Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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].
16. For the inverted order of the initial letters in the Heb. of this and the next v., see Intr., p. 321.
All thine enemies against thee ] almost identical with Lam 3:46. Lhr refers for the expression to Psa 22:13; Psa 35:21.
gnash the teeth ] in fierce hatred. Cp. Psa 35:16; Psa 37:12. For a parallel to the last words of this v., see Psa 35:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Seen it – Omit it. The intensity of the enemys exultation is shown by the heaping up of unconnected words. We have found what we sought, have seen what we looked for.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
As strangers that had no quarrels with nor prejudices against the Jews, passing by their country, and their great city Jerusalem, despised and scorned it; so their enemies with whom they had former quarrels, and who had taker up prejudices against them, they reproached and abused them, and triumphed in their ruin, and in the success of their arms against them, and blessed themselves, as having now seen the day they had looked and wished for.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16, 17. For the transposition ofHebrew letters (Pe and Ain, Lam 2:16;Lam 2:17) in the order of verses,see Introduction.
opened . . . mouthasravening, roaring wild beasts (Job 16:9;Job 16:10; Psa 22:13).Herein Jerusalem was a type of Messiah.
gnash . . . teethinvindictive malice.
we have seen it (Ps35:21).
Ain.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee,…. Or “widened” x them; stretched them out as far as they could, to reproach, blaspheme, and insult; or, like gaping beasts, to swallow up and devour:
they hiss and gnash their teeth; hiss like serpents, and gnash their teeth in wrath and fury; all expressing their extreme hatred and abhorrence of the Jews, and the delight they took in their ruin and destruction:
they say, we have swallowed [her] up; all her wealth and riches were corns into their hands, and were all their own; as well as they thought these were all their own doings, owing to their wisdom and skill, courage and strength; not seeing and knowing the hand of God in all this. These words seem to be the words of the Chaldeans particularly:
certainly this [is] the day that we have looked for; we have found, we have seen [it]: this day of Jerusalem’s destruction, which they had long looked for, and earnestly desired; and now it was come; and they had what they so much wished for; and express it with the utmost pleasure. In this verse the order of the alphabet is not observed the letter , “pe”, being set before the letter , “ain”, which should be first, according to the constant order of the alphabet; and which was so before the times of Jeremiah, even in David’s time, as appears by the ninety ninth Psalm, and others. Grotius thinks it is after the manner of the Chaldeans; but the order of the Hebrew and Chaldee alphabets is the same Dr Lightfoot thinks y the prophet, by this charge, hints at the seventy years that Jerusalem should be desolate, which were now begun; the letter , “ain”, in numbers, denoting seventy. So Mr. Bedford z, who observes, that the transposition of these letters seems to show the confusion in which the prophet was, when he considered that this captivity should last seventy years. Jarchi a says one is put before the other, because they spoke with their mouths what they saw not with their eyes; “pe” signifying the mouth, and “ain” an eye.
x “dilatant”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. y Vol. 1. p. 129. z Scripture Chronology, p. 685. a E Talmud Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 104. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The enemy in triumph express their joy over the fall of Jerusalem. The opening of the mouth (as in Psa 35:21; Job 16:10), taken in connection with what follows, is also a gesture peculiar to scornful speech. The gnashing of the teeth (Psa 35:16; Psa 37:12; Job 16:9) is here an expression of rage that has burst out. The object of “we have swallowed” is to be derived from the context (“against thee”), viz., the city of Jerusalem. Surely this” is a strong asseveration – “this is the very day.” The asyndetic collection of the three verbs accords with the impassioned character of the enemy’s speech. “To see” is here equivalent to living to see.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Here, also, the Prophet introduces enemies as insolently exulting over the miseries of the people. He first says, that they had opened the mouth, even that they might loudly upbraid them; for he is not said to open the mouth who only speaks, but who insolently and freely utters his calumnies. God is, indeed, sometimes said emphatically to open his mouth, when he announces something that deserves special notice; and so Matthew says, that Christ opened his mouth when he spoke of true happiness. (Mat 5:2.) But in this place and in others the enemy is said to open his mouth, who, with a full mouth, so to speak, taunts him whom he sees worn out with evils. Hence, he refers to petulance or insolence, when he says, that enemies had opened their mouth
He then adds, that they had hissed. By hissing he no doubt means scoffing or taunting; for it immediately follows, that they had gnashed with their teeth, as though he had said, that enemies not only blamed and condemned them, but had also given tokens of extreme hatred; for he who gnashes with his teeth thus shews the bitterness of his mind, and even fury; for to gnash the teeth is what belongs to a wild beast. The Prophet then says, that enemies had not only harassed the people with taunts and scoffs, but had also cruelly and even furiously treated them. Now we know that to men of ingenuous minds, such a treatment is harder than death itself: for it is deemed by many a hard thing to fall in battle — and we see how men of war expose themselves to the greatest danger; but a disgraceful death is far more bitter. The Prophet, then, no doubt, amplifies the miseries of the people by this circumstance, that they had been harassed on every side by taunts. And he mentions this on purpose, because reproofs by the prophets had not been received by them; for we know how perversely the Jews had rebelled against the prophets, when they reproved them in God’s name. As, then, they would not have borne the paternal reproofs of God, they were thus constrained to bear the reproaches of enemies, and to receive the just reward of their pride and presumption. Nor is there a doubt, as I have said, but that the Prophet related reproaches of this kind, and the scoffs of enemies, that the people might at length know that they had been exposed to such evils, because they had proudly rejected the reproofs given them by the prophets.
He says, that enemies spoke thus, We have devoured; surely this is the day which we have expected; as though they triumphed when they saw that they got the victory, and that they could do with the people as they pleased. And as I have said, this in itself was a very bitter thing to the people; but. when the Prophet related, as in the person of the enemies, what was already sufficiently known to them, the people ought to have called to mind the reason why they had been so severely afflicted; and this is what the Prophet clearly sets forth in the next verse; for he, adds, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) All thine enemies.The exultation of the enemies is expressed by every feature in the physiognomy of malignant hate, the wide mouth, the hissing, the gnashing of the teeth. They exult, as in half-broken utterances, in the thought that they have brought about the misery at which they mock. It is what they had long looked for; they had at last seen it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Lam 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].
Ver. 16. All thine enemies opened their mouths against thee. ] They speak largely and freely to thy dishonour, the very banks of blasphemy being broken down, as it were.
We have swallowed her up.
Certainly this is the day that we look for.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
All, &c. In some Codices, with Syriac, Lam 2:16 and Lam 2:17 are transposed to bring the letters Ayin and Pe into alphabetical order. The Septuagint leaves the verses, but transposes the letters. This is done because it is supposed to be a mistake. But it cannot be, because the same order appears in Lamentations 3 and Lamentations 4, and in the former case it occurs three times, although the subject-matter allows no such break. It is easier to believe that the outward artificial form is sacrificed to call our attention to the greater importance of the utterance. In Lam 2:16 we learn what the enemy thought and said; but, as the Ayin really precedes the Pe, so we are reminded that this was only owing to Jehovah’s purpose which had been revealed centuries before. See note on Lam 2:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
thine: Lam 3:46, Job 16:9, Job 16:10, Psa 22:13, Psa 35:21, Psa 109:2
gnash: Psa 35:16, Psa 37:12, Psa 112:10, Act 7:54
We have swallowed: Psa 56:2, Psa 57:3, Psa 124:3, Isa 49:19, Jer 50:7, Jer 50:17, Jer 51:34, Eze 25:3, Eze 25:6, Eze 25:15, Eze 36:3, Hos 8:8, Zep 2:8-10
we have seen: Psa 35:21, Psa 41:8, Oba 1:12-16
Reciprocal: 2Sa 20:19 – swallow 1Ki 9:7 – and Israel 1Ki 9:9 – Because 2Ch 7:20 – a proverb 2Ch 7:22 – Because they forsook Job 5:5 – swalloweth Job 20:18 – swallow Psa 35:25 – We have Psa 56:1 – swallow Psa 74:23 – tumult Psa 79:4 – become Psa 137:3 – For there Pro 1:12 – swallow Isa 57:4 – draw Jer 15:5 – For who Jer 18:16 – a perpetual Jer 19:8 – General Jer 29:18 – to be a curse Jer 33:24 – thus Jer 44:8 – a curse Jer 44:22 – your land Jer 49:17 – shall hiss Jer 50:11 – ye were Jer 50:13 – every Jer 51:37 – an hissing Lam 1:7 – the adversaries Lam 2:15 – they Eze 20:48 – General Eze 22:4 – have I Eze 23:32 – thou shalt be Eze 24:10 – spice Dan 9:16 – Jerusalem Mic 4:11 – many Hab 1:15 – therefore Zec 8:13 – a curse Rom 2:24 – the name
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lam 2:16. An outstanding characteristic of most nations is pride, hence the ‘face-saving” movements that we often hear of on the part of great national leaders. When a nation meets with some misfortune, especially one in the nature of a disgrace, it is natural that others will express themselves on the situation. Some may do so out of friendly sympathy, but usually it is prompted by a motive of exultation. It is always from this last named motive when coming from enemies as is the case at hand. Judah lias been terribly defeated and the Babylonians rejoice over it, even boasting that it had been their intention of causing such a day to arrive. But they will some day learn by sad experience that the Lord had suffered them to accomplish this end only because His people needed some chastisement.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Lam 2:16-17. All thine enemies have opened their mouths against thee As if they were ready to devour thee: see the margin. Or they have opened them in scoffs, reproaches, and insults. They hiss and gnash their teeth In scorn and derision. They say, We have swallowed her up Namely, Jerusalem. They triumph in their success against her, and in the rich prey they have got in making themselves masters of her. Certainly, this is the day we have looked for Which we have expected and longed to see. Thus the enemies of the church are apt to take its disasters for its ruin, and to triumph in them accordingly; but they will find themselves deceived, for the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The Lord hath done that which he had devised Our destroyers could have had no power against us, unless it had been given them from above: they were but the sword in Gods hand. And he hath not surprised us by these providences: he gave us notice before hand what he would do if we were disobedient, and he hath done no more than what he threatened long since. He hath fulfilled his word which he had commanded Hath verified and made good his declarations uttered in days of old Namely, by Moses, Lev 26:16-31; Deu 28:15-49. He hath set up the horn of thine adversaries Hath advanced their power and glory.