They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom.

LAMENTATIONS 2:12KJV
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Lamentations 2:12 (KJV)

What does Lamentations 2:12 mean?

Lamentations 2:12 describes children in Jerusalem desperately asking their mothers for food and drink, collapsing from hunger and exhaustion in the city streets, and dying in their mothers’ arms. The verse paints a vivid picture of suffering during the siege, showing the deep pain and helplessness experienced by families.

The speaker is the author of Lamentations, traditionally understood as Jeremiah, describing the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon. The verse focuses on the children’s cries for “corn and wine” (basic food and drink), their fainting (“swooned as the wounded”), and their final moments in their mothers’ embrace. This scene highlights the devastating effects of war and famine on the most vulnerable.

The Hebrew behind Lamentations 2:12

  • “Corn” is דָּגָן (dagan), which refers to grain or staple food, not just corn as in modern English. This word points to the basic necessities of life that the children are lacking.
  • “Wine” is יַיִן (yayin), meaning wine, which in ancient times was a common drink and often safer than water. The children’s request shows their desperate need for even the simplest comforts.
  • “Swooned” is עָטַף (ataf), which can mean to faint, become weak, or collapse. The use of this word emphasizes the children’s extreme exhaustion and helplessness.
  • “Soul” is נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), often understood as “life” or “being.” The phrase “their soul was poured out” suggests their life slipping away in their mothers’ arms.

Why Lamentations 2:12 matters

  • This verse clears up that “corn and wine” in the King James Version refers to basic food and drink, not luxury items, highlighting the depth of deprivation.
  • The verse emphasizes the suffering of children, making the tragedy of Jerusalem’s fall deeply personal and emotional rather than just political or military.
  • Lamentations 2:12 connects to the wider passage by illustrating the consequences of the city’s destruction, helping readers understand the real human cost behind the historical events described.

Where else these words appear

“swooned” Hebrew H5848 · used in 15 verses

  • Genesis 30:42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
  • Psalms 73:6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.
  • Psalms 143:4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.

“bosom” Hebrew H2436 · used in 34 verses

  • Genesis 16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
  • 1 Kings 3:20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
  • Proverbs 17:23 A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.

“corn” Hebrew H1715 · used in 40 verses

  • Genesis 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
  • 2 Chronicles 32:28 Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks.
  • Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

“streets” Hebrew H7339 · used in 41 verses

  • Genesis 19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
  • Esther 6:9 And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
  • Jeremiah 5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.