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Lamentations 2

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1 πῶς ἐγνόφωσεν ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ κύριος τὴν θυγατέρα Σιων κατέρριψεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ εἰς γῆν δόξασμα Ισραηλ καὶ οὐκ ἐμνήσθη ὑποποδίου ποδῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ

1 Alas, what mantle of cloud is this, the divine anger has thrown over unhappy Sion? The pride of Israel cast down from heaven to earth; the ground where the Lord’s feet once rested, now, in his anger, forgotten?

1

Aleph. Quomodo obtexit caligine in furore suo
Dominus filiam Sion;
projecit de cælo in terram
inclytam Israël,
et non est recordatus scabelli pedum suorum
in die furoris sui!

2 κατεπόντισεν κύριος οὐ φεισάμενος πάντα τὰ ὡραῖα Ιακωβ καθεῖλεν ἐν θυμῷ αὐτοῦ τὰ ὀχυρώματα τῆς θυγατρὸς Ιουδα ἐκόλλησεν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐβεβήλωσεν βασιλέα αὐτῆς καὶ ἄρχοντας αὐτῆς

2 Blessed abodes of Jacob, by the Lord’s unsparing vengeance engulfed; towers that kept Juda inviolable hurled to the ground in ruin; kingdom and throne dragged in the dust!

2
Beth. Præcipitavit Dominus, nec pepercit
omnia speciosa Jacob:
destruxit in furore suo
munitiones virginis Juda,
et dejecit in terram;
polluit regnum et principes ejus.

3 συνέκλασεν ἐν ὀργῇ θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ πᾶν κέρας Ισραηλ ἀπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου ἐχθροῦ καὶ ἀνῆψεν ἐν Ιακωβ ὡς πῦρ φλόγα καὶ κατέφαγεν πάντα τὰ κύκλῳ

3 Crushed lay all the defences of Israel, under his displeasure; failed us, at the enemy’s onset, the protection of his right hand; Jacob must be hedged about, as by flames of a consuming fire.

3
Ghimel. Confregit in ira furoris sui
omne cornu Israël;
avertit retrorsum dexteram suam
a facie inimici,
et succendit in Jacob quasi ignem
flammæ devorantis in gyro.

4 ἐνέτεινεν τόξον αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐχθρός ἐστερέωσεν δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ ὡς ὑπεναντίος καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν πάντα τὰ ἐπιθυμήματα ὀφθαλμῶν μου ἐν σκηνῇ θυγατρὸς Σιων ἐξέχεεν ὡς πῦρ τὸν θυμὸν αὐτοῦ

4 Deadly his bent bow, steady the play of his right hand assailing us; all that was fairest in poor Sion’s dwelling-place needs must perish, under the fiery rain of his vengeance.

4
Daleth. Tetendit arcum suum quasi inimicus,
firmavit dexteram suam quasi hostis,
et occidit omne quod pulchrum erat visu
in tabernaculo filiæ Sion;
effudit quasi ignem
indignationem suam.

5 ἐγενήθη κύριος ὡς ἐχθρός κατεπόντισεν Ισραηλ κατεπόντισεν πάσας τὰς βάρεις αὐτῆς διέφθειρεν τὰ ὀχυρώματα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπλήθυνεν τῇ θυγατρὶ Ιουδα ταπεινουμένην καὶ τεταπεινωμένην

5 Enemies he counts us, and has engulfed the whole of Israel in ruin; gone the palaces, gone the strongholds; Alas, poor Sion! weeps man, weeps maid, with cowed spirits.[1]

5
He. Factus est Dominus velut inimicus,
præcipitavit Israël:
præcipitavit omnia mœnia ejus,
dissipavit munitiones ejus,
et replevit in filia Juda
humiliatum et humiliatam.

6 καὶ διεπέτασεν ὡς ἄμπελον τὸ σκήνωμα αὐτοῦ διέφθειρεν ἑορτὴν αὐτοῦ ἐπελάθετο κύριος ὃ ἐποίησεν ἐν Σιων ἑορτῆς καὶ σαββάτου καὶ παρώξυνεν ἐμβριμήματι ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλέα καὶ ἱερέα καὶ ἄρχοντα

6 Fallen, as it had been some garden shed, his own tabernacle; his own trysting-place with men he would pull down! Feast-day and sabbath should be forgotten in Sion; for king and priest, only anger and scorn.

6
Vau. Et dissipavit quasi hortum tentorium suum;
demolitus est tabernaculum suum.
Oblivioni tradidit Dominus in Sion
festivitatem et sabbatum;
et in opprobrium, et in indignationem furoris sui,
regem et sacerdotem.

7 ἀπώσατο κύριος θυσιαστήριον αὐτοῦ ἀπετίναξεν ἁγίασμα αὐτοῦ συνέτριψεν ἐν χειρὶ ἐχθροῦ τεῖχος βάρεων αὐτῆς φωνὴν ἔδωκαν ἐν οἴκῳ κυρίου ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἑορτῆς

7 Grown weary of his altar, from his own sanctuary turning away in abhorrence, the Lord has given up yonder embattled towers to the enemy; their cries ring through the temple like shout of holiday.

7
Zain. Repulit Dominus altare suum;
maledixit sanctificationi suæ:
tradidit in manu inimici
muros turrium ejus.
Vocem dederunt in domo Domini
sicut in die solemni.

8 καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν κύριος τοῦ διαφθεῖραι τεῖχος θυγατρὸς Σιων ἐξέτεινεν μέτρον οὐκ ἀπέστρεψεν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ καταπατήματος καὶ ἐπένθησεν τὸ προτείχισμα καὶ τεῖχος ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἠσθένησεν

8 Heedfully the Lord went about his work, to strip the inviolable city of her walls; exact his measuring-line, busy his hand with the task of overthrow, till wall and rampart should lament their common ruin.

8
Heth. Cogitavit Dominus dissipare
murum filiæ Sion;
tetendit funiculum suum,
et non avertit manum suam a perditione:
luxitque antemurale,
et murus pariter dissipatus est.

9 ἐνεπάγησαν εἰς γῆν πύλαι αὐτῆς ἀπώλεσεν καὶ συνέτριψεν μοχλοὺς αὐτῆς βασιλέα αὐτῆς καὶ ἄρχοντας αὐτῆς ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος καί γε προφῆται αὐτῆς οὐκ εἶδον ὅρασιν παρὰ κυρίου

9 Idly the gates of her sag towards earth, bars riven and rent; king and chieftain are far away, exiled among the heathen; tradition is dead, nor any prophet learns, in vision, the Lord’s will.

9
Teth. Defixæ sunt in terra portæ ejus,
perdidit et contrivit vectes ejus;
regem ejus et principes ejus in gentibus:
non est lex,
et prophetæ ejus non invenerunt
visionem a Domino.

10 ἐκάθισαν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐσιώπησαν πρεσβύτεροι θυγατρὸς Σιων ἀνεβίβασαν χοῦν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῶν περιεζώσαντο σάκκους κατήγαγον εἰς γῆν ἀρχηγοὺς παρθένους ἐν Ιερουσαλημ

10 Jerusalem’s aged folk sit there in the dust, dumb with sorrow; dust scattered over their heads, and sackcloth their garb; never a maid shall you see but has her head bowed down to earth.

10
Jod. Sederunt in terra, conticuerunt
senes filiæ Sion;
consperserunt cinere capita sua,
accincti sunt ciliciis:
abjecerunt in terram capita sua
virgines Jerusalem.

11 ἐξέλιπον ἐν δάκρυσιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ἐταράχθη ἡ καρδία μου ἐξεχύθη εἰς γῆν ἡ δόξα μου ἐπὶ τὸ σύντριμμα τῆς θυγατρὸς τοῦ λαοῦ μου ἐν τῷ ἐκλιπεῖν νήπιον καὶ θηλάζοντα ἐν πλατείαις πόλεως

11 Keen anguish for the overthrow of an unhappy race, that dims eye with tears, that stirs my being to its depths, as my heart goes out in boundless compassion![2] Child and babe lie fainting in the streets.

11
Caph. Defecerunt præ lacrimis oculi mei,
conturbata sunt viscera mea;
effusum est in terra jecur meum
super contritione filiæ populi mei,
cum deficeret parvulus et lactens
in plateis oppidi.

12 ταῖς μητράσιν αὐτῶν εἶπαν ποῦ σῖτος καὶ οἶνος ἐν τῷ ἐκλύεσθαι αὐτοὺς ὡς τραυματίας ἐν πλατείαις πόλεως ἐν τῷ ἐκχεῖσθαι ψυχὰς αὐτῶν εἰς κόλπον μητέρων αὐτῶν

12 Listen, how they ask where all the bread and wine is gone to! Wound they have none, yet there in the open streets you shall see them faint away, sighing out their lives on their mothers’ bosoms.

12
Lamed. Matribus suis dixerunt:
Ubi est triticum et vinum?
cum deficerent quasi vulnerati
in plateis civitatis,
cum exhalarent animas suas
in sinu matrum suarum.

13 τί μαρτυρήσω σοι ἢ τί ὁμοιώσω σοι θύγατερ Ιερουσαλημ τίς σώσει σε καὶ παρακαλέσει σε παρθένος θύγατερ Σιων ὅτι ἐμεγαλύνθη ποτήριον συντριβῆς σου τίς ἰάσεταί σε

13 Might I but confront thee with such another as thyself! What queen so unhappy as Jerusalem, what maid as Sion desolate? How shall I comfort thee? Sea-deep is thy ruin, and past all cure.

13
Mem. Cui comparabo te, vel cui assimilabo te,
filia Jerusalem?
cui exæquabo te, et consolabor te,
virgo, filia Sion?
magna est enim velut mare contritio tua:
quis medebitur tui?

14 προφῆταί σου εἴδοσάν σοι μάταια καὶ ἀφροσύνην καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψαν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀδικίαν σου τοῦ ἐπιστρέψαι αἰχμαλωσίαν σου καὶ εἴδοσάν σοι λήμματα μάταια καὶ ἐξώσματα

14 Never a true vision or a wise thy prophets have for thee, never shew thee where thy guilt rests, and urge thee to repentance; lies and lures are all the burden of their revealing.

14
Nun. Prophetæ tui viderunt tibi
falsa et stulta;
nec aperiebant iniquitatem tuam,
ut te ad pœnitentiam provocarent;
viderunt autem tibi assumptiones falsas,
et ejectiones.

15 ἐκρότησαν ἐπὶ σὲ χεῖρας πάντες οἱ παραπορευόμενοι ὁδόν ἐσύρισαν καὶ ἐκίνησαν τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν θυγατέρα Ιερουσαλημ ἦ αὕτη ἡ πόλις ἣν ἐροῦσιν στέφανος δόξης εὐφροσύνη πάσης τῆς γῆς

15 Openly the passers-by deride thee, poor maid; clap hands, and hiss, and wag their heads at thee; So much, they cry, for the city that was once the nonpareil of beauty, pride of the whole earth!

15
Samech. Plauserunt super te manibus
omnes transeuntes per viam;
sibilaverunt et moverunt caput suum
super filiam Jerusalem:
Hæccine est urbs, dicentes, perfecti decoris,
gaudium universæ terræ?

16 διήνοιξαν ἐπὶ σὲ στόμα αὐτῶν πάντες οἱ ἐχθροί σου ἐσύρισαν καὶ ἔβρυξαν ὀδόντας εἶπαν κατεπίομεν αὐτήν πλὴν αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα ἣν προσεδοκῶμεν εὕρομεν αὐτήν εἴδομεν

16 Pale[3] envy mops and mows at thee; how they hiss and gnash their teeth! Now to prey on her carrion! What fortune, that we should have lived to see this day, so long looked for in vain!

16
Phe. Aperuerunt super te os suum
omnes inimici tui:
sibilaverunt, et fremuerunt dentibus,
et dixerunt: Devorabimus:
en ista est dies quam exspectabamus;
invenimus, vidimus.

17 ἐποίησεν κύριος ἃ ἐνεθυμήθη συνετέλεσεν ῥήματα αὐτοῦ ἃ ἐνετείλατο ἐξ ἡμερῶν ἀρχαίων καθεῖλεν καὶ οὐκ ἐφείσατο καὶ ηὔφρανεν ἐπὶ σὲ ἐχθρόν ὕψωσεν κέρας θλίβοντός σε

17 Quit is the Lord of his oath taken in times past; all his purpose is fulfilled; for thee, ruin relentless, for thy bitter enemy, triumph and high achievement.

17
Ain. Fecit Dominus quæ cogitavit;
complevit sermonem suum,
quem præceperat a diebus antiquis:
destruxit, et non pepercit,
et lætificavit super te inimicum,
et exaltavit cornu hostium tuorum.

18 ἐβόησεν καρδία αὐτῶν πρὸς κύριον τείχη Σιων καταγάγετε ὡς χειμάρρους δάκρυα ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός μὴ δῷς ἔκνηψιν σεαυτῇ μὴ σιωπήσαιτο θύγατερ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου

18 Round those inviolable defences, cry they upon the Lord in good earnest. Day and night, Sion, let thy tears stream down; never rest thou, never let that eye weary of its task.[4]

18
Sade. Clamavit cor eorum ad Dominum
super muros filiæ Sion:
Deduc quasi torrentem lacrimas
per diem et noctem;
non des requiem tibi,
neque taceat pupilla oculi tui.

19 ἀνάστα ἀγαλλίασαι ἐν νυκτὶ εἰς ἀρχὰς φυλακῆς σου ἔκχεον ὡς ὕδωρ καρδίαν σου ἀπέναντι προσώπου κυρίου ἆρον πρὸς αὐτὸν χεῖράς σου περὶ ψυχῆς νηπίων σου τῶν ἐκλυομένων λιμῷ ἐ{P'} ἀρχῆς πασῶν ἐξόδων

19 Sleepless in the night-watches raise thy song; flow thy heart’s prayer unceasingly; lift ever thy hands in supplication for infant lives; yonder, at the street corner, they are dying of famine.

19
Coph. Consurge, lauda in nocte,
in principio vigiliarum;
effunde sicut aquam cor tuum
ante conspectum Domini:
leva ad eum manus tuas
pro anima parvulorum tuorum,
qui defecerunt in fame
in capite omnium compitorum.

20 ἰδέ κύριε καὶ ἐπίβλεψον τίνι ἐπεφύλλισας οὕτως εἰ φάγονται γυναῖκες καρπὸν κοιλίας αὐτῶν ἐπιφυλλίδα ἐποίησεν μάγειρος φονευθήσονται νήπια θηλάζοντα μαστούς ἀποκτενεῖς ἐν ἁγιάσματι κυρίου ἱερέα καὶ προφήτην

20 Think well, Lord, is there any other people of whom thou hast taken such toll? Shall woman eat her own child, so tiny, hands can still clasp it? In the Lord’s sanctuary, priest and prophet be slain?

20
Res. Vide, Domine, et considera
quem vindemiaveris ita.
Ergone comedent mulieres fructum suum,
parvulos ad mensuram palmæ?
si occiditur in sanctuario Domini
sacerdos et propheta?

21 ἐκοιμήθησαν εἰς τὴν ἔξοδον παιδάριον καὶ πρεσβύτης παρθένοι μου καὶ νεανίσκοι μου ἐπορεύθησαν ἐν αἰχμαλωσίᾳ ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ καὶ ἐν λιμῷ ἀπέκτεινας ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς σου ἐμαγείρευσας οὐκ ἐφείσω

21 Untended they lie on the bare earth, the young and the aged; maid and warrior slain by the sword! This day of thy vengeance was to be all massacre, thou wouldst kill unsparingly.

21
Sin. Jacuerunt in terra foris
puer et senex;
virgines meæ et juvenes mei
ceciderunt in gladio:
interfecisti in die furoris tui,
percussisti, nec misertus es.

22 ἐκάλεσεν ἡμέραν ἑορτῆς παροικίας μου κυκλόθεν καὶ οὐκ ἐγένοντο ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς κυρίου ἀνασῳζόμενος καὶ καταλελειμμένος ὡς ἐπεκράτησα καὶ ἐπλήθυνα ἐχθρούς μου πάντας

22 Vengeance this day all around me; what mustering of thy terrors,[5] as for a solemn assembly! Escape is none, nor any remnant left; of all I fondled and fostered, the enemy has taken full toll.

22
Thau. Vocasti quasi ad diem solemnem,
qui terrerent me de circuitu;
et non fuit in die furoris Domini qui effugeret,
et relinqueretur:
quos educavi et enutrivi,
inimicus meus consumpsit eos.

[1] The Latin here describes God as filling Juda with ‘humiliated men and humiliated women’; the sense of the Hebrew is rather ‘lamentation and lament’, as in Is. 29.2.

[2] Literally, ‘my liver is poured out on the ground’.

[3] The Hebrew letters Pe and Ain are unaccountably transposed, here and in 3.46-51; 4.16 and 17.

[4] The first part of this verse is perhaps corrupt; the Hebrew text of it gives a rather improbable sense.

[5] Some think that we should interpret the Hebrew text as meaning ‘(some) of my neighbours’, not ‘terrors’.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd