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
Complete Jewish Bible
4 How the gold has lost its luster!
How the fine gold has changed!
How the stones of the sanctuary
lie scattered at every streetcorner!
2 The precious sons of Tziyon,
as precious as fine gold —
to think they are now worth no more
than clay jars made by a potter!
3 Even jackals bare their breasts
in order to nurse their young,
but the daughters of my people have become as cruel
as ostriches in the desert.
4 The tongue of the baby at the breast
sticks to the roof of its mouth from thirst;
young children are begging for bread,
but no one is giving them any.
5 People who once ate only the best
lie dying in the streets;
those who were raised wearing purple
are clawing at piles of garbage.
6 For the offense of the daughter of my people
is greater than the sin of S’dom,
which was overthrown in an instant,
without a hand to help her.
7 Her princes were purer than snow;
they were whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than pink pearls,
as beautiful as sapphires.
8 Now their faces are blacker than coal;
in the streets they go unrecognized.
Their skin has shriveled over their bones
and become as dry as a stick.
9 Those slain by the sword are better off
than those who are dying from hunger;
since these waste away as if pierced through,
for lack of food from the fields.
10 With their own hands compassionate women
have cooked their own children;
their children became their food
when the daughter of my people was destroyed.
11 Adonai has finished with his fury,
he has poured out his blazing wrath;
he kindled a fire in Tziyon
that consumed its very foundations.
12 The kings of the earth could not believe,
neither could anyone living in the world,
that enemy or foe would ever enter
the gates of Yerushalayim.
13 It happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the offenses of her cohanim,
who, within her walls,
shed the blood of the righteous.
14 They wander in the streets like the blind;
they are so polluted with blood
that nobody is able
even to touch their clothing.
15 “Keep away! Unclean!” people shout at them,
“Keep away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
They flee, to wander here and there;
but no nation allows them to stay.
16 Adonai himself scattered them;
he will no longer look after them;
they had no respect for cohanim
and showed no kindness to the leaders.
17 As for us, our eyes are worn out
from looking in vain for help;
we kept on watching and watching
for a nation that couldn’t save us.
18 They keep dogging our steps,
so that we can’t go out in our streets.
Our end is near, our time is up;
yes, our end has come.
19 Those who pursued us were swifter
than eagles in the sky.
They chased us over the mountains
and waylaid us in the desert.
20 Adonai’s anointed, our life-breath,
was caught in their pits;
though of him we had said, “Under his protection,
we can live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice, be glad, daughter of Edom,
who lives in the land of ‘Utz.
To you too the cup will pass;
you will get drunk and strip yourself naked!
22 Your offenses, daughter of Tziyon, are atoned for;
he will keep you in exile no longer.
Your offenses, daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will expose your sins.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.