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
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
Plângerile 4
Cornilescu 1924 - Revised 2010, 2014
Plângere asupra soartei poporului
4 Vai, cum s-a înnegrit aurul şi cum s-a schimbat aurul cel curat!
Cum s-au risipit pietrele Sfântului Locaş pe la toate colţurile(A) uliţelor!
2 Cum sunt priviţi acum fiii Sionului, cei aleşi şi preţuiţi ca aurul curat altădată,
cum sunt priviţi acum, vai! Ca nişte vase(B) de pământ şi ca o lucrare făcută de mâinile olarului!
3 Chiar şi şacalii îşi apleacă ţâţa şi dau să sugă puilor lor,
dar fiica poporului meu a ajuns fără milă, ca struţii(C) din pustie.
4 Limba(D) sugătorului i se lipeşte de cerul gurii, uscată de sete;
copiii cer(E) pâine, dar nimeni nu le-o dă.
5 Cei ce se hrăneau cu bucate alese leşină pe uliţe.
Cei ce fuseseră crescuţi în purpură se bucură(F) acum de o grămadă de gunoi!
6 Căci vina fiicei poporului meu este mai mare decât păcatul Sodomei,
care a fost nimicită(G) într-o clipă, fără să fi pus cineva mâna pe ea.
7 Voievozii ei erau mai strălucitori decât zăpada, mai albi decât laptele;
trupul le era mai roşu decât mărgeanul; faţa le era ca safirul.
8 Dar acum înfăţişarea le este mai negricioasă(H) decât funinginea; aşa că nu mai sunt cunoscuţi pe uliţe,
pielea le este(I) lipită de oase, uscată ca lemnul.
9 Cei ce pier ucişi de sabie sunt mai fericiţi decât cei ce pier de foame,
care cad sleiţi de puteri, din lipsa roadelor câmpului!
10 Femeile(J), cu toată mila(K) lor, îşi fierb copiii,
care le slujesc ca(L) hrană în mijlocul prăpădului fiicei poporului meu.
11 Domnul Şi-a sleit urgia, Şi-a vărsat(M) mânia aprinsă;
a aprins(N) în Sion un foc care-i mistuie temeliile.
12 Împăraţii pământului n-ar fi crezut şi niciunul din locuitorii lumii n-ar fi crezut
că potrivnicul care-l împresura are să intre pe porţile Ierusalimului.
13 Iată roada păcatelor(O) prorocilor săi, a nelegiuirilor preoţilor săi,
care(P) au vărsat în mijlocul lui sângele celor neprihăniţi!
14 Rătăceau ca orbii pe uliţe, mânjiţi(Q) de sânge,
aşa că nimeni nu putea(R) să se atingă de hainele lor.
15 „Depărtaţi-vă, necuraţilor(S)!” li se striga, „la o parte, la o parte, nu vă atingeţi de noi!”
Când fugeau pribegind încoace şi încolo, printre neamuri, se spunea: „Să nu mai locuiască aici!”
16 În mânia Lui, Domnul i-a împrăştiat şi nu-Şi mai îndreaptă privirile spre ei!
Vrăjmaşul n-a căutat(T) la faţa preoţilor, nici n-a avut milă de cei bătrâni.
17 Şi acolo ni se sfârşeau ochii(U) şi aşteptam zadarnic ajutor!
Privirile ni se îndreptau cu nădejde spre un neam, care totuşi nu ne-a izbăvit.
18 Ne pândeau paşii(V), ca să ne împiedice să mergem pe uliţele noastre;
ni se apropia sfârşitul(W), ni se împliniseră zilele… Da, ne venise sfârşitul!
19 Prigonitorii noştri erau mai iuţi(X) decât vulturii cerului.
Ne-au fugărit pe munţi şi ne-au pândit în pustie.
20 Suflarea(Y) vieţii noastre, unsul Domnului, a fost prins(Z) în gropile lor, el,
despre care ziceam: „Vom trăi sub umbra lui printre neamuri.”
21 „Bucură-te(AA) şi saltă de bucurie, fiica Edomului, care locuieşti în ţara Uţ!
Dar şi la tine va trece potirul(AB) şi tu te vei îmbăta şi te vei dezgoli!
22 Fiica Sionului, nelegiuirea(AC) îţi este ispăşită:
El nu te va mai trimite în robie.
Dar ţie, fiica Edomului, îţi va(AD) pedepsi nelegiuirea
şi îţi va da pe faţă păcatele.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Copyright of the Cornilescu Bible © 1924 belongs to British and Foreign Bible Society. Copyright © 2010, 2014 of the revised edition in Romanian language belongs to the Interconfessional Bible Society of Romania, with the approval of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
