Lamentations 4:17-22
New Living Translation
17 We looked in vain for our allies
to come and save us,
but we were looking to nations
that could not help us.
18 We couldn’t go into the streets
without danger to our lives.
Our end was near; our days were numbered.
We were doomed!
19 Our enemies were swifter than eagles in flight.
If we fled to the mountains, they found us.
If we hid in the wilderness,
they were waiting for us there.
20 Our king—the Lord’s anointed, the very life of our nation—
was caught in their snares.
We had thought that his shadow
would protect us against any nation on earth!
21 Are you rejoicing in the land of Uz,
O people of Edom?
But you, too, must drink from the cup of the Lord’s anger.
You, too, will be stripped naked in your drunkenness.
22 O beautiful Jerusalem,[a] your punishment will end;
you will soon return from exile.
But Edom, your punishment is just beginning;
soon your many sins will be exposed.
Footnotes
- 4:22 Hebrew O daughter of Zion.
Lamentations 4:17-22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
17 Our eyes failed, ever watching
vainly for help;
we were watching eagerly
for a nation that could not save.(A)
18 They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.(B)
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.(C)
20 The Lord’s anointed, the breath of our life,
was taken in their pits—
the one of whom we said, “Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”(D)
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter Edom,
you that live in the land of Uz;
but to you also the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.(E)
22 The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;
but your iniquity, O daughter Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.(F)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.