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Lamentations 4 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

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CHAPTER 4
The Degradation of Zion
Zion Degraded
1 How the gold has become dim!
​​How changed the fine gold!
​​The stones of the sanctuary are scattered
​​At the head of every street.
​
2 ​​The precious sons of Zion,
​​Valuable as fine gold,
​​How they are regarded as clay pots,
​​The work of the hands of the potter!
​
3 ​​Even the jackals present their breasts
​​To nurse their young;
​​But the daughter of my people is cruel,
​​Like ostriches in the wilderness.
​
4 ​​The tongue of the infant clings
​​To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
​​The young children ask for bread,
​​But no one breaks it for them.
​
5 ​​Those who ate delicacies
​​Are desolate in the streets;
​​Those who were brought up in scarlet
​​Embrace ash heaps.
​
6 ​​The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
​​Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom,
​​Which was overthrown in a moment,
​​With no hand to help her!
​
7 ​​Her Nazirites[fn] were brighter than snow
​​And whiter than milk;
​​They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
​​Like sapphire in their appearance.
​
8 ​​Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
​​They go unrecognized in the streets;
​​Their skin clings to their bones,
​​It has become as dry as wood.
​
9 ​​Those slain by the sword are better off
​​Than those who die of hunger;
​​For these pine away,
​​Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.
​
10 ​​The hands of the compassionate women
​​Have cooked their own children;
​​They became food for them
​​In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
​
11 ​​The LORD has fulfilled His fury,
​​He has poured out His fierce anger.
​​He kindled a fire in Zion,
​​And it has devoured its foundations.
​
12 ​​The kings of the earth,
​​And all inhabitants of the world,
​​Would not have believed
​​That the adversary and the enemy
​​Could enter the gates of Jerusalem—
​
13 ​​Because of the sins of her prophets
​​And the iniquities of her priests,
​​Who shed in her midst
​​The blood of the just.
​
14 ​​They wandered blind in the streets;
​​They have defiled themselves with blood,
​​So that no one would touch their garments.
​
15 ​​They cried out to them,
​​“Go away, unclean!
​​Go away, go away,
​​Do not touch us!”
​​When they fled and wandered,
​​Those among the nations said,
​​“They shall no longer dwell here.”
​
16 ​​The face[fn] of the LORD scattered them;
​​He no longer regards them.
​​The people do not respect the priests
​​Nor show favor to the elders.
​
17 ​​Still our eyes failed us,
​​Watching vainly for our help;
​​In our watching we watched
​​For a nation that could not save us.
​
18 ​​They tracked our steps
​​So that we could not walk in our streets.
​​Our end was near;
​​Our days were over,
​​For our end had come.
​
19 ​​Our pursuers were swifter
​​Than the eagles of the heavens.
​​They pursued us on the mountains
​​And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
​
20 ​​The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD,
​​Was caught in their pits,
​​Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
​​We shall live among the nations.”
​
21 ​​Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
​​You who dwell in the land of Uz!
​​The cup shall also pass over to you
​​And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
​
22 ​​The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished,
​​O daughter of Zion;
​​He will no longer send you into captivity.
​​He will punish your iniquity,
​​O daughter of Edom;
​​He will uncover your sins!
See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NKJV Footnotes
Or nobles
Targum reads anger.
NKJV

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

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