bring disaster on them. A day of reckoning is coming for them.” The LORD affirms it! 13 The LORD says,“I saw the prophets of Samaria doing something that was disgusting. They prophesied in the name of the god Baal and led my people Israel astray. 14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something just as shocking. They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies. So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil, with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom, and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. 15 So then I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem:‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason that ungodliness has spread throughout the land.’”
  • Lam 1:19 : 19 ק(Qof) I called for my lovers, but they had deceived me. My priests and my elders perished in the city. Truly they had searched for food to keep themselves alive.
  • Deut 28:53-57 : 53 You will then eat your own offspring, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you, because of the severity of the siege by which your enemies will constrict you. 54 The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children. 55 He will withhold from all of them his children’s flesh that he is eating(since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages. 56 Likewise, the most tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters, 57 and will secretly eat her afterbirth and her newborn children(since she has nothing else), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.
  • 2 Kgs 6:28-29 : 28 Then the king asked her,“What’s your problem?” She answered,“This woman said to me,‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day,‘Hand over your son and we’ll eat him.’ But she hid her son!”
  • Lev 26:29 : 29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.
  • Isa 9:14-17 : 14 So the LORD cut off Israel’s head and tail, both the shoots and stalk in one day. 15 The leaders and the highly respected people are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail. 16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people, and the people being led were destroyed. 17 So the Lord was not pleased with their young men, he took no pity on their orphans and widows; for the whole nation was godless and did wicked things, every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.
  • Isa 63:16-19 : 16 For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, LORD, are our father; you have been called our protector from ancient times. 17 Why, LORD, do you make us stray from your ways, and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance! 18 For a short time your special nation possessed a land, but then our adversaries knocked down your holy sanctuary. 19 We existed from ancient times, but you did not rule over them; they were not your subjects.
  • Isa 64:8-9 : 8 Yet, LORD, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the product of your labor. 9 LORD, do not be too angry! Do not hold our sins against us continually! Take a good look at your people, at all of us! 10 Your chosen cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem, a desolate ruin. 11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy, the place where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire; all our prized possessions have been destroyed. 12 In light of all this, how can you still hold back, LORD? How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?
  • Jer 5:31 : 31 The prophets prophesy lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!
  • Jer 14:15-18 : 15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying,‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the LORD, say this about them:‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’ 16 The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.” 17 Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come“Tell these people this, Jeremiah:‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound. 18 If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest– they go peddling in the land but they are not humbled.’”
  • Jer 14:20-21 : 20 LORD, we confess that we have been wicked. We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. We have indeed sinned against you. 21 For the honor of your name, do not treat Jerusalem with contempt. Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it!

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Lam 2:21-22
    2 verses
    80%

    21ש(Sin/Shin) The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; you slaughtered them without mercy.

    22ת(Tav) As if it were a feast day, you call enemies to terrify me on every side. On the day of the LORD’s anger no one escaped or survived. My enemy has finished off those healthy infants whom I bore and raised.

  • Lam 4:10
    78%

    10י(Yod) The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed.

  • Lam 2:19
    77%

    19ק(Qof) Get up! Cry out in the night when the night watches start! Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord! Lift up your hands to him for your children’s lives; they are fainting from hunger at every street corner.

  • Joel 2:17
    77%

    17Let the priests, those who serve the LORD, weep from the vestibule all the way back to the altar. Let them say,“Have pity, O LORD, on your people; please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked, to become a proverb among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples,“Where is their God?”

  • Jer 18:21
    76%

    21So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle.

  • Ezek 16:20-21
    2 verses
    76%

    20“‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution was not enough,

    21you slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.

  • Lam 2:11-12
    2 verses
    76%

    11כ(Kaf) My eyes are worn out from weeping; my stomach is in knots. My heart is poured out on the ground due to the destruction of my helpless people; children and infants faint in the town squares.

    12ל(Lamed) Children say to their mothers,“Where are food and drink?” They faint like a wounded warrior in the city squares. They die slowly in their mothers’ arms.

  • Jer 44:7
    76%

    7“So now the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks,‘Why will you do such great harm to yourselves? Why should every man, woman, child, and baby of yours be destroyed from the midst of Judah? Why should you leave yourselves without a remnant?

  • Jer 9:20-21
    2 verses
    75%

    20I said,“So now, you wailing women, listen to the LORD’s message. Open your ears to the message from his mouth. Teach your daughters this mournful song, and let every woman teach her neighbor this lament.

    21‘Death has climbed in through our windows. It has entered into our fortified houses. It has taken away our children who play in the streets. It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’

  • Mic 2:9
    75%

    9You wrongly evict widows among my people from their cherished homes. You defraud their children of their prized inheritance.

  • Jer 11:22
    75%

    22So the LORD of Heaven’s Armies said,“I will surely punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. Their sons and daughters will die of starvation.

  • Jer 16:3
    75%

    3For I, the LORD, tell you what will happen to the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers.

  • Isa 51:19-20
    2 verses
    74%

    19These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you?

    20Your children faint; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a snare. They are left in a stupor by the LORD’s anger, by the battle cry of your God.

  • Lam 1:11-12
    2 verses
    74%

    11כ(Kaf) All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread. They exchanged their valuables for just enough food to stay alive. Jerusalem Speaks:“Look, O LORD! Consider that I have become worthless!”

    12ל(Lamed) Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by on the road? Look and see! Is there any pain like mine? The Lord has afflicted me, he has inflicted it on me when he burned with anger.

  • Jer 14:16-18
    3 verses
    74%

    16The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.”

    17Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come“Tell these people this, Jeremiah:‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound.

    18If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest– they go peddling in the land but they are not humbled.’”

  • Deut 28:56-57
    2 verses
    74%

    56Likewise, the most tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters,

    57and will secretly eat her afterbirth and her newborn children(since she has nothing else), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.

  • Joel 1:16
    73%

    16Our food has been cut off right before our eyes! There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God!

  • Jer 2:30
    73%

    30“It did no good for me to punish your people. They did not respond to such correction. You slaughtered your prophets like a voracious lion.”

  • Ezek 23:39
    73%

    39On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.

  • Ezek 24:21
    73%

    21Say to the house of Israel,‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary– the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion. Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die by the sword.

  • Jer 15:9
    73%

    9The mother who had seven children will grow faint. All the breath will go out of her. Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life. It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. She will suffer shame and humiliation. I will cause any of them who are still left alive to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” says the LORD.

  • Lev 26:29
    73%

    29You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.

  • 2 Chr 29:9
    72%

    9Look, our fathers died violently and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off because of this.

  • Lam 2:2
    72%

    2ב(Bet) The Lord destroyed mercilessly all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. In his anger he tore down the fortified cities of Daughter Judah. He knocked to the ground and humiliated the kingdom and its rulers.

  • Jer 4:31
    72%

    31In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying,“I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

  • Jer 11:20
    72%

    20So I said,“O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you are a just judge! You examine people’s hearts and minds. I want to see you pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.”

  • 1 Sam 2:33
    72%

    33Any man of yours that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause his eyes to fail and will cause him grief. All of those born to your family will die by the sword of man.

  • Lam 2:7
    72%

    7ז(Zayin) The Lord rejected his altar and abhorred his temple. He handed over to the enemy her palace walls; the enemy shouted in the LORD’s temple as if it were a feast day.

  • Jer 12:4
    72%

    4How long must the land be parched and the grass in every field be withered? How long must the animals and the birds die because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? For these people boast,“God will not see what happens to us.”

  • Isa 1:2
    72%

    2Obedience, not Sacrifice Listen, O heavens, pay attention, O earth! For the LORD speaks:“I raised children, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me!

  • Jer 7:17
    72%

    17Do you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

  • Jer 5:17
    72%

    17They will eat up your crops and your food. They will kill off your sons and your daughters. They will eat up your sheep and your cattle. They will destroy your vines and your fig trees. Their weapons will batter down the fortified cities you trust in.

  • Joel 1:13
    72%

    13Get dressed and lament, you priests! Wail, you who minister at the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God, because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple of your God anymore.

  • Hos 9:12
    72%

    12Even if they raise their children, I will take away every last one of them. Woe to them! For I will turn away from them.

  • Ezek 22:7
    72%

    7They have treated father and mother with contempt within you; they have oppressed the resident foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow within you.

  • Jer 2:12
    72%

    12Be amazed at this, O heavens! Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,” says the LORD.

  • Isa 13:18
    72%

    18Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; they have no compassion on a person’s offspring, they will not look with pity on children.

  • Jer 9:17
    72%

    17The LORD of Heaven’s Armies told me to say to this people,“Take note of what I say. Call for the women who mourn for the dead! Summon those who are the most skilled at it!”

  • Jer 30:6
    72%

    6Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?

  • Nah 3:10
    72%

    10Yet she went into captivity as an exile; even her infants were smashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her nobility; all her dignitaries were bound with chains.

  • Isa 10:2
    71%

    2to keep the poor from getting fair treatment, and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice, so they can steal what widows own, and loot what belongs to orphans.