Lamentations 2:9 Meaning and Explanation
“Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Her gates lie buried, her king is exiled among the nations, and both law and prophetic vision have fallen silent.
What Does Lamentations 2:9 Mean?
The gates, where justice was administered and the city was defended, have sunk into the earth, their bars shattered. The king and princes, the visible government, are scattered among foreign peoples. Every structure of national life has collapsed: defense, leadership, order all gone at once.
But the gravest loss is named last and quietly: 'the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.' The two channels by which God's word reached his people — the teaching of the law and the fresh word of the prophet — have both fallen silent. This is a spiritual famine deeper than the physical one. To lose the word of God is to lose the lamp by which a people walks. The poem mourns it as the darkest emptiness of all.
Lamentations 2:9 in the Original Language
chazon (חָזוֹן), 'vision' -- the revealed word a prophet receives from God, now no longer found.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lamentations 2:9
What does Lamentations 2:9 mean?
Her gates lie buried, her king is exiled among the nations, and both law and prophetic vision have fallen silent.