> [[lamentations-03|← Previous]] | [[lamentations-00|TOC]] | [[lamentations-05|Next →]] --- # Lamentations, Chapter 4 ## Chapter 4 ### Miseries of the Besieged City 1 How the gold has lost its luster, ^lamentations-04-1 the noble metal changed; Jewels lie scattered at the corner of every street. 2 And Zion’s precious children, ^lamentations-04-2 worth their weight in gold— How they are treated like clay jugs, the work of any potter! 3 Even jackals offer their breasts ^lamentations-04-3 to nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is as cruel as the ostrich in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the infant cleaves ^lamentations-04-4 to the roof of its mouth in thirst; Children beg for bread, but no one gives them a piece. 5 Those who feasted on delicacies ^lamentations-04-5 are abandoned in the streets; Those who reclined on crimson now embrace dung heaps. 6 The punishment of the daughter of my people ^lamentations-04-6 surpassed the penalty of Sodom, Which was overthrown in an instant with no hand laid on it. 7 Her princes were brighter than snow, ^lamentations-04-7 whiter than milk, Their bodies more ruddy than coral, their beauty like the sapphire. 8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot, ^lamentations-04-8 they go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin has shrunk on their bones, and become dry as wood. 9 Better for those pierced by the sword ^lamentations-04-9 than for those pierced by hunger, Better for those who bleed from wounds than for those who lack food. 10 The hands of compassionate women ^lamentations-04-10 have boiled their own children! They became their food when the daughter of my people was shattered. 11 The LORD has exhausted his anger, ^lamentations-04-11 poured out his blazing wrath; He has kindled a fire in Zion that has consumed her foundations. 12 The kings of the earth did not believe, ^lamentations-04-12 nor any of the world’s inhabitants, That foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem. 13 Except for the sins of her prophets ^lamentations-04-13 and the crimes of her priests, Who poured out in her midst the blood of the just. 14 They staggered blindly in the streets, ^lamentations-04-14 defiled with blood, So that people could not touch even their garments: 15 “Go away! Unclean!” they cried to them, ^lamentations-04-15 “Away, away, do not touch!” If they went away and wandered, it would be said among the nations, “They can no longer live here! 16 The presence of the LORD was their portion, ^lamentations-04-16 but he no longer looks upon them. The priests are shown no regard, the elders, no mercy. 17 Even now our eyes are worn out, ^lamentations-04-17 searching in vain for help; From our watchtower we have watched for a nation unable to save. 18 They dogged our every step, ^lamentations-04-18 we could not walk in our squares; Our end drew near, our time was up; yes, our end had come. 19 Our pursuers were swifter ^lamentations-04-19 than eagles in the sky, In the mountains they were hot on our trail, they ambushed us in the wilderness. 20 The LORD’s anointed—our very lifebreath!— ^lamentations-04-20 was caught in their snares, He in whose shade we thought to live among the nations. 21 Rejoice and gloat, daughter Edom, ^lamentations-04-21 dwelling in the land of Uz, The cup will pass to you as well; you shall become drunk and strip yourself naked! 22 Your punishment is completed, daughter Zion, ^lamentations-04-22 the Lord will not prolong your exile; The Lord will punish your iniquity, daughter Edom, will lay bare your sins. \* (4:1] – [22) This chapter returns to the focus of chaps. [1] and [2], namely the horrors of a siege. Unlike chaps. [1] and [2], however, the character of personified Zion never interrupts the voice of the poet to protest her abject state. As a result, the emotion of the poem is less intense, while at the same time seeming more grim on account of its lack of petition to the Lord. \* (4:1] – [2) Jewels: lit., “holy stones.” These precious things designate the children who are abandoned, starving, and killed in the siege of Jerusalem (cf. [Zec 9:16]). Another explanation is that these are the stones of the destroyed Temple. \* (4:3) Cruel as the ostrich: see note on [Jb 39:14] – [16]. Jerusalem, in her distress, has abandoned her children. \* (4:5) Crimson: a sign of luxury. Tyrian purple, a red-purple or blue-purple dye produced from shellfish, was very expensive and the only colorfast dye in the ancient Near East. Thus purple or crimson cloth was available only to the wealthy. \* (4:17) A nation: probably Egypt, which failed to give effective aid against Babylon. \* (4:20) Our very lifebreath: lit., “the breath of our nostrils,” that is, the king. This expression occurs in Egyptian texts of the late second millennium B.C., and may have survived as a royal epithet in the Jerusalem court. After the disaster of 598 B.C. ([[2-kings-24|2 Kgs 24]]:1 – [17]), Jerusalem could have hoped to live in peace amidst her neighbors; but they (vv. [21] – [22]) as well as Babylon turned against her to ensure her total devastation in 587 B.C. \* (4:21) Rejoice: the address is sarcastic, since Edom (where Uz may have been located) ravaged the land after the fall of Jerusalem (cf. [Ps 137]). a. (4:2) [Jer 19:11]. b. (4:3) [Jb 39:16]. c. (4:5) [Dt 28:56]. d. (4:6) [[genesis-19|Gen 19]]:23 – [29]; [2 Pt 2:6]; [Jude 7]. e. (4:8) [Lam 3:4]. f. (4:10) [Lam 2:20]; [Dt 28:56] – [57]; [2 Kgs 6:29]. g. (4:11) [Jer 7:20]; ([[ezekiel-05|Ez 5]]:13]. h. (4:13) [Jer 6:13]. i. (4:14) [Dt 28:29]; [Is 59:10]. j. (4:19) [Jer 4:13]; [Hb 1:8]. k. (4:20) [Lam 2:9]; [[ezekiel-19|Ez 19]]:4, [8]. l. (4:21) [Lam 1:21]; [Jer 25:15]. m. (4:22) [Is 40:2]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[lamentations-03|← Previous]] | [[lamentations-00|TOC]] | [[lamentations-05|Next →]]