What is the meaning of Lamentations 2:15? All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn • The picture is of travelers pausing at Jerusalem’s ruins, expressing open contempt. Psalm 22:7 echoes this posture: “All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads.” • Clapping here is not applause but derisive triumph, like Job 27:23, “It claps its hands in derision.” • God had warned that persistent disobedience would bring public humiliation (Deuteronomy 28:37). Now that prophecy stands fulfilled; foreign onlookers celebrate Judah’s downfall (Nahum 3:19). They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem • “Hiss” suggests a sharp, taunting sound—Jeremiah 18:16 foretold it: “Everyone who passes by will be appalled and shake his head.” • The wagging head is a universal sign of pity mixed with scorn. Mark 15:29 records the same gesture toward Christ at the cross, showing how the world treats what it does not understand. • “Daughter of Jerusalem” reminds us this is God’s own beloved yet disciplined people (Isaiah 1:8). The mockers’ gestures underscore how far the city has fallen from covenant blessing (Lamentations 1:1). “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?” • Outsiders recall Jerusalem’s former reputation—Psalm 50:2, “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth,” and Psalm 48:2, “Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth.” • The ironic question highlights stark contrast: a city once radiant with God’s presence now lies shattered (Ezekiel 16:14). • Their sneer underscores the awful cost of forsaking the Lord; the earthly glory of Zion could not protect against covenant curses (2 Chronicles 36:15-19). • Yet the phrase also keeps hope alive: if Jerusalem was once so glorious, God can restore her (Isaiah 62:1-3), though for the moment judgment must run its full course. summary The verse captures the world’s gloating over Jerusalem’s collapse: hostile observers clap, hiss, and mock, contrasting the city’s devastated state with her once-celebrated beauty and joy. Their taunts confirm God’s warnings—sin brings shame—but they also remind us that the Lord who once made Zion glorious remains able to restore what He has disciplined. |
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