Parallel Bible results for "lamentations 4"

Lamentations 4

Wycliffe WYC

1 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 clothed with the best gold, how be they areckoned into earthen vessels, into the work of the hands of a potter? (The noble sons of Zion, and clothed with the best gold, how they be reckoned like clay vessels, yea, the work of the hands of a potter!)

3 But also lamias made naked their teats, gave milk to their whelps; (but) the daughter of my people is cruel, as an ostrich in desert (like an ostrich in the wilderness).

4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaved to his palate in thirst; little children asked (for) bread, and none was that brake to them (but no one gave them any).

5 They that ate lustfully, perished in ways; they that were nourished in cradles, embraced turds. (They who ate lustfully, perished on the ways; they who were nourished in cradles, hung onto dung.)

6 And the wickedness of the daughter of my people is made more than the sin of (the) men of Sodom, that was destroyed in a moment, and hands took not therein.

7 (The) Nazarites thereof were whiter than snow, shininger than milk; ruddier than eld ivory, fairer than sapphire (redder than old ivory, more beautiful than sapphire).

8 The face of them was made blacker than coals, and they were not known in (the) streets; the skin cleaved to their bones, it dried, and was made as a stick (it dried up, and was made like a stick).

9 It was better to men slain with sword, than to men slain with hunger; for these men waxed rotten, they were wasted of the barrenness of [the] earth. (It was better for those who were killed with the sword, than for those killed by hunger; for these people slowly grew rotten, and they wasted away for the barrenness of the land.)

10 The hands of merciful women seethed their children; they were made the meats of those women in the sorrow of the daughter of my people. (The hands of merciful women boiled their own children; they were made the food for those women in the horror of the wounding of my people.)

11 The Lord [ful]filled his strong vengeance, he shedded out the ire of his indignation (he poured out his anger); and the Lord kindled a fire in Zion, and it devoured the foundaments thereof.

12 The kings of [the] earth, and all the dwellers of the world believed not (and all the inhabitants of the world could not believe it), that an adversary and [the] enemy should enter in by the gates of Jerusalem.

13 For the sins of the prophets thereof, and for [the] wickednesses of priests thereof, that shedded out the blood of just men in the midst thereof. (For the sins of its prophets, and for the wickednesses of its priests, who poured out the blood of the just in its midst.)

14 Blind men erred in streets, they were defouled in blood (They wandered about like the blind in the streets, they were defiled in blood); and when they might not go, they held (onto) their hems.

15 They cried to them, Depart away, ye defouled men, depart ye, go ye away, do not ye touch; forsooth they chided, and were stirred; they said among heathen men (they said among the heathen), God shall no more add to, that he dwell among them.

16 The face of the Lord parted them, he shall no more lay to, that he behold them; they were not ashamed of the faces of priests, neither they had mercy on eld men (they were not ashamed before the priests, nor did they have any mercy for the elders).

17 The while we stood yet, our eyes failed to our vain help; when we beheld attentive to a folk, that might not save us. (Yet while we stood, our eyes looked in vain for our help; we looked attentively for a nation, that could not save us.)

18 Our steps were slidery in the way of our streets; our end nighed, our days were [ful]filled, for our end came.

19 Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of heaven; they pursued us on [the] hills, they setted ambushments to us in desert. (Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens; they pursued us over the hills, they set ambush for us in the wilderness.)

20 The spirit of our mouth, Christ the Lord, was taken in our sins; to whom we said, We shall live in thy shadow among heathen men. (The very breath of our mouth, yea, the Lord's anointed king, was caught in their sins; he of whom we had said, We shall live under thy shadow, among the heathen.)

21 Thou daughter of Edom, make joy, and be glad, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup shall come also to thee, thou shalt be made drunken, and shalt be made bare. (O daughter of Edom, rejoice, and be happy, thou who livest in the land of Uz; the cup shall also come to thee, and thou shalt be made drunk, and shalt be made naked.)

22 Thou daughter of Zion, thy wickedness is [ful]filled; he shall not add more, that he make thee to pass over (again into captivity); thou daughter of Edom, he shall visit thy wickedness, he shall uncover thy sins (O daughter of Edom, he shall punish thy wickedness, he shall uncover thy sins).

New International Reader's Version NIRV

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.

7 Jerusalem's princes were brighter than snow. They were whiter than milk. Their bodies were redder than rubies. They looked like sapphires.

8 But now they are blacker than coal. No one even recognizes them in the streets. Their skin is wrinkled on their bones. It has become as dry as a stick.

9 Those who have been killed with swords are better off than those who have to die of hunger. Those who are hungry waste away to nothing. They don't have any food from the fields.

10 With their own hands, loving mothers have had to cook even their own children. They ate their children when my people were destroyed.

11 The LORD has become very angry. He has poured out his burning anger. He started a fire in Zion. It burned up the very foundations.

12 The kings of the earth couldn't believe what was happening. Neither could any of the world's people. Enemies actually attacked and entered the gates of Jerusalem.

13 It happened because Jerusalem's prophets had sinned. Its priests had done evil things. All of them spilled the blood of those who did what was right.

14 Now those prophets and priests have to feel their way along the streets like people who are blind. The blood of those they killed has made them "unclean." So no one dares even to touch their clothes.

15 "Go away! You are 'unclean'!" people cry out to them. "Go away! Get out of here! Don't touch us!" So they run away and wander around. Then people among the nations say, "They can't stay here anymore."

16 The LORD himself has scattered them. He doesn't watch over them anymore. No one shows the priests any respect. No one honors the elders.

17 And that's not all. Our eyes grew tired. We looked for help that never came. We watched from our towers. We kept looking for a nation that couldn't save us.

18 People hunted us down no matter where we went. We couldn't even walk in our streets. Our end was near. We only had a few days to live. Our end had come.

19 Those who were hunting us down were faster than eagles in the sky. They chased us over the mountains. They hid and waited for us in the desert.

20 Zedekiah, the LORD's anointed king, was our last hope. But he was caught in their traps. We thought he would keep us safe. We expected to continue living among the nations.

21 People of Edom, be joyful. You who live in the land of Uz, be glad. But the cup of the LORD's anger will also be passed to you. Then you will become drunk. Your clothes will be stripped off.

22 People of Zion, the time for you to be punished will come to an end. The LORD won't keep you away from your land any longer. But he will punish your sin, people of Edom. He will show you the evil things you have done.