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Lamentations 4 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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Distress of the Siege Described

4 How (A)dark the gold has become,
How the pure gold has changed!
The sacred stones are spilled out
At the [a]corner of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
Weighed against pure gold,
How they are regarded as (B)earthenware jars,
The work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even (C)jackals offer the breast,
They nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people has proved herself (D)cruel,
Like (E)ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The (F)tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth because of (G)thirst;
The children (H)ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who used to eat (I)delicacies
Are made to tremble in the streets;
Those who were raised in crimson clothing
Embrace garbage heaps.
6 For the [b]wrongdoing of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the [c](J)sin of Sodom,
Which was (K)overthrown as in a moment,
[d]And no hands were turned toward her.
7 Her [e]consecrated ones were (L)purer than snow,
They shined more than milk;
They were more ruddy in [f]body than pearls of coral,
Their form was like [g](M)lapis lazuli.
8 Their appearance is (N)darker than soot,
They are not recognized in the streets;
Their (O)skin is shriveled on their bones,
It is dry, it has become like wood.
9 Better off are those (P)killed by the sword
Than those killed by hunger;
For they [h](Q)waste away, [i]stricken
By the lack of the produce of the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women
(R)Boiled their own children;
They became (S)food for them
Due to the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has (T)expended His wrath,
He has poured out His fierce anger;
And He has (U)kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has consumed its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
Nor did any of (V)the inhabitants of the world,
That the adversary and the enemy
Would (W)enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Because of the sins of her (X)prophets
And the wrongdoings of her priests,
Who have shed in her midst
The (Y)blood of the righteous,
14 They wandered, (Z)blind, in the streets;
They were defiled with (AA)blood,
Such that no one could touch their (AB)garments.
15 “Keep away! (AC)Unclean!” [j]they cried out of themselves.
“Keep away, keep away, do not touch!”
For they (AD)distanced themselves as well as wandered;
People among the nations said,
“They shall not continue to reside with us.”
16 The presence of the Lord has scattered them,
He will not continue to look at them;
They did not [k](AE)honor the priests,
They did not favor the elders.
17 Yet our eyes failed,
Looking for [l]help was (AF)useless;
At our observation point we have watched
For a (AG)nation that could not save.
18 They (AH)hunted our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets;
Our (AI)end drew near,
Our days were [m]finished
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were (AJ)swifter
Than the eagles of the sky;
They chased us on the mountains,
They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.
20 The (AK)breath of our nostrils, the (AL)Lord’s anointed,
Was (AM)captured in their pits,
Of whom we had said, “[n]In his (AN)shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be joyful, daughter of (AO)Edom,
Who lives in the land of Uz;
But the (AP)cup will pass to you as well,
You will become drunk and expose yourself.
22 The punishment of your wrongdoing has been (AQ)completed, daughter of Zion;
He will no longer exile you.
But He (AR)will punish your wrongdoing, daughter of Edom;
He will expose your sins!

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 4:1 Lit head
  2. Lamentations 4:6 Or punishment for wrongdoing
  3. Lamentations 4:6 Or punishment for sin
  4. Lamentations 4:6 I.e., without human intervention
  5. Lamentations 4:7 Or Nazirites
  6. Lamentations 4:7 Lit bones
  7. Lamentations 4:7 Heb sappir
  8. Lamentations 4:9 Lit flow away
  9. Lamentations 4:9 Lit pierced through
  10. Lamentations 4:15 Or they (other people) cried to them
  11. Lamentations 4:16 Lit lift up the faces of
  12. Lamentations 4:17 Lit our help
  13. Lamentations 4:18 Lit full
  14. Lamentations 4:20 I.e., under his protection

Cross references

  1. Lamentations 4:1 : Ezek 7:19-22
  2. Lamentations 4:2 : Is 30:14; Jer 19:1, 11
  3. Lamentations 4:3 : Is 13:22; 34:13
  4. Lamentations 4:3 : Is 49:15; Ezek 5:10
  5. Lamentations 4:3 : Job 39:14-17
  6. Lamentations 4:4 : Ps 22:15
  7. Lamentations 4:4 : Jer 14:3
  8. Lamentations 4:4 : Lam 2:12
  9. Lamentations 4:5 : Jer 6:2; Amos 6:3-7
  10. Lamentations 4:6 : Gen 19:24
  11. Lamentations 4:6 : Gen 19:25; Jer 20:16
  12. Lamentations 4:7 : Ps 51:7
  13. Lamentations 4:7 : Ex 24:10; Job 28:16
  14. Lamentations 4:8 : Job 30:30; Lam 5:10
  15. Lamentations 4:8 : Job 19:20; Ps 102:3-5
  16. Lamentations 4:9 : Jer 16:4
  17. Lamentations 4:9 : Lev 26:39; Ezek 24:23
  18. Lamentations 4:10 : Lev 26:29; Deut 28:57; 2 Kin 6:29; Jer 19:9; Lam 2:20; Ezek 5:10
  19. Lamentations 4:10 : Deut 28:53-55
  20. Lamentations 4:11 : Jer 7:20; Lam 2:17; Ezek 22:31
  21. Lamentations 4:11 : Deut 32:22; Jer 17:27
  22. Lamentations 4:12 : Deut 29:24
  23. Lamentations 4:12 : Jer 21:13
  24. Lamentations 4:13 : Jer 5:31; 6:13; Lam 2:14; Ezek 22:26-28
  25. Lamentations 4:13 : Jer 2:30; 26:8, 9; Matt 23:31
  26. Lamentations 4:14 : Deut 28:28, 29; Is 29:10; 56:10; 59:9, 10
  27. Lamentations 4:14 : Is 1:15
  28. Lamentations 4:14 : Jer 2:34
  29. Lamentations 4:15 : Lev 13:45, 46
  30. Lamentations 4:15 : Jer 49:5
  31. Lamentations 4:16 : Is 9:14-16; Jer 52:24-27
  32. Lamentations 4:17 : Jer 37:7; Lam 1:7
  33. Lamentations 4:17 : Ezek 29:6, 7, 16
  34. Lamentations 4:18 : Jer 16:16
  35. Lamentations 4:18 : Jer 5:31; Ezek 7:2-12; Amos 8:2
  36. Lamentations 4:19 : Is 5:26-28; 30:16, 17; Jer 4:13; Hab 1:8
  37. Lamentations 4:20 : Gen 2:7
  38. Lamentations 4:20 : 2 Sam 1:14; 19:21
  39. Lamentations 4:20 : Jer 39:5; 52:9
  40. Lamentations 4:20 : Dan 4:12
  41. Lamentations 4:21 : Ps 137:7; Jer 25:21
  42. Lamentations 4:21 : Obad 16
  43. Lamentations 4:22 : Is 40:2; Jer 33:7, 8
  44. Lamentations 4:22 : Jer 49:10; Mal 1:3, 4

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Lamentations 4 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

4 How is the gold become dim, Changed the best -- the pure gold? Poured out are stones of the sanctuary At the head of all out-places. 2 The precious sons of Zion, Who are comparable with fine gold, How have they been reckoned earthen bottles, Work of the hands of a potter. 3 Even dragons have drawn...
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Lamentations 4 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

4 How is gold made dark, the best colour is changed? the stones of the saintuary be scattered in the head of all streets. (How the gold is made dark, the best colour is changed! the stones from the sanctuary be scattered at the head, or at the top, of every street.) 2 The noble sons of Zion, and clo...
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Lamentations 4 - World English Bible (WEB)

4 How the gold has become dim! The most pure gold has changed!The stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold,how they are esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! 3 Even the jackals offer their br...
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Lamentations 4 - The Voice (VOICE)

4 Aaghh! The gold no longer shines; even our finest gold is changed,And precious gems from the holy place are scattered and spilled in the street. 2 But worse yet, the people themselves, the precious children of Zion, are treated like clay pots formed by a potter—Now debased and devalued, but they w...
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Lamentations 4 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Devastation of Jerusalem4 How dulled is the gold, how tarnished the fine gold.The sacred gems are poured out at the corner of every street.2 The precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in gold—alas! now they are treated like clay jars, the work of a potter’s hands!3 Even jackals offer their b...
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Lamentations 4 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Punishment of Zion4 How the gold has grown dim,how the pure gold is changed!The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold,how they are reckoned as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands! 3 Even the jackals give the bre...
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Lamentations 4 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Punishment of Zion4 How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed!The sacred stones lie scattered at the head of every street. 2 The precious children of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold—how they are reckoned as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands! 3 Even the jackals offer...
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Lamentations 4 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Punishment of Zion4 How the gold has grown dim; how the pure gold is changed!The sacred stones lie scattered at the head of every street.2 The precious children of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold—how they are reckoned as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands!(A)3 Even the jackals offe...
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Lamentations 4 - New Living Translation (NLT)

God’s Anger Satisfied4 How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull.The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets! 2 See how the precious children of Jerusalem,[a] worth their weight in fine gold,are now treated like pots of clay made by a common potter. 3 Even the jack...
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Lamentations 4 - New Life Version (NLV)

Jerusalem’s Sinful Leaders4 How dark the gold has become! How the pure gold has changed! The stones from the house of God are poured out at the corner of every street. 2 The sons of Zion are worth their weight in fine gold. But they are thought of as clay pots, the work of a pot-maker’s hands! 3 E...
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Lamentations 4 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Degradation of Zion4 How the gold has become dim!How changed the fine gold!The stones of the sanctuary are [a]scatteredAt 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 jackal...
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Lamentations 4 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

4 [a]How the gold has lost its lustre, the fine gold become dull!The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner. 2 How the precious children of Zion, once worth their weight in gold,are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter’s hands! 3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse th...
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Lamentations 4 - New International Version (NIV)

4 [a]How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull!The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner.(A) 2 How the precious children of Zion,(B) once worth their weight in gold,are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter’s hands! 3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nu...
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Lamentations 4 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

4 Look at how the gold has lost its brightness! See how dull the fine gold has become!The sacred jewels are scattered at every street corner. 2 The priceless children of Zion were worth their weight in gold.But now they are thought of as clay pots made by the hands of a potter. 3 Even wild dogs nurs...
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Lamentations 4 - New Century Version (NCV)

The Attack on Jerusalem4 See how the gold has lost its shine, how the pure gold has dulled!The stones of the Temple are scattered at every street corner. 2 The precious people of Jerusalem were more valuable than gold,but now they are thought of as clay jars made by the hands of a potter. 3 Even wil...
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