Lamentations 2:14–17

14 The visions of your prophets

were false and worthless;

they did not expose your sin

to ward off your captivity.

The prophecies they gave you

were false and misleading.

15 All who pass your way

clap their hands at you;

they scoff and shake their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem:

“Is this the city that was called

the perfection of beauty,

the joy of the whole earth?”

16 All your enemies open their mouths

wide against you;

they scoff and gnash their teeth

and say, “We have swallowed her up.

This is the day we have waited for;

we have lived to see it.”

17 The Lord has done what he planned;

he has fulfilled his word,

which he decreed long ago.

He has overthrown you without pity,

he has let the enemy gloat over you,

he has exalted the horn of your foes.

14 Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee:

And they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity;

But have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.

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.

14 Your prophets have said

so many foolish things, false to the core.

They did not save you from exile

by pointing out your sins.

Instead, they painted false pictures,

filling you with false hope.

15 All who pass by jeer at you.

They scoff and insult beautiful Jerusalem, saying,

“Is this the city called ‘Most Beautiful in All the World’

and ‘Joy of All the Earth’?”

16 All your enemies mock you.

They scoff and snarl and say,

“We have destroyed her at last!

We have long waited for this day,

and it is finally here!”

17 But it is the Lord who did just as he planned.

He has fulfilled the promises of disaster

he made long ago.

He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy.

He has caused her enemies to gloat over her

and has given them power over her.

14 Your prophets have seen for you

False and deceptive visions;

They have not uncovered your iniquity,

To bring back your captives,

But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.

15 All who pass by clap their hands at you;

They hiss and shake their heads

At the daughter of Jerusalem:

“Is this the city that is called

‘The perfection of beauty,

The joy of the whole earth’?”

16 All your enemies have opened their mouth against you;

They hiss and gnash their teeth.

They say, “We have swallowed her up!

Surely this is the day we have waited for;

We have found it, we have seen it!”

17 The Lord has done what He purposed;

He has fulfilled His word

Which He commanded in days of old.

He has thrown down and has not pitied,

And He has caused an enemy to rejoice over you;

He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.

14 Your prophets saw visions,

but they were false and worth nothing.

They did not point out your sins

to keep you from being captured.

They preached what was false

and led you wrongly.

15 All who pass by on the road

clap their hands at you;

they make fun of Jerusalem

and shake their heads.

They ask, “Is this the city that people called

the most beautiful city,

the happiest place on earth?”

16 All your enemies open their mouths

to speak against you.

They make fun and grind their teeth in anger.

They say, “We have swallowed you up.

This is the day we were waiting for!

We have finally seen it happen.”

17 The Lord has done what he planned;

he has kept his word

that he commanded long ago.

He has destroyed without mercy,

and he has let your enemies laugh at you.

He has strengthened your enemies.

14 Thy prophets have seen for thee false and foolish visions;

And they have not uncovered thine iniquity, to bring back thy captivity,

But have seen for thee false oracles and causes of banishment.

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 called

The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?

16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth wide 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 Jehovah hath done that which he purposed; he hath fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old;

He hath thrown down, and hath not pitied:

And he hath caused the enemy to rejoice over thee; he hath exalted the horn of thine adversaries.

14 Thy prophets have seen vanity and folly for thee; and they have not revealed thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee burdens of falsehood and causes of expulsion. 15 All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and shake their head at the daughter of Jerusalem: Is this the city which they called, The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth? 16 All thine enemies open their mouth against thee, they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up; this is forsooth the day that we looked for: we have found, we have seen it. 17 Jehovah hath done what he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word which he had commanded from the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not spared, and he hath caused the enemy to rejoice over thee; he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries.

14 Your prophets saw misleading visions about you. 

They painted a good picture of you. 

They didn’t expose your guilt in order to make things better again. 

They gave you false prophecies that misled you. 

15 Everyone who walks along the road shakes a fist at you. 

They hiss and shake their heads at Jerusalem’s people: 

‘Is this the city they used to call absolutely beautiful, 

the joy of the whole world?’ 

16 All your enemies gawk at you. 

They hiss and grit their teeth. 

They say, ‘We’ve swallowed it up. 

Yes, this is the day we’ve been waiting for. 

At last we have seen it!’ 

17 The Lord has accomplished what he had planned to do. 

He carried out the threat he announced long ago. 

He tore you down without any pity, ⸤Jerusalem⸥. 

He made your enemies gloat over you. 

He raised the weapons of your opponents. 

14 Your prophets saw visions for you

that were empty and deceptive;

they did not reveal your guilt

and so restore your fortunes.

They saw oracles for you

that were empty and misleading.

15 All who pass by

scornfully clap their hands at you.

They mock and shake their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem:

Is this the city that was called

the perfection of beauty,

the joy of the whole earth?

16 All your enemies

open their mouths against you.

They hiss and gnash their teeth,

saying, “We have swallowed her up.

This is the day we have waited for!

We have lived to see it.”

17 The Lord has done what He planned;

He has accomplished His decree,

which He ordained in days of old.

He has demolished without compassion,

letting the enemy gloat over you

and exalting the horn of your adversaries.

14 Your prophets have seen for you

false and deceptive visions;

they have not exposed your iniquity

to restore your fortunes

but have seen oracles for you

that are false and misleading.

15 All who pass along the way

clap their hands at you;

they hiss and wag their heads

at daughter Jerusalem:

“Is this the city that was called

the perfection of beauty,

the joy of all the earth?”

16 All your enemies

open their mouths against you;

they hiss, they gnash their teeth,

they cry: “We have devoured her!

Ah, this is the day we longed for;

at last we have seen it!”

17 The Lord has done what he purposed;

he has carried out his threat;

as he ordained long ago,

he has demolished without pity;

he has made the enemy rejoice over you

and exalted the might of your foes.

14 Your prophets had a vision for you,

false and worthless;

they have not exposed your sin,

to restore your fortune;

they have seen oracles for you,

false and misleading.

15 They clap hands over you,

all who pass along the way;

they hiss and they shake their head,

at the daughter of Jerusalem.

Is this the city of which it is said,

“A perfection of beauty, a joy for all the earth?”

16 They have opened their mouths against you,

all your enemies.

They hiss and gnash a tooth,

and they say, “We have destroyed her!

Surely this is the day we have hoped for;

we have found it, we have seen it!”

17 Yahweh has done what he has planned;

he has fulfilled his promise

that he ordained from the days of old;

he has demolished and not shown mercy;

he has made an enemy rejoice over you,

he has exalted the might of your foes.

14 The visions of your prophets were lies.

They weren’t worth anything.

They didn’t show you the sins you had committed.

So that’s why you were captured.

The messages they gave you were lies.

They led you down the wrong path.

15 All those who pass by

clap their hands and make fun of you.

They laugh at you and shake their heads

at the city of Jerusalem.

They say, “Could that be the city

that was called perfect and beautiful?

Is that the city that brought joy to everyone on earth?”

16 All of your enemies open their mouths

wide against you.

They laugh at you and grind their teeth.

They say, “We have swallowed Jerusalem’s people up.

This is the day we’ve waited for.

And we’ve lived to see it.”

17 The Lord has done what he planned to do.

He has made what he said come true.

He gave the command long ago.

He has destroyed you without pity.

He has let your enemies laugh at you.

He has made them stronger than you are.

14 Your prophets have seen for you

False and foolish visions;

And they have not exposed your iniquity

So as to restore you from captivity,

But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.

15 All who pass along the way

Clap their hands in derision at you;

They hiss and shake their heads

At the daughter of Jerusalem,

“Is this the city of which they said,

‘The perfection of beauty,

A joy to all the earth’?”

16 All your enemies

Have opened their mouths wide against you;

They hiss and gnash their teeth.

They say, “We have swallowed her up!

Surely this is the day for which we waited;

We have reached it, we have seen it.”

17 The Lord has done what He purposed;

He has accomplished His word

Which He commanded from days of old.

He has thrown down without sparing,

And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you;

He has exalted the might of your adversaries.