Lamentations 4
English Standard Version
The Holy Stones Lie Scattered
4 (A)How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
(B)at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in (C)fine gold,
how they are regarded as (D)earthen pots,
the work of a potter's hands!
3 Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursing infant (E)sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
(F)the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
(G)those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.
6 (H)For the chastisement[a] of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment[b] of Sodom,
(I)which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.[c]
7 Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form[d] was like sapphire.[e]
8 (J)Now their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.
9 Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.
10 (K)The hands of (L)compassionate women
(M)have boiled their own children;
(N)they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 (O)The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and (P)he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
12 (Q)The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
13 This was for (R)the sins of her prophets
and (S)the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.
14 (T)They wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
(U)that no one was able to touch
their garments.
15 “Away! (V)Unclean!” people cried at them.
“Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
people said among the nations,
“They shall stay with us no longer.”
16 (W)The Lord himself[f] has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
(X)no honor was shown to the priests,
(Y)no favor to the elders.
17 (Z)Our eyes failed, ever watching
(AA)vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for (AB)a nation which could not save.
18 (AC)They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
(AD)our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were (AE)swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 (AF)The breath of our nostrils, (AG)the Lord's anointed,
was captured (AH)in their pits,
of whom we said, (AI)“Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”
21 (AJ)Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in (AK)the land of Uz;
but to you also (AL)the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22 (AM)The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;[g]
but (AN)your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:6 Or iniquity
- Lamentations 4:6 Or sin
- Lamentations 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Lamentations 4:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Lamentations 4:7 Hebrew lapis lazuli
- Lamentations 4:16 Hebrew The face of the Lord
- Lamentations 4:22 Or he will not exile you again
Lamentations 4
International Standard Version
Zion’s Punishment
4 How tarnished the gold has become,
the finest gold debased!
Sacred stones[a] have been scattered
at every street corner.
2 Though the precious people of Zion
were like fine gold,
how they are valued like clay vessels,
the handiwork of a potter!
3 Even wild animals nurse,
suckling their young;
but the women of my people are cruel,
like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The nursing child’s tongue
cleaves to its palate from thirst.
Young children beg for bread,
but no one gives them any.
5 Those who enjoyed delicacies
lie desolate in the streets.
Those who were reared wearing purple
scavenge in piles of trash.
6 The guilt of my cherished people surpasses the sin of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment,
without a hand to help her.
7 Her princes[b] were purer than snow,
whiter than milk.
Their bodies were more ruddy[c] than rubies,
their beards like the color of precious stones.
8 Now their faces are blacker than coal;
they are unrecognized in the streets.
Their skin clings to their bones;
it has become dry like a stick.
9 Those who die by the sword are better off
than those who die from starvation,
who slowly waste away like those pierced through
for lack of food from the fields.
10 With their own hands, compassionate women
boil their own children—
they become their food—
when my beloved people were[d] destroyed.
11 The Lord has exhausted his wrath,
pouring out his fierce anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion,
consuming its foundations.
12 None of the kings of the earth would have believed,
nor the world’s inhabitants,
that the adversary and the enemy
could have breached the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Due to the sins committed by her prophets,
and the iniquities of her priests
who shed in her midst,
the blood of the righteous,
14 people stagger around in the streets like the blind,
defiled by blood
unclean so that no one is able
to touch their clothing.
15 “Go away! Unclean!”
they shouted at them.
“Go away! Go away! Don’t touch!”
When they fled away and wandered,
those among the nations decreed,
“They cannot live here!”
16 The Lord himself separated them;
he will do nothing more for them.
They did not respect their own priests;
they did not honor their elders.
17 Our eyes failed,
searching in vain for hope;
we kept watching and looking
for a nation that would not help.
18 Our steps were closely stalked,
so we couldn’t travel on our own streets.
Our end is near,
our days are over;
indeed, our end has come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than soaring eagles;[e]
they pursued us over the mountains,
lying in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The Lord’s anointed,
the breath of our life,
was captured in their pits.
About him we had said,
“Under his protection we will survive
among the nations.”
21 Celebrate and rejoice, you women[f] of Edom,
who live in the land of Uz.
But to you the cup also will pass—
you will become drunk and stripped naked.
22 The punishment for your sin is complete, you women[g] of Zion,
and God[h] will no longer exile you.
He will punish your iniquity, you women[i] of Edom,
and he will expose your sins.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 Or gems
- Lamentations 4:7 Or Nazirites
- Lamentations 4:7 I.e. reddish brown skin color
- Lamentations 4:10 Lit. when the daughter of my people was
- Lamentations 4:19 Lit. than eagles of the heavens
- Lamentations 4:21 Lit. daughter
- Lamentations 4:22 Lit. daughter
- Lamentations 4:22 Lit. he
- Lamentations 4:22 Lit. daughter
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
