Lamentations 2:15-17

Lamentations 2:15-17

[15] All that pass  by clap  their hands  at thee;  they hiss  and wag  their head  at the daughter  of Jerusalem,  saying, Is this the city  that men call  The perfection  of beauty,  The joy  of the whole earth?  [16] All thine enemies  have opened  their mouth  against thee: they hiss  and gnash  the teeth:  they say,  We have swallowed her up:  certainly  this is the day  that we looked for;  we have found,  we have seen  it. [17] The LORD  hath done  that which he had devised;  he hath fulfilled  his word  that he had commanded  in the days  of old:  he hath thrown down,  and hath not pitied:  and he hath caused thine enemy  to rejoice  over thee, he hath set up  the horn  of thine adversaries. 

What does Lamentations 2:15-17 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Passersby expressed their amazement at Jerusalem"s great destruction. They could hardly believe that it had been such a beautiful and happy place. Judah"s enemies rejoiced to see the evidence of her fall. They took pride in seeing her destruction. Jerusalem"s destruction was the fulfillment of the destruction that Yahweh, long ago, had told His people might come (cf. Leviticus 26:14-46; Deuteronomy 28:15-68). He was ultimately responsible for it. He had shown no mercy in judging, but instead had strengthened Judah"s enemy against her and had caused him to rejoice at the city"s overthrow. Jerusalem was a place of mocking enemies.