Lamentations 4
4
Chapter 4
The prophet speaks about Jerusalem's punishment
1Look! The city's gold is no longer beautiful.
Even pure gold has become useless.
The jewels from the temple lie on the ground
in all the city's streets.
2 Zion's young men were more valuable to us than gold.
But now they seem to have no value.
They are like ordinary pots
that a potter has made. #4:2 People did not think that ordinary pots were valuable.
3Even jackals feed their babies at their breasts.
But Jerusalem's young women have become cruel.
They are like ostriches
that leave their eggs in the desert. #4:3 Ostriches are large birds that lay their eggs in the sand. They do not take care of their babies. See Job 39:14-16.
4Babies' mouths are completely dry,
because they are so thirsty.
Young children ask people to give them food,
but nobody has any food to share with them.
5People who were rich and who ate the best food
now die in the streets with nothing to eat.
Rich people who wore expensive clothes
now die among the rubbish.
6God destroyed the city of Sodom in a moment
and nobody was there to help them.
Now he has punished my people
even more than he punished Sodom's people. #4:6 Sodom's people were wicked and they did not obey God. See Genesis 18:16–19:29. They all died quickly.
7The leaders of Jerusalem were very pure,
whiter than snow or milk.
They were strong and healthy.
Their bodies seemed to shine like valuable jewels.
8Now their faces are dirty, blacker than coal.
When they go out, people do not recognize them.
Their skin hangs on their bones.
Their skin is as dry as a stick.
9It is better for people who died in a battle
than for people who have nothing to eat.
The fields provided no crops
so people died slowly without food.
10Women who had been kind mothers
have now cooked their own children.
Their children became their food,
when enemies were attacking the city.
11The Lord showed that he was very angry.
He started a fire in Zion.
The fire destroyed the whole city,
even its foundations.
12None of the kings of the earth,
or the people of any nation could believe it.
They never thought that an enemy
could march through Jerusalem's gates.
13But it happened because of the sins
of Jerusalem's prophets and her priests.
The city became an unclean place
because its leaders caused good people to die there.
14They walked around in the city's streets
like people who are blind.
There was blood on their clothes
and people were afraid to touch them.
15People shouted at them, ‘Go away! You are unclean!
Go away! Do not touch us!’
So they went away to look for homes in other places.
But foreign nations said, ‘They cannot stay here with us!’
16The Lord himself has sent them away.
He does not take care of them any longer.
People do not respect the priests.
Nobody is kind to the leaders.
17Our eyes became weak
as we watched to see if help would come.
We continued to hope for help from another nation.
But no nation was able to rescue us.
18Our enemies watched us wherever we went.
We could not walk in our own streets.
We knew that our end would soon come.
Only a few days remained. The time had finally come!
19Our enemies could chase us
more quickly than eagles that fly high in the sky.
They chased us across the mountains.
They hid to attack us in the desert.
20The king that the Lord had chosen to rule over us
was the one who gave us life.
We had thought, ‘He will keep us safe from the armies of other nations.’
But now our enemies have caught him in their traps. #4:20 The king was Zedekiah. He was the last king of Judah. See Jeremiah 39:1-8.
21Edom's people who live in the land of Uz,
You may be happy now.#4:21 Edom was a country near Israel. It was also called Seir.
But the Lord will punish you too.
You will become drunk and be ashamed with no clothes to wear.
22People of Zion, your punishment for your sin will soon finish.
God will not leave you to live in foreign countries any longer.
But you, Edom's people, God will punish you for your sin. #4:22 Edom's people did not help the people of Jerusalem when the Babylonian army attacked the city. They were happy to see the enemy take Jerusalem for themselves. God will punish Edom's people because they were cruel to God's people. Edom is a country that is near Israel. It was also called Seir.
He will show everyone the wicked things that you have done.
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