Lamentations 2:22 Meaning and Explanation
“Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD's anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →As if summoning guests to a feast, the LORD called terrors from every side, and the children once lovingly raised were consumed by the enemy.
What Does Lamentations 2:22 Mean?
The chapter ends with a final bitter inversion. God 'hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about' — as one would summon worshipers to a festival, he has summoned terrors from every direction. The language of holy gathering is bent to describe a gathering of horrors, and the irony is part of the grief. The feast days were silenced earlier; now the only assembly is of dread.
'None escaped nor remained.' The last and most personal wound closes the poem: 'those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.' The children wrapped and raised with a mother's care are gone. The chapter ends in the rawest sorrow, with no comfort yet spoken. It has held nothing back. Only against such honest darkness will the dawn of chapter three shine as bright as it does.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lamentations 2:22
What does Lamentations 2:22 mean?
As if summoning guests to a feast, the LORD called terrors from every side, and the children once lovingly raised were consumed by the enemy.