Bible Strands
Lamentations 2:8
The LORD determined to destroy the wall of the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withdraw His hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls lament; together they waste away.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports Yahweh's active judgment on Jerusalem during the city's siege. The text places God as the agent who resolves to dismantle Zion's defenses after abandoning His altar and sanctuary.
The words — חָשַׁב (cha.shav) translates to "he has planned," and נָטָה (na.tah) translates to "he has stretched out." These verbs frame the demolition as a calculated execution rather than a chaotic event.
The thread — The measuring line motif appears in 2 Kings 21:13 and Isaiah 34:11 to mark divine demolition of fortified cities. Isaiah 3:26 mirrors the lamenting gates and walls of Zion described here.
Why it lands — The verse states that Yahweh deliberately stretched out a measuring line and refused to withdraw His hand from destruction. It requires the reader to acknowledge that the city's collapse was a finalized divine act, not a reversible military setback.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 21:13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.
- Isaiah 3:26 And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
- Isaiah 34:11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.
- Jeremiah 14:2 “Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 5:10 Go up through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not finish them off. Strip off her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD.
- Amos 7:7 This is what He showed me: Behold, the Lord was standing by a wall true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand.
- 2 Samuel 8:2 David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.
- Job 13:21 Withdraw Your hand from me, and do not let Your terror frighten me.
- Isaiah 5:5 Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.
- Isaiah 28:17 I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.