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Saturday, July 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Lamentations 2:21

"Boys and old men lie in the gutters of the streets, my young men and women killed in their prime. Angry, you killed them in cold blood, cut them down without mercy.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Famine;   Nation;   Women;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Anger of God, the;   Day;   Woman;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - War;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Anger;   Day of the Lord, God, Christ, the;   Life;   Mercy;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Lamentations;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Lamentations, Book of;   Obadiah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Acrostic;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - Anger;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Both young and oldare lying on the ground in the streets.My young women and young menhave fallen by the sword.You have killed them in the day of your anger,slaughtering without compassion.
Hebrew Names Version
The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword: You have killed them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered, [and] not pitied.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity.
New American Standard Bible
"On the ground in the streets Lie young and old; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword. You have put them to death on the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, without sparing.
New Century Version
"People young and old lie outside on the ground. My young women and young men have been killed by the sword. You killed them on the day of your anger; you killed them without mercy.
Amplified Bible
The young and the old Lie on the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword. You have killed them in the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, not sparing.
World English Bible
The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword: You have killed them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered, [and] not pitied.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The yong and the olde lie on the ground in the streetes: my virgins and my yong men are fallen by the sworde: thou hast slaine them in the day of thy wrath: thou hast killed and not spared.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
On the ground in the streets Lie young and old; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, not sparing.
Legacy Standard Bible
On the ground in the streetsLie young and old;My virgins and my young menHave fallen by the sword.You have killed them in the day of Your anger;You have slaughtered, not sparing.
Berean Standard Bible
Both young and old lie together in the dust of the streets. My young men and maidens have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of Your anger; You have slaughtered them without compassion.
Contemporary English Version
My people, both young and old, lie dead in the streets. Because you were angry, my young men and women were brutally slaughtered.
Complete Jewish Bible
Youths and old men are lying on the ground in the streets, my unmarried women and young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them on the day of your anger, you slaughtered them without pity.
Darby Translation
The child and the old man 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, thou hast not spared.
Easy-to-Read Version
Young men and old men lie on the ground in the streets of the city. My young women and young men have been killed by the sword. You killed them on the day of your anger. You killed them without mercy!
George Lamsa Translation
The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets; my virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast slaughtered without pity.
Good News Translation
Young and old alike lie dead in the streets, Young men and women, killed by enemy swords. You slaughtered them without mercy on the day of your anger.
Lexham English Bible
They lie in the soil of the streets, young and old; my young women and young men, they have fallen by the sword; you have slain on the day of your anger, you have slaughtered and not shown mercy.
Literal Translation
Young and old lie on the ground of the plazas. My virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword. You have killed in the day of Your anger. You have killed, You have not pitied.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yonge & olde lye behinde the stretes vpon the grounde, my maydens & yonge men are slayne with the swearde: whom thou in the daye of thy wrothfull indignacion hast put to death: Yee euen thou hast put them to death, & not spared them.
American Standard Version
The youth and the old man 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 slaughtered, and not pitied.
Bible in Basic English
The young men and the old are stretched on the earth in the streets; my virgins and my young men have been put to the sword: you have sent death on them in the day of your wrath, causing death without pity.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The youth and the old man 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 slaughtered unsparingly.
King James Version (1611)
The yong and the old lye on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my yong men are fallen by the sword: thou hast slaine them in the day of thy anger: thou hast killed, and not pitied.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Young and olde lye thorowe the streetes vpon the grounde, my maydens and young men are slayne with the sworde, whom thou in the day of thy wrathfull indignation hast put to death, yea euen thou hast put them to death, and not spared them.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
CHSEN. The child and old man have lain down in the street: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity: thou hast slain them with the sword and with famine; in the day of thy wrath thou hast mangled them, thou has not spared.
English Revised Version
The youth and the old man 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 slaughtered, and not pitied.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Syn. A child and an elde man laien on the erthe withoutforth; my virgyns and my yonge men fellen doun bi swerd; thou hast slayn hem in the dai of thi strong veniaunce, thou smotist `and didist no merci.
Update Bible Version
The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword: You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered, [and] not pitied.
Webster's Bible Translation
The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword; thou hast slain [them] in the day of thy anger; thou hast killed, [and] not pitied.
New English Translation

ש (Sin/Shin)

The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; you slaughtered them without mercy.
New King James Version
"Young and old lie On the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword; You have slain them in the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered and not pitied.
New Living Translation
"See them lying in the streets— young and old, boys and girls, killed by the swords of the enemy. You have killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without mercy.
New Life Bible
The young and the old lie in the dust of the streets. My pure young women and young men have been killed by the sword. You have killed them in the day of Your anger. You have killed without pity.
New Revised Standard
The young and the old are lying on the ground in the streets; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; in the day of your anger you have killed them, slaughtering without mercy.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Youth and elder, have lain down on the ground in the streets, My virgins and my young men, have fallen by the sword, - Thou hast slain, in the day of thine anger, Thou hast slaughtered, hast not spared!
Douay-Rheims Bible
Sin. The child and the old man lie without on the ground: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword: thou hast slain them in the day of thy wrath: thou hast killed, and shewn them no pity.
Revised Standard Version
In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my maidens and my young men have fallen by the sword; in the day of thy anger thou hast slain them, slaughtering without mercy.
Young's Literal Translation
Lain on the earth [in] out-places have young and old, My virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword, Thou hast slain in a day of Thine anger, Thou hast slaughtered -- Thou hast not pitied.

Contextual Overview

10 The elders of Daughter Zion sit silent on the ground. They throw dust on their heads, dress in rough penitential burlap— the young virgins of Jerusalem, their faces creased with the dirt. 11 My eyes are blind with tears, my stomach in a knot. My insides have turned to jelly over my people's fate. Babies and children are fainting all over the place, 12 Calling to their mothers, "I'm hungry! I'm thirsty!" then fainting like dying soldiers in the streets, breathing their last in their mothers' laps. 13 How can I understand your plight, dear Jerusalem? What can I say to give you comfort, dear Zion? Who can put you together again? This bust-up is past understanding. 14 Your prophets courted you with sweet talk. They didn't face you with your sin so that you could repent. Their sermons were all wishful thinking, deceptive illusions. 15 Astonished, passersby can't believe what they see. They rub their eyes, they shake their heads over Jerusalem. Is this the city voted "Most Beautiful" and "Best Place to Live"? 16 But now your enemies gape, slack-jawed. Then they rub their hands in glee: "We've got them! We've been waiting for this! Here it is!" 17 God did carry out, item by item, exactly what he said he'd do. He always said he'd do this. Now he's done it—torn the place down. He's let your enemies walk all over you, declared them world champions! 18 Give out heart-cries to the Master, dear repentant Zion. Let the tears roll like a river, day and night, and keep at it—no time-outs. Keep those tears flowing! 19 As each night watch begins, get up and cry out in prayer. Pour your heart out face-to-face with the Master. Lift high your hands. Beg for the lives of your children who are starving to death out on the streets.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

young: Deuteronomy 28:50, Joshua 6:21, 1 Samuel 15:3, 2 Chronicles 36:17, Esther 3:13, Jeremiah 51:22, Ezekiel 9:6

my virgins: Lamentations 1:15, Lamentations 1:18, Psalms 78:63, Jeremiah 9:21, Jeremiah 11:22, Jeremiah 18:21, Amos 4:10

thou hast killed: Lamentations 2:2, Lamentations 2:17, Lamentations 3:43, Isaiah 27:11, Jeremiah 13:14, Jeremiah 21:7, Ezekiel 5:11, Ezekiel 7:4, Ezekiel 7:9, Ezekiel 8:18, Ezekiel 9:5, Ezekiel 9:10, Zechariah 11:6

Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:25 - will bring Isaiah 3:25 - Thy men Isaiah 47:1 - down Jeremiah 4:10 - the sword Jeremiah 4:31 - because Jeremiah 32:24 - because Jeremiah 49:26 - General Lamentations 3:51 - the daughters Lamentations 4:2 - how Ezekiel 6:7 - slain Ezekiel 25:3 - thou saidst Amos 8:13 - General Zephaniah 1:17 - and their blood Zechariah 8:4 - There

Cross-References

1 Samuel 26:12
David took the spear and water jug that were right beside Saul's head, and they slipped away. Not a soul saw. Not a soul knew. No one woke up! They all slept through the whole thing. A blanket of deep sleep from God had fallen on them.
Job 33:15
"In a dream, for instance, a vision at night, when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds— God opens their ears and impresses them with warnings To turn them back from something bad they're planning, from some reckless choice, And keep them from an early grave, from the river of no return.
Proverbs 19:15
Life collapses on loafers; lazybones go hungry.
Daniel 8:18
A Vision of a Ram and a Billy Goat "In King Belshazzar's third year as king, another vision came to me, Daniel. This was now the second vision. "In the vision, I saw myself in Susa, the capital city of the province Elam, standing at the Ulai Canal. Looking around, I was surprised to see a ram also standing at the gate. The ram had two huge horns, one bigger than the other, but the bigger horn was the last to appear. I watched as the ram charged: first west, then north, then south. No beast could stand up to him. He did just as he pleased, strutting as if he were king of the beasts. "While I was watching this, wondering what it all meant, I saw a billy goat with an immense horn in the middle of its forehead come up out of the west and fly across the whole country, not once touching the ground. The billy goat approached the double-horned ram that I had earlier seen standing at the gate and, enraged, charged it viciously. I watched as, mad with rage, it charged the ram and hit it so hard that it broke off its two horns. The ram didn't stand a chance against it. The billy goat knocked the ram to the ground and stomped all over it. Nothing could have saved the ram from the goat. "Then the billy goat swelled to an enormous size. At the height of its power its immense horn broke off and four other big horns sprouted in its place, pointing to the four points of the compass. And then from one of these big horns another horn sprouted. It started small, but then grew to an enormous size, facing south and east—toward lovely Palestine. The horn grew tall, reaching to the stars, the heavenly army, and threw some of the stars to the earth and stomped on them. It even dared to challenge the power of God, Prince of the Celestial Army! And then it threw out daily worship and desecrated the Sanctuary. As judgment against their sin, the holy people of God got the same treatment as the daily worship. The horn cast God's Truth aside. High-handed, it took over everything and everyone. "Then I overheard two holy angels talking. One asked, ‘How long is what we see here going to last—the abolishing of daily worship, this devastating judgment against sin, the kicking around of God's holy people and the Sanctuary?' "The other answered, ‘Over the course of 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning. Then the Sanctuary will be set right again.' "While I, Daniel, was trying to make sense of what I was seeing, suddenly there was a humanlike figure standing before me. "Then I heard a man's voice from over by the Ulai Canal calling out, ‘Gabriel, tell this man what is going on. Explain the vision to him.' He came up to me, but when he got close I became terrified and fell facedown on the ground. "He said, ‘Understand that this vision has to do with the time of the end.' As soon as he spoke, I fainted, my face in the dirt. But he picked me up and put me on my feet.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Omit “them” and “and,” which weaken the intensity of the passage.


 
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