“The LORD hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries.”
My Notes
What Does Lamentations 2:17 Mean?
The poet states it plainly: the LORD did what He planned. He fulfilled the word He commanded long ago. He threw down without pity. He let the enemy rejoice. He lifted the enemy's power. Every phrase attributes the destruction to God's deliberate, premeditated action.
"He hath done that which he had devised" — the word devised (zamam) means to plan, to scheme, to intend from the start. This wasn't reactive. God planned this destruction. It was in His mind before it was in history. The word He spoke "in the days of old" (the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28-29) has now been fulfilled exactly as described.
"He hath thrown down, and hath not pitied" — the absence of pity is stated not as cruelty but as consistency. God warned. They ignored. He followed through. The pity that might have softened the judgment was already spent in the centuries of prophetic warnings they rejected.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How do you receive the idea that God 'devised' the destruction — planned it from ancient times?
- 2.Does 'hath not pitied' feel cruel, or does it make sense in context of centuries of ignored warnings?
- 3.Where in your life has God been patient so long that you've mistaken patience for permission?
- 4.How does the fulfillment of God's ancient word — exactly as described — strengthen or challenge your trust in His current promises?
Devotional
God did what He said He would do. A long time ago. Exactly as He described. And He didn't soften the blow.
The poet of Lamentations doesn't blame Babylon. He doesn't curse the enemy. He looks directly at God and says: You did this. You planned it. You commanded it in ancient times. And now it's here.
This is one of the hardest verses in the Bible to sit with — not because it's unclear, but because it's too clear. God devised this. He threw down without pity. He caused the enemy to rejoice. Every terrible thing that happened to Jerusalem was authored by the God of Jerusalem.
"Fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old" — this is the Deuteronomy curses coming to life. Moses warned. The prophets repeated. God waited centuries. And when the waiting ended, the fulfillment was exact. What was commanded in the days of old arrived in the days of now.
"Hath not pitied" — this phrase aches. Where was the mercy? It was in the warnings. It was in the prophets. It was in the centuries of patience. The pity came first, in the form of every unheeded warning. By the time judgment arrived, the pity had been exhausted — not in God's heart, but in the people's refusal to receive it.
God warned for centuries. They ignored for centuries. And when the devised thing arrived, it arrived without pity — because the pity had already been spent. And rejected.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
The Lord hath done that which he had devised,.... It was not so much the Chaldeans that did it, though they ascribed it…
That which he had devised - Or, what he purposed. Zion’s ruin was the fulfillment of God’s determination, of which they…
The Lord hate done that - This and the sixteenth verse should be interchanged, to follow the order of the letters in the…
Justly are these called Lamentations, and they are very pathetic ones, the expressions of grief in perfection, mourning…
fulfilled mg. finished. Cp. the same Heb. verb in Isa 10:12 "perform."
in the days of old That which had happened was in…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture