Lamentations 4:1-6

1 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 nurse their young pups. But my people are as mean as ostriches in the desert.
4 When our babies get thirsty, their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths. When our children beg for bread, no one gives them any.
5 Those who once ate fine food are dying in the streets. Those who wore fancy clothes are now lying on piles of trash.
6 My people have been punished more than Sodom was. It was destroyed in a moment. No one offered it a helping hand.

Lamentations 4:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

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.

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