Lamentations 4
Evangelical Heritage Version
Gloom Settles on the City[a]
4 How dull the gold has become! How the fine gold has lost its shimmer!
Sacred stones are poured out at the corner of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion, who were worth their weight in gold,
now are treated like clay jars, the work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even jackals offer a breast and nurse their young,
but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness.
4 The baby’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth because of thirst.
Children ask for bread, but no one shares with them.
5 Those who ate delicacies have become desolate in the streets.
Those who were dressed in scarlet have embraced piles of trash.
6 The guilt of the daughter of my people was greater than the sin of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment, though no hands turned against her.
7 Her consecrated ones[b] were brighter than snow. They were whiter than milk.
Their bones were redder than rubies; their facets shined like sapphires.
8 Now their faces have become the darkest black. They cannot be recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones. It is as dry as a stick of wood.
9 Those cut down by the sword are better off than those cut down by hunger,
those who waste away, pierced with pain, with no crops to eat from the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women boiled their children.
Their children became their food when the daughter of my people was broken.
11 The Lord carried out his wrath. He poured out his burning anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion, and it consumed her foundations.
12 The kings of the earth and the world’s inhabitants never believed
that foe and enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 The reason this happened was the sin of her prophets and the guilt of her priests,
who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
14 Those blind men staggered in the streets. They were defiled with blood,
so people could not touch their garments.
15 “Go away! Unclean!” people shouted to them. “Go away! Go away! Do not touch us!”
When they fled, when they staggered, people among the nations said,
“They may not stay here anymore.”
16 The face of the Lord scattered them. He has no regard for them anymore.
Priests were shown no consideration. Elders were shown no favor.
17 Our eyes are still worn out, looking in vain for our help.
In our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 They hunted our steps, preventing us from going into the public squares of our city.
Our end has drawn near. Our days are finished, for our end has come.
19 Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky.
On the mountains they were in hot pursuit of us. In the wilderness they waited to ambush us.
20 The life breath for our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,[c] was caught in their pits.
We had said of him, “In his shadow we will live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, who dwells in the land of Uz.
A cup will also come to you. You will become drunk and naked.
22 The punishment for your guilt is finished, daughter of Zion. He will not send you into exile again.
Daughter of Edom, he punishes your guilt. He reveals your sins.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an alphabetic acrostic. There are 22 verses in the chapter, and there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
- Lamentations 4:7 Or Nazirites
- Lamentations 4:20 That is, the king
Lamentations 4
Lexham English Bible
Zion Is Punished
4 How the gold has grown dim,
the pure gold has changed.
The stones of holiness are scattered
at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion
weighed against fine gold,
how they are thought of as earthen vessels of clay,
the work of the potter’s hands.
3 Even the jackal bears the beast
and nurses their cubs;
but the daughter of my people has become ruthless,
like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursling cleaves
to its palate in thirst.
Children beg for food,
no one lays it out before them.[a]
5 The ones who eat delicacies,
they are ruined in the streets;
the ones nurtured in purple
lie on piles of trash.
6 The iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater
than the sin of Sodom;
it was overthrown in a moment
and no hands were laid on her.
7 Her princes were purer than snow,
they were whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than rubies,
sapphire their appearance.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot,
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones,
it has become dry like wood.
9 Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of famine;
they have pined away, very hungry
for the crops of my field.
10 The hands of compassionate women,
have cooked their children;
they became as something to eat
in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 Yahweh has completed his anger,
he has poured out his fierce anger;[b]
he has kindled a fire in Zion,
it consumed her[c] foundations.
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
and all the inhabitants of the world,
that a foe and an enemy could enter
into the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Because of the sins of her prophets,
the guilt of her priests,
who shed blood in her midst,
of righteous people.
14 They wander blindly in the streets;
they were defiled with the blood,
their clothes
could not be touched.
15 “Go away! Defiled!” they shout to them.
“Go away! Go away! Do not touch!”
so they left, they left; it was said among the nations,
“They will no longer dwell with us.”[d]
16 The presence of Yahweh has scattered them,
he will no longer watch over them;
they did not honor the priests,[e]
they did not show mercy to elders.
17 Still our eyes failed,
looking for our help in vain;
in our watchtower, we kept watch
for a nation that could not save.
18 They hunted our steps,
from walking in our streets;
our end has come near, our days are finished,[f]
our end has come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles of the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains,
they have set an ambush for us in the desert.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed one of Yahweh,
was captured in their pits;
of whom we said, “In his shadow
we will live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in the land of Uz;
but to you also the cup will pass,
you will become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22 The punishment of your iniquity is completed, O daughter of Zion,
your exile will not continue;
but he will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom,
he will reveal your sins.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:4 Literally “nothing spreads to them”
- Lamentations 4:11 Literally “the fierce anger of his nose”
- Lamentations 4:11 Or “its”
- Lamentations 4:15 Literally “They will no longer be here as aliens”
- Lamentations 4:16 Literally “they did not lift up the faces of the priests”
- Lamentations 4:18 Literally “our days are filled”
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