Lamentations 2 · Verse 16

Lamentations 2:16

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.
Lamentations 2:16, King James Version

Lamentations 2:16 in other translations

BSBAll your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”
WEBAll your enemies have opened their mouth wide against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, “We have swallowed her up. Certainly this is the day that we looked for. We have found it. We have seen it.”
ASVAll 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.
YLTOpened against thee their mouth have all thine enemies, They have hissed, yea, they gnash the teeth, They have said: ‘We have swallowed her up, Surely this is the day that we looked for, We have found--we have seen.'
DARBYAll 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.
BBEAll your haters are opening their mouths wide against you; making hisses and whistling through their teeth, they say, We have made a meal of her: certainly this is the day we have been looking for; it has come, we have seen it.
WebsterAll thy 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.

What does Lamentations 2:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Lamentations 2:16-17
16-17. For the transposition of Hebrew letters (Pe and Ain, La 2:16, 17) in the order of verses, see Introduction. opened ... mouth--as ravening, roaring wild beasts (Job 16:9, 10; Psa 22:13). Herein Jerusalem was a type of Messiah. gnash ... teeth--in vindictive malice. we have seen it--(Psa 35:21). Ain.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 This is the day that we looked for - Jerusalem was the envy of the surrounding nations: they longed for its destruction, and rejoiced when it took place.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Lamentations 2:10-22

Causes for lamentation are described. Multitudes perished by famine. Even little children were slain by their mother's hands, and eaten, according to the threatening, Deut. 28:53. Multitudes fell by the sword. Their false prophets deceived them. And their neighbours laughed at them. It is a great sin to jest at others' miseries, and adds much affliction to the afflicted. Their enemies triumphed over them. The…

Read the full comment on Lamentations 2:10-22 →

Lamentations 2:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

פָּצ֨וּpa.Tzuthey have openedH6475
עָלַ֤יִךְ'a.La.yikhon youH5921
פִּיהֶם֙pi.Hemmouth theirH6310
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
א֣וֹיְבַ֔יִךְ'oy.Va.yikhenemies yourH341
שָֽׁרְקוּ֙sha.re.Kuthey have hissedH8319
וַיַּֽחַרְקוּ\־vai.ya.char.ku-and they have gnashedH2786
שֵׁ֔ןShena toothH8127
אָמְר֖וּ'a.me.Ruthey saidH559
בִּלָּ֑עְנוּbi.La.'e.nuwe have swallowed upH1104
אַ֣ךְ'akhsurelyH389
זֶ֥הzehthisH2088
הַיּ֛וֹםhai.Yom[is] the dayH3117
שֶׁקִּוִּינֻ֖הוּshe.ki.vi.Nu.huthat we have waited for itH6960
מָצָ֥אנוּma.Tza.nuwe have foundH4672
רָאִֽינוּ\׃\ \סra.'I.nuwe have seenH7200

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Lamentations 2:16

  • Psalms 35:21

    Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

  • Lamentations 3:46

    All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

  • Psalms 37:12

    The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

  • Job 16:9-10

    He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.

  • Psalms 56:2

    Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.

  • Psalms 22:13

    They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

  • Psalms 124:3

    Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:

  • Psalms 35:16

    With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

  • Jeremiah 51:34

    Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

  • Jeremiah 50:17

    Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

  • Ezekiel 25:15

    Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;

  • Isaiah 49:19

    For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
thine.
3:46; Job 16:9,10; Ps 22:13; 35:21; 109:2
gnash.
Ps 35:16; 37:12; 112:10; Ac 7:54
We have swallowed.
Ps 56:2; 57:3; 124:3; Isa 49:19; Jer 50:7,17; 51:34; Eze 25:3,6,15
Eze 36:3; Ho 8:8; Zep 2:8-10
we have seen.
Ps 35:21; 41:8; Ob 1:12-16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Lamentations 2:15

    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?

  • Lamentations 2:16

    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.

  • Lamentations 2:17

    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.

Read all of Lamentations 2

Lamentations 2:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Todos tus enemigos abrieron sobre ti su boca, silbaron, y rechinaron los dientes; dijeron: Devoremos: cierto éste es el día que esperábamos; lo hemos hallado, vímoslo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Tous tes ennemis ouvrent la bouche sur toi; ils sifflent et grincent des dents; ils disent: Nous les avons engloutis; oui, c’est ici le jour que nous attendions! Nous l’avons trouvé, nous l’avons vu!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Alle deine Feinde sperren ihren Mund über dich auf, sie zischen und knirschen mit den Zähnen; sie sprechen: wir haben sie verschlungen; fürwahr, dies ist der Tag, den wir erhofft haben: Wir haben ihn erreicht, gesehen!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Aperuerunt super te os suum omnes inimici tui: sibilaverunt, et fremuerunt dentibus, et dixerunt: Devorabimus: en ista est dies quam exspectabamus; invenimus, vidimus.