Lamentations 4
Living Bible
4 How the finest gold has lost its luster! For the inlaid[a] Temple walls are scattered in the streets! 2 The cream of our youth—the finest of the gold—are treated as earthenware pots. 3-4 Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people, Israel. They are like cruel desert ostriches, heedless of their babies’ cries. The children’s tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths for thirst, for there is not a drop of water left. Babies cry for bread, but no one can give them any. 5 Those who used to eat fastidiously are begging in the streets for anything at all. Those brought up in palaces now scratch in garbage pits for food. 6 For the sin of my people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment without the hand of man.
7 Our princes were lean and tanned,[b] the finest specimens of men; 8 but now their faces are as black as soot. No one can recognize them. Their skin sticks to their bones; it is dry and hard and withered. 9 Those killed by the sword are far better off than those who die of slow starvation. 10 Tenderhearted women have cooked and eaten their own children; thus they survived the siege.
11 But now at last the anger of the Lord is satisfied; his fiercest anger has been poured out. He started a fire in Jerusalem that burned it down to its foundations. 12 Not a king in all the earth—no one in all the world—would have believed an enemy could enter through Jerusalem’s gates! 13 Yet God permitted it because of the sins of her prophets and priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood. 14 Now these same men are blindly staggering through the streets, covered with blood, defiling everything they touch.
15 “Get away!” the people shout at them. “You are defiled!” They flee to distant lands and wander there among the foreigners; but none will let them stay. 16 The Lord himself has dealt with them; he no longer helps them, for they persecuted the priests and elders who stayed true to God.
17 We look for our allies[c] to come and save us, but we look in vain. The nation we expected most to help us makes no move at all.
18 We can’t go into the streets without danger to our lives. Our end is near—our days are numbered. We are doomed. 19 Our enemies are swifter than the eagles; if we flee to the mountains, they find us. If we hide in the wilderness, they are waiting for us there. 20 Our king—the life of our life, the Lord’s anointed—was captured in their snares. Yes, even our mighty king, about whom we had boasted that under his protection we could hold our own against any nation on earth!
21 Do you rejoice, O people of Edom, in the land of Uz? But you, too, will feel the awful anger of the Lord. 22 Israel’s exile for her sins will end at last, but Edom’s never.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 inlaid, implied.
- Lamentations 4:7 were lean and tanned, literally, “were purer than snow, whiter than milk, more ruddy than rubies, polished like sapphires.”
- Lamentations 4:17 allies, probably the reference is to Egypt.
Lamentations 4
Common English Bible
The people’s suffering
4 Oh, no!
Gold is tarnished;[a] even the purest gold is changed.
Sacred jewels are scattered on every street corner.
2 Zion’s precious children, once valued as pure gold—
oh no!—now they are worth no more than clay pots made by a potter.
3 Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young.
But the daughter of my people has become cruel, like desert ostriches.
4 The baby’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth, thirsty.
Children ask for bread, beg for it—but there is no bread.
5 Those who once ate gourmet food now tremble in the streets.
Those who wore the finest purple clothes now cling to piles of garbage.
6 Greater was the punishment[b] of the daughter of my people than Sodom’s penalty,[c]
which was quickly overthrown without any hand-wringing.[d]
7 Her nazirites were purer than snow; they were more dazzling than milk.
Their limbs were redder than coral; their bodies were sapphire.
8 But their appearance grew darker than soot; they weren’t recognized in the streets.
Their skin shriveled on their bones; it became dry like wood.
9 Things were better for those stabbed by the sword than for those stabbed by famine—
those who bled away, pierced, lacking food from the field.
10 The hands of loving women boiled their own children
to become their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord let loose his fury; he poured out his fierce anger.
He started a fire in Zion; it licked up its foundations.
12 The earth’s rulers didn’t believe it—neither did any who inhabit the world—
that either enemy or adversary could enter Jerusalem’s gates.
13 It was because of her prophets’ sins, her priests’ iniquities,
those who shed righteous blood in the middle of the city.
14 People wandered blindly in the streets, polluted with blood.
No one would even touch their clothing.
15 “Go away! Unclean!” was shouted at them, “Go away! Away! Don’t touch!”
So they fled and wandered around. The nations said, “They can’t stay here anymore.”
16 It was the Lord’s presence that scattered them;[e] he no longer notices them.
They didn’t honor the priests’ presence; they didn’t favor the elders.
17 Our eyes continually failed, looking for some help, but for nothing.
From our watchtower we watched for a nation that doesn’t save.
18 Our steps were tracked; we could no longer walk in our streets.
Our end had drawn near; our days were done—our end had definitely come.
19 Our hunters were faster than airborne eagles.
They chased us up the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness.
20 The Lord’s chosen one, the very breath in our lungs, was caught in their traps—
the one we used to talk about, saying, “Under his protection we will live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be happy, Daughter Edom, you who live in the land of Uz.
But this cup will pass over to you too. You will get drunk on it. You will be stripped naked.
22 Your punishment[f] is over, Daughter Zion; God won’t expose you anymore.
But he will attend to your punishment, Daughter Edom; he will expose your sins.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 Heb uncertain
- Lamentations 4:6 Or iniquity
- Lamentations 4:6 Or sin
- Lamentations 4:6 Heb uncertain
- Lamentations 4:16 Heb uncertain
- Lamentations 4:22 Or iniquity
Lamentations 4
New King James Version
The Degradation of Zion
4 How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are [a]scattered
At the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
[b]Valuable as fine gold,
How they are [c]regarded (A)as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
(B)Like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
(C)The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
(D)Embrace ash heaps.
6 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the (E)sin of Sodom,
Which was (F)overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!
7 Her [d]Nazirites were [e]brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their [f]appearance.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
(G)Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.
9 Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these (H)pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the (I)field.
10 The hands of the (J)compassionate women
Have [g]cooked their (K)own children;
They became (L)food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
(M)He has poured out His fierce anger.
(N)He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could (O)enter the gates of Jerusalem—
13 (P)Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
(Q)Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.
14 They wandered blind in the streets;
(R)They have defiled themselves with blood,
(S)So that no one would touch their garments.
15 They cried out to them,
“Go away, (T)unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.”
16 The [h]face of the Lord scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
(U)The people do not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.
17 Still (V)our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.
18 (W)They [i]tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
(X)Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were (Y)swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The (Z)breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,
(AA)Was caught in their pits,
Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of (AB)Edom,
You who dwell in the land of Uz!
(AC)The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
22 (AD)The punishment of your iniquity [j]is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
(AE)He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 Lit. poured out
- Lamentations 4:2 Lit. Weighed against
- Lamentations 4:2 reckoned
- Lamentations 4:7 Or nobles
- Lamentations 4:7 Or purer
- Lamentations 4:7 Lit. polishing
- Lamentations 4:10 boiled
- Lamentations 4:16 Tg. anger
- Lamentations 4:18 Lit. hunted
- Lamentations 4:22 has been completed
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
