Lamentations 4 — Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh’s Wrath Spent

א Aleph

How ^adark the gold has become,How the pure gold has changed!The sacred stones are poured outAt the head of every street.

ב Beth

²The precious sons of Zion,Weighed against fine gold,How they are regarded as ^aearthen jars,The work of a potter’s hands!

ג Gimel

³Even ^ajackals offer the breast;They nurse their young;But the daughter of my people has become ^bcruelLike ^costriches in the wilderness.

ד Daleth

⁴The ^atongue of the nursing baby cleavesTo the roof of its mouth because of ^bthirst;The infants ^cask for bread,But no one breaks it for them.

ה He

⁵Those who ate ^adelicaciesAre desolate in the streets;Those ¹reared in crimsonEmbrace ash pits.

ו Vav

⁶So the ¹iniquity of the daughter of my peopleIs greater than the ²^,^asin of Sodom,Which was ^boverthrown as in a moment,And no hands ³whirled toward her.

ז Zayin

⁷Her ¹Nazirites were ^apurer than snow;They were whiter than milk;They were more ruddy in ²body than corals,Their polishing was like ³^,^blapis lazuli.

ח Heth

⁸Their form is ^ablacker than soot;They are not recognized in the streets;Their ^bskin is shriveled on their bones;It is withered, it has become like wood.

ט Teth

⁹Better are those ^apierced through with the swordThan those pierced through with hunger;For their life ^bflows away, being strickenFor lack of the produce of ¹the field.

י Yodh

¹⁰The hands of compassionate women^aBoiled their own children;They became ^bfood for themBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

כ Kaph

¹¹Yahweh has ^aspent His wrath;He has poured out His burning anger;And He has ^bkindled a fire in ZionWhich has devoured its foundations.

ל Lamedh

¹²The kings of the earth did not believe,Nor did any of ^athe inhabitants of the world,That the adversary and the enemyCould ^benter the gates of Jerusalem.

מ Mem

¹³Because of the sins of her ^aprophetsAnd the iniquities of her priests,Who have shed in her midstThe ^bblood of the righteous;

נ Nun

¹⁴They wandered, ^ablind, in the streets;They were defiled with ^bbloodSo that no one could touch their ^cgarments.

ס Samekh

¹⁵“Depart! ^aUnclean!” ¹they cried of themselves.“Depart, depart, do not touch!”So they ^bfled and wandered;Men among the nations said,“They shall not continue to sojourn with us.”

פ Pe

¹⁶The presence of Yahweh has eradicated them;He will not continue to look at them;They did not ¹^,^ahonor the priests;They did not favor the elders.

ע Ayin

¹⁷Yet our eyes were spent,Looking for ¹help was ^avanity;In our watching we have watchedFor a ^bnation that could not save.

צ Tsadhe

¹⁸They ^ahunted our stepsSo that we could not walk in our open squares;Our ^bend drew near,Our days were ¹finished,For our end had come.

ק Qoph

¹⁹Our pursuers were ^aswifterThan the eagles of the sky;They hotly pursued us on the mountains;They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.

ר Resh

²⁰The ^abreath of our nostrils, the ^banointed of Yahweh,Was ^ccaptured in their pits,Of whom we had said, “Under his ^dshadowWe shall live among the nations.”

שׂ Sin

²¹Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of ^aEdom,Who inhabits the land of Uz;But the ^bcup will pass on to you as well;You will become drunk and make yourself naked.

ת Tav

²²The punishment of your iniquity has come ^ato an end, O daughter of Zion;He will exile you no longer.But He ^bwill punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;He will expose your sins!