Lamentations 2:21

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}

{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.

Lam_2:21

The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets.

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.

(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.

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.

(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 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;''

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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)

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.