Lamentations 2:22

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.

Lamentations 2:22 (KJV)

Context

Lamentations is an Old Testament book attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, written after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC. The city is personified as a grieving woman, and the chapter closes with her direct address to God.

The verse describes the day of the Lord’s anger, a time of divine judgment from which no one escaped. The phrase “as in a solemn day” compares the gathering of terrors to the gathering of people for an appointed feast, but in a horrifying inversion, the assembly is one of destruction rather than worship.

Meaning

The speaker acknowledges that God has summoned the overwhelming terrors that surround her. The destruction was not random; it was part of God’s judgment. The statement that “none escaped nor remained” emphasizes the severity and completeness of the devastation.

The final clause, “those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed,” expresses the deepest anguish. The children she had nurtured and raised were destroyed by the enemy. The imagery of swaddling suggests the care given to the young and helpless, yet even they were not spared.

Biblical connections

This verse affirms that God is sovereign over the nations and uses them as instruments of His judgment. The book of Lamentations reflects on the destruction as a consequence of the people’s covenant unfaithfulness, a theme that runs throughout the book without requiring a cross-reference to another passage.

Application

This verse is a sobering reminder of the reality of divine judgment and the seriousness of God’s holiness. It calls believers to take sin seriously and to recognize that God’s judgment is thorough and inescapable apart from His mercy.

Reflection

The grief of a mother who has lost her children reflects the depth of sorrow over rebellion against God. For the Christian, this points to the suffering of Christ, who bore the full weight of God’s wrath on behalf of His people, so that those who trust in Him may escape the day of judgment.