OET interlinear LAM 2:5

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

הָיָ֨ה אֲדֹנָ֤⁠י ׀ כְּ⁠אוֹיֵב֙

it_became my=master (Some words not found in UHB: it_became my=master like,an_enemy swallowed_up Yisrael swallowed_up all/each/any/every palaces_of,its destroyed fortifications_of,its and,he_has_multiplied in,the_daughter_of Yehuda mourning and,lamentation )

The writer uses a comparison to describe how God has treated his own people. He says that The Lord has become like an enemy, meaning that God has acted against his people as an enemy would. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: [The Lord has acted as though he were an enemy]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

בִּלַּ֣ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בִּלַּע֙ כָּל־אַרְמְנוֹתֶ֔י⁠הָ שִׁחֵ֖ת מִבְצָרָ֑י⁠ו

(Some words not found in UHB: it_became my=master like,an_enemy swallowed_up Yisrael swallowed_up all/each/any/every palaces_of,its destroyed fortifications_of,its and,he_has_multiplied in,the_daughter_of Yehuda mourning and,lamentation )

These three phrases mean basically the same thing. Each one emphasizes the totality of God’s destruction by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine them and express the emphasis in another way. Another approach would be to connect the phrases with words that show that the second and third phrases are repeating the first one, not saying something additional. See how you as a team have decided to translate the parallel phrases in Lamentations, and follow that approach here and throughout this chapter. Alternate translation: [He has utterly destroyed Israel, all her citadels, and all his fortifications]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בִּלַּ֣ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל

(Some words not found in UHB: it_became my=master like,an_enemy swallowed_up Yisrael swallowed_up all/each/any/every palaces_of,its destroyed fortifications_of,its and,he_has_multiplied in,the_daughter_of Yehuda mourning and,lamentation )

The writer is speaking of God’s destruction of Israel as if God had swallowed the nation like a beast consuming its prey. This emphasizes the completeness of the destruction. Your language may have a comparable expression you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [he has completely destroyed Israel]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

תַּאֲנִיָּ֖ה וַ⁠אֲנִיָּֽה

(Some words not found in UHB: it_became my=master like,an_enemy swallowed_up Yisrael swallowed_up all/each/any/every palaces_of,its destroyed fortifications_of,its and,he_has_multiplied in,the_daughter_of Yehuda mourning and,lamentation )

The terms mourning and groaning mean similar things. The writer is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [great grief]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

תַּאֲנִיָּ֖ה וַ⁠אֲנִיָּֽה

(Some words not found in UHB: it_became my=master like,an_enemy swallowed_up Yisrael swallowed_up all/each/any/every palaces_of,its destroyed fortifications_of,its and,he_has_multiplied in,the_daughter_of Yehuda mourning and,lamentation )

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of mourning and groaning, you could express the same ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [and caused people to mourn and lament greatly]