Lamentations 2:21 (KJV)

What does Lamentations 2:21 mean?

Lamentations 2:21 describes the devastating loss of life in Jerusalem, where both young and old are lying dead in the streets, and the city's young women and men have been killed by the sword. The verse says that God has struck them down in anger, showing no pity.

This verse is spoken by the writer of Lamentations, traditionally understood as Jeremiah, as he mourns the destruction of Jerusalem after the Babylonian invasion. The scene is one of total devastation, with no distinction between age or gender—everyone is affected. The verse emphasizes the completeness of the tragedy and the sense that this suffering is a result of divine anger.

The Hebrew behind Lamentations 2:21

• "Young" (נַעַר, naʿar) and "old" (זָקֵן, zaqen): These words highlight that the destruction spared no one, regardless of age, underlining the totality of the disaster.
• "Lie" (שָׁכַב, shakav) and "ground" (אֶרֶץ, erets): The use of "lie" here refers to the dead bodies lying on the earth, making the scene vivid and physical.
• "Virgins" (בְּתוּלָה, betulah) and "young men" (בָּחוּר, bachur): These terms point out that even those in the prime of life, often seen as the hope of the community, have fallen.
• "Slain" (הָרַג, harag), "killed" (טָבַח, tabach), and "not pitied" (חָסָה, chasah): These words stress the violence of the event and the absence of mercy, reinforcing the sense of divine judgment.

Why Lamentations 2:21 matters

• Lamentations 2:21 clears up any idea that the suffering was limited to a certain group; the verse insists that the entire community, from the youngest to the oldest, suffered equally.
• The verse emphasizes the severity of Jerusalem's judgment, connecting it directly to God's anger ("in the day of thine anger"), which is a key theme throughout Lamentations.
• By describing the dead lying in the streets, the verse connects to the wider lament of the book, which is filled with images of public grief and the visible consequences of national sin and destruction.