Lamentations 2:22
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The verse paints a chilling picture of God summoning "terrors" as if calling people to a festival, highlighting how judgment can feel like a planned, inevitable gathering. It emphasizes the tender, intimate image of children "swaddled and raised" being consumed, making the enemy's destruction all the more devastating and deeply personal.
You summoned as if to a festival day my terrors on every side, and on the day of the anger of the LORD no one escaped or survived; those whom I held and raised my enemy destroyed.
English Standard Version (ESV)
God has summoned terrifying enemies, like calling people to a festival, to surround Jerusalem. In God's anger, no one is spared, and the enemy has destroyed even the children who were nurtured and raised.
When disaster strikes, it can feel random and chaotic. But this verse reveals something shocking: God Himself is the one summoning the 'terrors.'
A Divine Summons
The prophet uses a striking image: God 'summoned' the terrors on every side. This wasn't a chaotic outbreak, but a directed, almost organized event. Think of it like a king calling his army to battle, or a festival organizer inviting guests. In this case, God called destruction, famine, and the enemy's armies.
The 'Solemn Day' Analogy
The comparison to a 'solemn day' or 'festival day' is chilling. Just as people were once gathered to Jerusalem for worship and celebration, now terrors were gathered against Jerusalem for judgment. God used the very structure of gathering and assembly, usually associated with His people's joy, to bring about their destruction. This highlights the severity and comprehensiveness of the judgment.
This verse doesn't just describe defeat; it speaks of total annihilation. What does it mean for God's anger to be so absolute?
No Escape, No Remnant
The verse states plainly: 'no one escaped or survived.' This isn't hyperbole; it's the stark reality of Jerusalem's fall. God's anger, expressed through the invading enemy, left no room for evasion. It swept through the city, consuming everyone.
The Cruelest Loss: The Vulnerable Destroyed
The final line is perhaps the most heart-wrenching: 'those whom I held and raised my enemy destroyed.' The Hebrew suggests those who were 'swaddled' or 'borne' – the infants and young children. These were the most precious, the most innocent, the future of the nation. Their destruction by the enemy is the ultimate symbol of the totality of the devastation brought about by God's righteous anger against sin.
Ask a follow-up
Understand the original words
mo'ed · Hebrew Noun
A specific set of instructions or a designated time for communal worship, sacrifice, and celebration before the Lord. It signifies a time of gathering that is typically joyous, though here it is used ironically to describe the gathering of judgment.
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The personal name of the covenant-keeping God of Israel. It denotes His self-existence, eternal nature, and faithfulness to His people through His promises.
oyeb · Hebrew Noun
A person or force that opposes God's people, often used to describe those who execute divine judgment or demonic spiritual entities. It signifies one who harbors hostility and seeks the ruin of another.
This verse paints a harrowing picture of total devastation, comparing the enemies' arrival to a summoned festival. This imagery underscores the complete and utter destruction that befell Jerusalem during the Babylonian conquest, leaving no one—not even the most vulnerable—spared.
c. 605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, begins his campaigns against Judah, leading to the first deportation of Judeans, including Daniel, to Babylon. This marks the start of the Babylonian dominance over Judah.
c. 597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a Judean revolt, Nebuchadnezzar deports more of Judah's elite, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel, to Babylon. Jerusalem is placed under Babylonian control.
c. 587-586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Third Deportation
After a prolonged siege and a final revolt, Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, and deports the majority of the remaining population to Babylon. This devastating event is the primary context for the book of Lamentations.
c. 586 BC onwards
Babylonian Exile
The period of the Babylonian Exile begins, during which the Judean people live as captives in Babylon, longing for their homeland and reflecting on the reasons for their catastrophe.
This passage uses the same phrase 'terror on every side,' highlighting the pervasive fear and destruction that surrounds Judah, echoing the sense of inescapable dread in Lamentations.
Deuteronomy 32:25This verse speaks of the sword taking lives and terror reigning, a powerful parallel to the complete devastation and inescapable doom described in Lamentations 2:22.
Isaiah 10:5-6This prophetic passage describes God using the Assyrian army as a tool for His anger, similar to how Lamentations portrays God summoning 'terrors' to destroy His people.
Lamentations 1:15This verse directly connects God summoning His enemies to a 'solemn feast day,' which is the same imagery used in Lamentations 2:22 to describe the gathering of terrors.
Luke 19:42Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, lamenting that the city did not recognize the time of its visitation, leading to its destruction, which aligns with the theme of divine judgment and missed opportunities for repentance.
clarkeLamentations 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."
Thou hast called as in a solemn day - It is by thy influence alone that so many enemies are called together at one time; and they have so hemmed us in that none could escape, and none remained unslain or uncaptivated, Perhaps the figure is the collecting of the people in Jerusalem on…
pooleLamentations 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."
As my people were wont to be called together from all parts in a solemn day, when they were to meet at Jerusalem from all parts of Judea; so now by thy providence my terrible enemies, or terrible things, are by thee called together against that holy city, whither thy people were wont…
The verse paints a chilling picture of God summoning "terrors" as if calling people to a festival, highlighting how judgment can feel like a planned, inevitable gathering. It emphasizes the tender, intimate image of children "swaddled and raised" being consumed, making the enemy's destruction all the more devastating and deeply personal.
God has summoned terrifying enemies, like calling people to a festival, to surround Jerusalem. In God's anger, no one is spared, and the enemy has destroyed even the children who were nurtured and raised.
God has summoned terrifying enemies, like calling people to a festival, to surround Jerusalem. In God's anger, no one is spared, and the enemy has destroyed even the children who were nurtured and raised.
"You summoned as if to a festival day my terrors on every side, and on the day of the anger of the LORD no one escaped or survived; those whom I held and raised my enemy destroyed." — The verse paints a chilling picture of God summoning "terrors" as if calling people to a festival, highlighting how judgment can feel like a planned, inevitable gathering. It emphasizes the tender, i…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
