Lamentations Chapter 4
1 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 breast. They nurse their young ones. But the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursing child clings to the roof of his mouth for thirst. The young children ask bread, and no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets. Those who were brought up in purple embrace dunghills.
6 For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown as in a moment. No hands were laid on her.
7 Her nobles were purer than snow. They were whiter than milk. They were more ruddy in body than rubies. Their polishing was like sapphire.
8 Their appearance is blacker than a coal. They are not known in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones. It is withered. It has become like a stick.
9 Those who are killed with the sword are better than those who are killed with hunger; for these pine away, stricken through, for lack of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children. They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The LORD has accomplished his wrath. He has poured out his fierce anger. He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has devoured its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth didn't believe, neither did all the inhabitants of the world, that the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem.
13 It is because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, That have shed the blood of the just in the middle of her.
14 They wander as blind men in the streets. They are polluted with blood, So that men can't touch their garments.
15 "Go away!" they cried to them. "Unclean! Go away! Go away! Don't touch! When they fled away and wandered, men said amongst the nations, "They can't live here any more."
16 The LORD's anger has scattered them. He will not pay attention to them any more. They didn't respect the persons of the priests. They didn't favour the elders.
17 Our eyes still fail, looking in vain for our help. In our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save.
18 They hunt our steps, so that we can't go in our streets. Our end is near. Our days are fulfilled, for our end has come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the sky. They chased us on the mountains. They set an ambush for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits; of whom we said, under his shadow we will live amongst the nations.
21 Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, that dwells in the land of Uz. The cup will pass through to you also. You will be drunken, and will make yourself naked.
22 The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, daughter of Zion. He will no more carry you away into captivity. He will visit your iniquity, daughter of Edom. He will uncover your sins.
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Lamentations Chapter 4 Guide
The fourth poem is for the most part a dirge of desolation, which nevertheless ends in a song of hope. Jeremiah first described the disaster in Zion, declaring that it all arose as the result of the sin of the people, which was greater than that of Sodom. He then described the degradation of the people. From the perfection of health her nobles have degenerated into men on whom the stamp of an unutterable disease is clearly set.
All this has resulted from the sins of the prophets and the iniquities of the priests. Those who have guided men in the purity of their lives were blind and polluted to such an extent that the people held them in contempt, cried after them, "Unclean," and besought them to depart. The prophet then proceeded to deal with the folly of the men who had sought help from the nations, describing the useless looking of the eyes for help, and then the remorselessness of the enemies who hunted and pursued them to death. He ended with a satirical address to Edom, calling upon her to rejoice, but declaring that the cup should pass to her also, and a final word of hope for Zion in that the punishment of her iniquity was accomplished.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Lamentations Chapter 4 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- 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.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.