Lamentations 4

1 Our glittering gold has grown dull; the stones of the Temple lie scattered in the streets.

2 Zion's young people were as precious to us as gold, but now they are treated like common clay pots.

3 Even a mother wolf will nurse her cubs, but my people are like ostriches, cruel to their young.

4 They let their babies die of hunger and thirst; children are begging for food that no one will give them.

5 People who once ate the finest foods die starving in the streets; those raised in luxury are pawing through garbage for food.

6 My people have been punished even more than the inhabitants of Sodom, ¹ which met a sudden downfall at the hands of God.

7 Our princes were undefiled and pure as snow, vigorous and strong, glowing with health.

8 Now they lie unknown in the streets, their faces blackened in death; their skin, dry as wood, has shriveled on their bones.

9 Those who died in the war were better off than those who died later, who starved slowly to death, with no food to keep them alive.

10 The disaster that came to my people brought horror; ² loving mothers boiled their own children for food.

11 The Lord turned loose the full force of his fury; he lit a fire in Zion that burned it to the ground.

12 No one anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations, believed that any invader could enter Jerusalem's gates.

13 But it happened, because her prophets sinned and her priests were guilty of causing the death of innocent people.

14 Her leaders wandered through the streets as though blind, so stained with blood that no one would touch them.

15 "Get away!" people shouted. "You're defiled! Don't touch me!" So they wandered from nation to nation, welcomed by no one.

16 The Lord had no more concern for them; he scattered them himself. He showed no regard for our priests and leaders.

17 For help that never came, we looked until we could look no longer. We kept waiting for help from a nation that had none to give.

18 The enemy was watching for us; we could not even walk in the streets. Our days were over; the end had come.

19 Swifter than eagles swooping from the sky, they chased us down. They tracked us down in the hills; they took us by surprise in the desert.

20 They captured the source of our life, the king the Lord had chosen, the one we had trusted to protect us from every invader.

21 Laugh on, people of Edom and Uz; be glad while you can. Your disaster is coming too; you too will stagger naked in shame.

22 Zion has paid for her sin; the Lord will not keep us in exile any longer. But Edom, the Lord will punish you; he will expose your guilty acts.

Lamentations 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

The deplorable state of the nation is contrasted with its ancient prosperity.

Verses 1-12 What a change is here! Sin tarnishes the beauty of the most exalted powers and the most excellent gifts; but that gold, tried in the fire, which Christ bestows, never will be taken from us; its outward appearance may be dimmed, but its real value can never be changed. The horrors of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem are again described. Beholding the sad consequences of sin in the church of old, let us seriously consider to what the same causes may justly bring down the church now. But, Lord, though we have gone from thee in rebellion, yet turn to us, and turn our hearts to thee, that we may fear thy name. Come to us, bless us with awakening, converting, renewing, confirming grace.

Verses 13-20 Nothing ripens a people more for ruin, nor fills the measure faster, than the sins of priests and prophets. The king himself cannot escape, for Divine vengeance pursues him. Our anointed King alone is the life of our souls; we may safely live under his shadow, and rejoice in Him in the midst of our enemies, for He is the true God and eternal life.

Verses 21-22 Here it is foretold that an end should be put to Zion's troubles. Not the fulness of punishment deserved, but of what God has determined to inflict. An end shall be put to Edom's triumphs. All the troubles of the church and of the believer will soon be accomplished. And the doom of their enemies approaches. The Lord will bring their sins to light, and they shall lie down in eternal sorrow. Edom here represents all the enemies of the church. And the corruption, and sin of Israel, which the prophet has proved to be universal, justifies the judgments of the Lord. It shows the need of that grace in Christ Jesus, which the sin and corruption of all mankind make so necessary.

Cross References

• 1. 4.6Genesis 19.24.
• 2. 4.10Deuteronomy 28.57;Ezekiel 5.10.

Footnotes

• [a]. princes; [or] Nazirites.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LAMENTATIONS 4

The prophet begins this chapter with a complaint of the ill usage of the dear children of God, and precious sons of Zion, La 4:1,2; relates the dreadful effects of the famine during the siege of Jerusalem, La 4:3-10; the taking and destruction of that city he imputes to the wrath of God; and represents it as incredible to the kings and inhabitants of the earth, La 4:11,12; the causes of which were the sins of the prophets, priests, and people, La 4:13-16; expresses the vain hopes they once had, but now were given up entirely, their king being taken, La 4:17-20; and the chapter is concluded with a prophecy of the destruction of the Edomites, and of the return of the Jews from captivity, La 4:21,22.