Lamentations 2:20–21

20 “Look, Lord, and consider:

Whom have you ever treated like this?

Should women eat their offspring,

the children they have cared for?

Should priest and prophet be killed

in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 “Young and old lie together

in the dust of the streets;

my young men and young women

have fallen by the sword.

You have slain them in the day of your anger;

you have slaughtered them without pity.

20 Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this.

Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long?

Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 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.

20 “O Lord, think about this!

Should you treat your own people this way?

Should mothers eat their own children,

those they once bounced on their knees?

Should priests and prophets be killed

within the Lord’s Temple?

21 “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.

20 “See, O Lord, and consider!

To whom have You done this?

Should the women eat their offspring,

The children they have cuddled?

Should the priest and prophet be slain

In the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 “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.

20 Jerusalem says: “Look, Lord, and see

to whom you have done this.

Women eat their own babies,

the children they have cared for.

Priests and prophets are killed

in the Temple of the Lord.

21 “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.

20 See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus!

Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands?

Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 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.

20 See, Jehovah, and consider to whom thou hast done this! Shall the women eat their fruit, the infants that they nursed? Shall priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? 21 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.

20 “O Lord, look and consider: 

Have you ever treated anyone like this? 

Should women eat their own children, 

the children they have nursed? 

Should priests and prophets be killed in the Lord’s holy place? 

21 Young and old lie on the ground in the streets. 

My young women and men are cut down by swords. 

You killed them on the day of your anger. 

You slaughtered them without any pity. 

20 Lord, look and consider

who You have done this to.

Should women eat their own children,

the infants they have nurtured?

Should priests and prophets

be killed in the Lord’s sanctuary?

21 Both young and old

are lying on the ground in the streets.

My young men and women

have fallen by the sword.

You have killed them in the day of Your anger,

slaughtering without compassion.

20 Look, O Lord, and consider!

To whom have you done this?

Should women eat their offspring,

the children they have borne?

Should priest and prophet be killed

in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 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.

20 See, Yahweh, and take note!

With whom have you dealt thus?

Should women eat their young

children of tender care?

Should priest and prophet be slain

in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 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.

20 Jerusalem says, “Lord, look at me.

Think about my condition.

Have you ever treated anyone else like this?

Should women have to eat their babies?

Should they eat the children they’ve taken care of?

Should priests and prophets be killed

in your own temple?

21 “Young people and old people alike

lie dead in the dust of my streets.

My young women and young men

have been killed with swords.

You killed them when you were angry.

You put them to death without pity.

20 See, O Lord, and look!

With whom have You dealt thus?

Should women eat their offspring,

The little ones who were born healthy?

Should priest and prophet be slain

In the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 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.