Lamentations 4:16

16 God himself scattered them. No longer does he look out for them. He has nothing to do with the priests; he cares nothing for the elders.

Lamentations 4:16 Meaning and Commentary

Lamentations 4:16

The anger of the Lord hath divided them
Or, "the face of the Lord" F6; the anger that appeared in his face, in the dispensation of his providence, removed them out of their own land, and dispersed them among several countries and nations of the world, and as they now are: these are not the words of the Heathens continued, but of the prophet: he will no more regard them;
or, "he will not add to look on them" F7, with a look of love, but continue his anger and resentment: they respect not the persons of the priests, they favour not the
elders;
which is to be considered either as the sin of the false prophets and priests before described, which was the cause of their punishment; that they east great contempt on the true prophets of the Lord, as Jeremiah and others, and showed no regard to the elders of the people, or those godly magistrates; who would have corrected and restrained them: or else this is said of the nations among whom they were dispersed, as the Targum; who would pay no respect to their characters as priests, or show any pity to them on account of their age.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (hwhy ynp) "facies Domini", V. L. Montanus, Piscator.
F7 (Mjybhl Pyowy) "non addet aspicere eos", Montanus.

Lamentations 4:16 In-Context

14 These prophets and priests blindly grope their way through the streets, grimy and stained from their dirty lives, Wasted by their wasted lives, shuffling from fatigue, dressed in rags.
15 People yell at them, "Get out of here, dirty old men! Get lost, don't touch us, don't infect us!" They have to leave town. They wander off. Nobody wants them to stay here. Everyone knows, wherever they wander, that they've been kicked out of their own hometown.
16 God himself scattered them. No longer does he look out for them. He has nothing to do with the priests; he cares nothing for the elders.
17 We watched and watched, wore our eyes out looking for help. And nothing. We mounted our lookouts and looked for the help that never showed up.
18 They tracked us down, those hunters. It wasn't safe to go out in the street. Our end was near, our days numbered. We were doomed.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.