Lamentations 2:20 Meaning: When Pain Becomes a Prayer
“Look, Yahweh, and see to whom you have done thus! Should the women eat their offspring, the children that they held and bounced on their knees? Should the priest and the prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
See, O Jehovah, and look attentively, To whom Thou hast acted thus, Do women eat their fruit, infants of a handbreadth? Slain in the sanctuary of the Lord are priest and prophet?
See, Jehovah, and consider to whom thou hast done this! Shall the women eat their fruit, the infants that they nursed? Shall priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
Meaning in one sentence
A raw question about mothers eating children and priests killed in the sanctuary. See what it means to bring unthinkable suffering to God without hiding.
Context
Lamentations is a book of grief. Jerusalem has fallen, the temple is burned, and the people are starving in the streets. In chapter two, the poet takes the voice of the city herself. She has been told to cry out to the Lord all night long. In verse 20 she does, but not with polished words. She shoves the worst of it in front of God: mothers driven to eat their own infants, priests and prophets cut down in the very sanctuary where they served. This is not a calm request for information. It is a desperate plea for the Lord to look, really look, at what has happened to His own covenant people. The question “to whom?” is not an accusation. It is a reminder: these are Yours.
Key Words
The verse opens with two commands to see: ra’ah and navat. The first means to perceive with your eyes; the second adds intensity, look closely, pay attention, show regard. The poet is not satisfied with God glancing at the ruins. She wants God to truly see the faces of the children. The verb translated “have you dealt thus” (olalta) comes from the same root as the word for children (olal). There is a painful wordplay: God has “childed” His children, dealt with them as if they were helpless, but not gently. Then we read of infants who were tippuchim, “dandled” or cared for with tender hands. The original image is of a mother bouncing a baby on her knees. That warmth makes the horror sharper. And the word harag for “killed” in the sanctuary is the bluntest Hebrew term for slaughter. No euphemisms. The poet lets the ugly reality stand.
How Christians Read This Verse
Across traditions, readers agree that this verse is a prayer, not a complaint against God’s character, but an appeal from inside the covenant. Calvin saw the people saying, “Lord, we are Your children; will You treat Your own like this?” Many Reformation commentators (Matthew Henry, the Geneva Bible) note that the prophet is giving the people words to speak, a model for lament. The Cambridge Bible explains that the verbs are rhetorical questions: “Wilt You look unconcerned at this?” All traditions emphasize that this is not doubt or rebellion. It is the raw honesty of a people who still believe God hears, even when the worst has happened.
A common misunderstanding
Some read this verse as though the people are accusing God of cruelty or indifference. In fact, the phrasing is a covenant appeal. “To whom have You done this?” means “To Your own chosen people.” The speaker is not charging God with injustice; she is reminding Him of the relationship. That is why the horror is laid out, not to condemn God, but to ask Him to act as He promised.
Main takeaway: We can bring the ugliest scenes of our lives to God, not to accuse Him, but because He is still the Lord who made promises to His people.
Questions People Ask
Does this verse actually describe mothers eating their children?
Yes. This is a real horror of the siege of Jerusalem, foretold in Leviticus 26:29 and Deuteronomy 28:53. The poet is not exaggerating. Famine became so severe that women were driven to eat their own infants. The verse holds this reality before God as an unbearable plea.
Were priests and prophets really killed in the temple?
The verse says they were slain in the sanctuary of the Lord. During the Babylonian invasion, the temple was not a safe refuge. Religious leaders who had spoken God’s word or offered sacrifices were killed on holy ground. This added a spiritual desecration to the physical destruction.
Is it okay to question God like this?
Scripture gives us language for deep pain. This verse is a prayer, not a rebellion. The speaker believes God can handle the ugly truth. Many Christians across traditions see this as a model of honest lament, faith that still cries out when it does not understand.
What does “see to whom you have done this” mean?
It is not a demand for God to look at the suffering in general. It points to the covenant: “These are Your people, the children of Abraham, the ones You chose.” The speaker is reminding God of His own promises, not accusing Him of wrong.
How does this verse connect to the covenant curses?
The horror of mothers eating children is a direct fulfillment of the warnings in Leviticus 26:29 and Deuteronomy 28:53-57. The people are experiencing the “fruit of the womb” bitter revenge. The prayer acknowledges that God’s word has come true, yet appeals for mercy because these are still His people.
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