The Fall of Jerusalem and Widespread Famine
Lamentations 4:1-22
Lam.4.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- איכה: INTJ
- יועם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זהב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישנא: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
- הכתם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הטוב: ADJ,m,sg,def
- תשתפכנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- אבני: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- קדש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- כל: DET
- חוצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 7:19 (verbal): Uses the same image of precious metals/jewelry being cast into the streets as a sign of societal collapse — mirrors Lamentations' 'gold become dim' and 'stones of the sanctuary...poured out' imagery.
- Isaiah 3:18-23 (thematic): Describes the removal and loss of finery and ornaments (gold, necklaces, bracelets), thematically paralleling the motif of precious things losing value and being stripped away.
- 2 Kings 25:13-17 (structural): Narrates the removal of the temple's vessels and treasures by Babylonian officers after Jerusalem's fall — a historical counterpart to Lamentations' lament over sanctified objects and stones being scattered.
- Jeremiah 52:17-23 (structural): Jeremiah's catalogue of the Nebuchadnezzar seizure of temple gold and items parallels Lamentations' complaint about holy objects and treasures being cast out into the streets; same historical context and concern.
Alternative generated candidates
- How the gold has grown dim! The pure gold is changed! The precious stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street.
- How the gold has grown dim, the finest gold tarnished! The sacred stones are poured out at the head of every street.
Lam.4.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- היקרים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- המסלאים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- בפז: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- איכה: INTJ
- נחשבו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- לנבלי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חרש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- יוצר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 64:8 (verbal): Both verses use potter/clay imagery ('we are the clay, and thou our potter') echoing Lamentations' 'work of the hands of a potter.'
- Jeremiah 18:6 (allusion): Jeremiah's explicit image of the clay in the potter's hand parallels Lamentations' depiction of Zion's children as earthenware made by the potter.
- Isaiah 45:9 (thematic): Rhetorical complaint about clay and potter ('Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it…') aligns with the lament over the changed status of Zion's precious ones.
- Romans 9:21 (verbal): Paul's use of the potter-and-clay motif ('Hath not the potter power over the clay?') echoes the biblical tradition behind Lamentations' image of humans as the potter's work.
- 2 Corinthians 4:7 (verbal): 'Treasure in earthen vessels' parallels Lamentations' description of people as fragile pottery ('earthen vessels' / 'נבלי־חרש'), highlighting human frailty and divine workmanship.
Alternative generated candidates
- The precious children of Zion, once valued more than fine gold—how are they counted as earthenware, the work of a potter's hand!
- The precious sons of Zion, worth more than fine gold—how are they regarded as earthenware, the work of a potter!
Lam.4.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- תנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חלצו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היניקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- גוריהן: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- לאכזר: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- כיענים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 39:13-18 (verbal): Job's portrait of the ostrich—leaving eggs, treating its young harshly—echoes the simile “like ostriches in the wilderness,” underscoring maternal neglect and hardheartedness.
- Isaiah 34:13-15 (thematic): A prophetic catalogue of desolation populated by wild animals (jackals, ostriches, etc.) parallels Lamentations' use of animal imagery to depict ruined cities and the inversion of natural care.
- Deuteronomy 32:11-12 (thematic): The eagle’s protective care of its young (stirring the nest, hovering) furnishes a contrasting image of animal parental devotion, highlighting Lamentations’ ironic comparison where animals show care but ‘the daughter of my people’ is cruel.
- Ezekiel 16:4-6 (allusion): Ezekiel’s depiction of Jerusalem as an exposed infant who is found and nurtured uses nursing/child imagery that resonates with Lamentations’ maternal language and the theme of failed human care.
Alternative generated candidates
- Even jackals have torn open their breasts and suckled their young; the daughter of my people has become cruel—like ostriches in the wilderness.
- Even jackals have torn open their lairs and suckled their young; the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich of the wilderness.
Lam.4.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דבק: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לשון: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- יונק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- חכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בצמא: PREP+ADJ,m,sg
- עוללים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שאלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פרש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אין: PART,neg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 22:15 (verbal): Uses the same bodily image—“my tongue cleaves to my jaws” (or palate)—to express extreme thirst and physical collapse; Lament. 4:4 echoes this language of desperate thirst.
- 2 Kings 25:3-4 (structural): Describes the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem and the ensuing famine when food failed in the city—provides the historical/situational background to Lamentations' depiction of children starving.
- 2 Kings 6:25-29 (thematic): Reports a siege-caused famine in Samaria with horrifying consequences (extreme scarcity, references to children)—parallels Lamentations’ theme of communal desperation and children denied bread.
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (allusion): Part of the covenant curses depicting siege conditions (women eating their own children, intense craving and lack of food); Lamentations reflects these covenantal warnings realized in Jerusalem’s famine and children’s suffering.
Alternative generated candidates
- The tongues of infants cleave to the roof of their mouths with thirst; the infants ask for bread, and no one gives it to them.
- The tongues of nursing infants cling to their jaws for thirst; the children ask for bread, but there is none.
Lam.4.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- האכלים: PART,qal,ptcp,act,m,pl,def
- למעדנים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נשמו: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בחוצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- האמנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- תולע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חבקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אשפתות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (verbal): Curse- imagery of siege famine and social breakdown: the tender/ delicate refusing to give bread, eating the fruit of one’s body. Echoes Lamentations’ reversal from luxury to public destitution and children/infants suffering thirst and lack of bread.
- 2 Kings 25:3-4 (see Jeremiah 52:6-7) (structural): Historical/descriptive parallel—accounts of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem: extreme famine, people driven into streets, desperate children and widespread collapse, the concrete backdrop for Lamentations’ images.
- Isaiah 3:16-17 (thematic): Theme of reversal of the proud: those once adorned and privileged are humiliated and stripped. Connects to the motif in Lam.4:5 of former consumers of delicacies becoming desolate in the streets.
- Ezekiel 7:26-27 (allusion): Prophetic depiction of imminent disaster bringing public panic and collapse. Shares the tone of sudden, inescapable calamity and visible suffering in the streets found in Lamentations.
Alternative generated candidates
- Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets; those reared in luxury embrace refuse.
- Those who ate delicacies breathe their last in the streets; those brought up on choice foods embrace refuse and filth.
Lam.4.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויגדל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- מחטאת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- סדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ההפוכה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- כמו: PREP
- רגע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- חלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,mp
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ידים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 19:24-25 (quotation): Narrates the sudden overthrow of Sodom by fire and brimstone—direct background for Lamentations’ contrast of Jerusalem’s punishment with Sodom’s swift destruction.
- Amos 4:11 (allusion): God compares his judgment on Israel to the overturning of Sodom and Gomorrah, implying catastrophic and decisive punishment similar to the image in Lamentations.
- Ezekiel 16:48-50 (thematic): Explicitly contrasts Jerusalem with Sodom, arguing Jerusalem’s sins and deserved judgment exceed those of Sodom—parallels Lamentations’ claim that Jerusalem’s punishment is greater than Sodom’s.
- 2 Peter 2:6 (allusion): New Testament reference to God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of swift, decisive judgment—echoes the Lamentations motif of Sodom’s instantaneous overthrow.
Alternative generated candidates
- The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom; she was overthrown suddenly, and no hand was found to help her.
- The punishment of my people is greater than Sodom's punishment; she was overthrown in a moment and no hand was stayed to help her.
Lam.4.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- נזיריה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3fs
- משלג: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צחו: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מחלב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדמו: ADJ,m,sg,abs+3ms
- עצם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מפנינים: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ספיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גזרתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Song of Solomon 5:10-11 (verbal): Both passages use the palette of whiteness and ruddy coloration and jewel-like imagery to describe idealized beauty ("white and ruddy," coral-like redness, etc.).
- Isaiah 1:18 (verbal): Isaiah's phrase about sins being made "white as snow" echoes the use of snow/whiteness in Lamentations to signify purity/consecration.
- Ezekiel 28:13 (thematic): Ezekiel lists every precious stone as part of a figure's adornment; parallels Lamentations' use of pearls, sapphire and coral as markers of splendor and prestige.
- Exodus 28:17-20 (thematic): The priestly breastplate set with precious stones links gemstones with consecration and status, resonating with Lamentations' combining of purity language and gem imagery.
- Revelation 21:19-21 (thematic): The New Jerusalem's foundations of precious stones and radiant appearance parallel Lamentations' use of gem imagery to portray exalted, luminous beauty.
Alternative generated candidates
- Her Nazirite youth were whiter than snow, whiter than milk; their skin was ruddy, their bones like pearls, their appearance like sapphire.
- Her nobles were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their flesh was ruddy, more than coral; their appearance was like sapphire.
Lam.4.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חשך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- משחור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תארם: NOUN,m,sg,3,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- נכרו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,pl
- בחוצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- צפד: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- עורם: NOUN,m,sg,3,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- עצמם: PRON,3,pl,reflexive
- יבש: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כעץ: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 30:30 (verbal): Job speaks of his skin darkening and bones suffering under affliction (“My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat”), echoing Lamentations’ image of blackened appearance and emaciation.
- Ezekiel 37:1-3 (thematic): The vision of the valley of dry bones emphasizes extreme desiccation and the image of bones as dry sticks, paralleling Lamentations’ simile that the people were dried up like a stick.
- 2 Kings 6:25-30 (thematic): The siege and famine in Samaria produce horrific physical decline and social breakdown (people unrecognizable, extreme emaciation), paralleling Lamentations’ depiction of starving, unrecognizable citizens in the streets.
- Psalm 102:4-5 (thematic): The psalmist describes withering and bodily suffering under distress (“My heart is smitten, and withered like grass… I am like a pelican of the wilderness”), resonating with Lamentations’ motifs of wasting, desiccation, and ruin.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their splendor was blacker than soot; men could not recognize them in the streets; their skin clung to their bones—it was dry as wood.
- Their visage is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones; it is dried up like wood.
Lam.4.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- טובים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- חללי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מחללי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- רעב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שהם: CONJ+PRON,3,pl
- יזובו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מדקרים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- מתנובת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- שדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 5:12 (verbal): Lists death by sword and by famine/pestilence as distinct modes of divine judgment, paralleling Lamentations’ contrast between those slain quickly by the sword and those who waste away from famine.
- 2 Kings 6:25-29 (thematic): Graphic depiction of siege famine (including parents resorting to cannibalism) echoes Lamentations’ horror at people wasting away from lack of the field’s produce.
- 2 Kings 25:3-4 (structural): Description of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem and the desperate starvation within the city provides historical context for Lamentations’ lament over deaths from famine versus the sword.
- Amos 4:6-9 (thematic): God’s use of famine (alongside other calamities) as punitive judgment on the people parallels Lamentations’ presentation of famine as part of the nation’s divinely‑wrought suffering.
- Jeremiah 14:18 (thematic): A prophetic lament over failed harvests and unmet expectations—'the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved'—resonates with Lamentations’ emphasis on the loss of the field’s produce and slow dying by hunger.
Alternative generated candidates
- Better were those slain by the sword than those who died of hunger; for they waste away, stricken for lack of the produce of the field.
- Better are those slain by the sword than those who die of hunger; for they languish, wasting away for lack of the field's produce.
Lam.4.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- נשים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- רחמניות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- בשלו: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ילדיהן: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss+3,fp
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לברות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- בשבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (verbal): Deuteronomy's curse in siege language explicitly predicts parents eating their own children ('eat the fruit of your womb'), a close verbal and situational parallel to Lamentations' image of women boiling their children.
- Jeremiah 19:9 (allusion): Jeremiah proclaims that God will make people 'eat the flesh of their sons and daughters' as part of judgment; Lamentations (traditionally linked to Jeremiah) repeats this horrific motif as the realized calamity.
- 2 Kings 6:28-29 (thematic): Narrative account from the siege of Samaria where two women agree that one should eat her son—an explicit historical instance of the same wartime atrocity Lamentations describes.
- Ezekiel 5:10 (verbal): Ezekiel foretells that survivors will 'eat the flesh of your sons and your daughters' as part of divine punishment; the strikingly similar wording and theme echo Lamentations' depiction of cannibalism during siege.
Alternative generated candidates
- Merciful women have boiled their own children; they became their food within the breach of the daughter of my people.
- The hands of compassionate women boiled their own children; they were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Lam.4.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כלה: ADV
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- חמתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+pr,3,m
- שפך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חרון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אפו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff3ms
- ויצת: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בציון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- יסודתיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3fs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 4:11-12 (verbal): God declares he will kindle a fire that devours ("I will kindle a fire in his forest… it shall devour all things"), language closely paralleling Lamentations' 'kindled a fire in Zion' that consumed its foundations.
- 2 Kings 25:9 (structural): Historical parallel describing the Babylonian destruction when Nebuchadnezzar 'burned the house of the LORD' and the city—corresponds to Lamentations' image of fire consuming Zion and its foundations.
- Psalm 74:3-4,7 (thematic): A communal lament about enemies setting the sanctuary on fire and laying Jerusalem waste—echoes Lamentations' theme of God's wrath and the burning/defilement of Zion.
- Nahum 1:6 (verbal): Speaks of God's irresistible indignation and fierce anger ('Who can stand before his indignation?… who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?'), reflecting the same motif of poured-out divine fury in Lamentations 4:11.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD has completed His burning; He has poured out His fierce anger and kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations.
- The LORD has completed his anger; he has poured out his blazing wrath and kindled a fire in Zion—it consumed her foundations.
Lam.4.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- האמינו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מלכי: NOUN,pl,m,cons
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- תבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- יבא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- צר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואויב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בשערי: PREP
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 48:2-3 (thematic): Portrays Zion as 'the joy of the whole earth' and a secure refuge—background expectation of Jerusalem's invulnerability that makes the city's fall (Lamentations) especially shocking.
- Zechariah 12:2-3 (thematic): Speaks of the nations and surrounding peoples turning toward Jerusalem and the reactions of kings and peoples; echoes the theme of how nations and rulers regard the city and its fate.
- 2 Kings 25:9-10 (structural): Narrates the siege and capture of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple—direct historical parallel to Lamentations' report that enemies entered the city gates.
- Jeremiah 52:12-13 (structural): Parallel account of Jerusalem's capture and destruction in Jeremiah (the prophetic/historical context traditionally linked to Lamentations), corroborating the enemy's entry into the city gates.
- Psalm 79:1 (thematic): Laments that foreign nations have come into God's inheritance and defiled the temple—themewise connection with enemies entering Jerusalem and desecrating the city.
Alternative generated candidates
- The kings of the earth did not believe, all the inhabitants of the world, that an enemy and an adversary would enter the gates of Jerusalem.
- The kings of the earth did not believe, all the inhabitants of the world, that an enemy and an adversary would enter the gates of Jerusalem.
Lam.4.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מחטאת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נביאיה: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- עונות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- כהניה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- השפכים: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- בקרבה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צדיקים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 22:26–27 (verbal): Priests are said to profane the holy things and prophets to be corrupt; the passage explicitly links priestly/prophetic violation of the sanctuary and law with bloodshed, closely echoing Lamentations' language and charge.
- Jeremiah 5:30–31 (thematic): Speaks of false prophets and self‑seeking priests whose leadership brings judgment on the people — a direct thematic parallel to the indictment of Jerusalem's religious leaders in Lam. 4:13.
- Micah 3:9–11 (thematic): Accuses rulers, priests, and prophets of injustice, greed, and leading the nation astray, predicting ruin for Zion; echoes the motif that prophetic and priestly corruption produced violence and destruction.
- Isaiah 1:21–23 (thematic): Portrays Jerusalem as corrupted and its leaders (including priests) as lovers of bribes who pervert justice; resonates with Lamentations' charge that religious leaders' sins precipitated bloodshed and ruin.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, within her they have shed the blood of the righteous.
- Because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, the blood of the righteous was poured out within her.
Lam.4.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עורים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בחוצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נגאלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- בדם: PREP
- בלא: PREP
- יוכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- יגעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בלבשיהם: PREP,NOUN,m,pl,cstr
Parallels
- Lam.4.10 (structural): Immediate intra-chapter parallel: preceding verses depict mothers boiling/eating their children and other bloody horrors, intensifying the same theme of extreme suffering and public humiliation.
- Isa.63:3 (verbal): Similar violent imagery of blood on garments and trampling (winepress metaphor) — parallels the language of being 'poured out in blood' and stained clothing.
- Ezek.16:20-21 (allusion): Condemns Jerusalem for offering/losing children to destruction; echoes the motif of children’s slaughter and societal collapse found in Lamentations.
- Mic.3:12 (thematic): Prophetic pronouncement that Jerusalem will be laid waste (‘plowed like a field’/become heaps), paralleling the city’s desolation, people driven into the streets, and loss of refuge depicted in Lamentations.
Alternative generated candidates
- They stumbled in the streets and were defiled with blood, so that no one could touch their garments.
- They wander blind in the streets; they are polluted with blood, so that none could touch their garments.
Lam.4.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- סורו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- טמא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- קראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- סורו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- סורו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- תגעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- נצו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- גם: ADV
- נעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יוסיפו: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,pl
- לגור: VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Isaiah 52:11 (verbal): Command to ‘depart’ and refrain from touching the unclean (’סורו… אל־תגעו’) closely parallels the wording and ritual/prophetic injunction in Lamentations 4:15.
- Leviticus 13:45–46 (verbal): The law on the leper who must cry ‘Unclean!’ and live outside the camp echoes Lamentations’ language of defilement, ostracism (טמא קראו למו) and exclusion from dwelling among the people.
- Deuteronomy 28:37 (thematic): The curse that Israel will become a byword and an object of reproach among the nations parallels Lamentations’ report that people said among the nations they ‘shall no longer dwell there’ (אמרו בגוים לא יוסיפו לגור).
- Isaiah 64:10 (thematic): Isaiah’s lament that Zion’s holy cities have become a wilderness and that strangers devour her heritage resonates with Lamentations’ picture of exile, abandonment and loss of dwelling-place expressed in 4:15.
Alternative generated candidates
- They cried, "Depart! Unclean!"—"Depart, depart, do not touch!"—for they fled and wandered; and men said among the nations, "They shall no more sojourn there."
- They cried to them, ‘Depart! Unclean!’ ‘Depart! Depart! Touch not!’ So they fled and wandered; and they said among the nations, ‘They shall no more sojourn there.’
Lam.4.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- חלקם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- יוסיף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- להביטם: VERB,qal,inf,3,m,pl
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- כהנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- נשאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- וזקנים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- חננו: VERB,piel,impv,2,ms,OBJ,1,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:2 (verbal): Uses the same theological motif—sin causes a separation from God so that He 'hides his face' (does not look upon or accept the people), directly echoing Lamentations' language of the LORD not regarding them.
- Psalm 104:29 (verbal): Speaks of God 'hiding his face' with the consequence that creation is troubled; parallels the image of the LORD turning away his face in Lamentations.
- Ezekiel 8:18 (thematic): Declares that because of Jerusalem's abominations God will not spare or have pity—an applied judgment in which God refuses mercy to leaders/people, resonating with Lamentations' note that priests and elders receive no favor.
- Exodus 33:20–23 (allusion): God's refusal to allow his face to be seen (he conceals his face) provides a background motif: divine hiddenness/withdrawal as an expression of God's holiness or judgment, paralleling the image of the LORD not looking upon the priests and elders.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD's face has become hostile to them; He will no longer regard them. The priests no longer raised their faces, and the elders showed no favor.
- The LORD's face has turned against his young men; he no longer regards the priests, and the elders find no favor.
Lam.4.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עודינו: ADV
- תכלינה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,pl
- עינינו: NOUN,f,pl,poss_1pl
- אל: NEG
- עזרתנו: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הבל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בצפיתנו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- צפינו: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,pl
- אל: NEG
- גוי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יושע: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 30:7 (verbal): “The Egyptians will help in vain” closely echoes Lamentations' claim that they looked to a nation that could not save—both stress the futility of foreign aid.
- Isaiah 31:1 (thematic): A warning against seeking help from Egypt/chariots rather than God—same theme of misplaced trust in human/military powers.
- Psalm 20:7 (verbal): “Some trust in chariots and some in horses…” contrasts reliance on military/national strength with trust in God, paralleling the lament over expecting salvation from a nation.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (thematic): “Cursed is the man who trusts in man…”—this prophetic critique of trusting human help parallels the lament over looking to a nation that cannot save.
- Psalm 146:3 (thematic): “Put not your trust in princes…in whom there is no help” echoes the futile expectation of help from human rulers/nations expressed in Lamentations 4:17.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our eyes failed when we longed for help; we looked for a nation to save us, but there was none.
- Our eyes failed awaiting help; for consolation we looked to a nation that could not save.
Lam.4.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- צדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- צעדינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מלכת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ברחבתינו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff
- קרב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- קצינו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ימינו: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3ms
- כי: CONJ
- בא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- קצינו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 14:5 (verbal): Speaks of the fixed number and limits of a man's days—parallels Lamentations' motif that the people's days are fulfilled and their end is near.
- Psalm 39:4-5 (verbal): Prayer asking God to make the psalmist aware of his end because his days are brief—echoes Lamentations' emphasis on the nearness and brevity of life/days.
- Psalm 102:11-12 (thematic): Describes days passing like a shadow and life wasting away in distress—thematically parallels Lamentations' sense that the people's days are completed and their strength failing.
- Jeremiah 8:20 (structural): ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved’ — within the Jeremiah/Lamentations corpus this language similarly signals that the time has run out and deliverance has not come.
- Amos 8:2 (allusion): God's oracle that 'the end has come' for Israel—resonates with Lamentations' declaration that the people's end (kitzayon) is at hand.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our steps retraced in the streets; our end drew near—our days were fulfilled, for our end had come.
- Our steps turned back; our pursuers overtook us in the squares of our city. Our end drew near; our days were fulfilled, for our end had come.
Lam.4.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קלים: ADJ,m,pl
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- רדפינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,pl
- מנשרי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,const
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- ההרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- דלקנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,pl
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ארבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:49 (verbal): A promised invading nation is described 'as swift as the eagle that flies'—verbal and thematic parallel to persecutors likened to eagles pursuing Israel.
- Jeremiah 4:13 (verbal): Jeremiah pictures approaching destruction with images of swift chariots and horses 'swifter than eagles'—close verbal and thematic affinity (Lamentations is traditionally linked to Jeremiah).
- Habakkuk 1:8 (thematic): An invading force is compared to birds of prey—'they fly like an eagle that hastens to eat'—parallels the depiction of enemies as swift, predatory, and pursuing in wilderness and mountains.
- Deuteronomy 32:11 (allusion): Uses the eagle-wings motif to describe God bearing Israel ('as an eagle that stirs up its nest'); provides a contrastive allusion—eagle imagery here is protective, whereas in Lamentations it denotes hostile pursuers.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of heaven; over the mountains they pursued us, they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
- Our pursuers were swifter than eagles of the heavens; over the mountains they pursued us, they lay in wait in the wilderness.
Lam.4.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אפינו: NOUN,m,sg,poss1p
- משיח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- נלכד: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- בשחיתותם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,poss3p
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אמרנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,pl
- בצלו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss3s
- נחיה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,pl
- בגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 24:6 (verbal): Uses the designation “the LORD’s anointed” (מְשִׁיחַ יְהוָה); both passages refer to an anointed figure whose fate is tied up with violence and lament.
- Psalm 89:38-39 (thematic): A royal lament over God’s apparent rejection of his anointed king—parallels Lamentations’ mourning that the LORD’s anointed has been taken and the loss of protection.
- Isaiah 53:8 (allusion): The servant/anointed figure is ‘cut off’ or taken in suffering; echoes Lamentations’ image of the anointed being seized and destroyed.
- Song of Solomon 2:3 (verbal): Employs the motif of living ‘under his shadow’ as protection by a beloved; parallels Lamentations’ phrase about dwelling in the anointed’s shadow among the nations.
Alternative generated candidates
- The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken captive in their pits; we had said, "Under his shadow we will live among the nations."
- The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was captured in their pits—of whom we said, ‘In his shadow we will live among the nations.’
Lam.4.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שישי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- ושמחי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- אדום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יושבת: VERB,qal,ptc,.,f,sg
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- עוץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גם: ADV
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- תעבר: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- כוס: NOUN,f,sg,cstr
- תשכרי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- ותתערי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
Parallels
- Obadiah 1:10-15 (thematic): Condemns Edom for gloating over Jerusalem's fall and declares reciprocal judgment—'as you have done it will be done to you'—parallel to Lamentations' rebuke and coming cup of wrath for Edom.
- Ezekiel 35:11-15 (thematic): Accuses Edom of rejoicing in Israel's calamity and promises punishment; closely parallels Lamentations' denunciation of Edom's rejoicing and promise that wrath will pass to them.
- Jeremiah 25:15-16 (verbal): Uses the image of God giving a 'cup' of wine/wrath for the prophet to make nations drink; Lamentations 4:21 likewise speaks of a cup being passed to Edom (symbol of divine judgment).
- Psalm 137:7 (thematic): Calls for remembrance against the Edomites for urging Jerusalem's destruction ('tear it down'), reflecting the same theme of Edom's gloating over Judah's ruin criticized in Lamentations.
Alternative generated candidates
- Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, who dwell in the land of Uz; yet also to you shall the cup come—you shall drink and be drunken, and you shall make yourself naked.
- Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, who dwell in the land of Uz; yet to you also will it come—the cup; you will be intoxicated and be exposed.
Lam.4.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תם: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- עונך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יוסיף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- להגלותך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+2fs
- פקד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עונך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- אדום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- חטאתיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss=2ms
Parallels
- Obadiah 1:1-21 (thematic): A prophetic oracle against Edom that announces punishment for its violence toward Israel—echoes Lamentations’ declaration that Edom (daughter of Edom) will be visited for her sins.
- Isaiah 34:5-6 (thematic): Isaiah announces the Lord’s sword coming down on Idumea/Edom and judgment being executed—parallels the theme of divine retribution on Edom in Lamentations 4:22.
- Ezekiel 35:1-15 (thematic): Ezekiel’s denunciation of Mount Seir/Edom for its enmity toward Israel and the pronouncement of God’s vengeance corresponds to Lamentations’ promise to punish and expose Edom’s sins.
- Amos 1:11-12 (thematic): Amos pronounces exile and destruction on Edom for violence against the house of Jacob—similar motive (retribution for wrongdoing against Israel) and outcome (punishment) as in Lamentations 4:22.
- Lamentations 4:21 (verbal): Immediate literary parallel within the same poem: both verses address 'daughter of Edom' and announce her coming punishment—sharing vocabulary and structural placement in the lament.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your punishment, O daughter of Zion, is finished; He will no more send you into exile. But He will visit your punishment, O daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins.
- Behold, your punishment is completed, O daughter of Zion; he will no more add to your exile. But the visitation of your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will bring to light because of your sins.
How has the gold grown dim, the pure gold changed! The sacred stones are poured out at the head of every street.
The precious children of Zion, once more costly than refined gold—how are they reckoned as earthenware, the work of a potter’s hand!
Even jackals draw out the breast and nurse their young; but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches of the wilderness.
The mouths of nursing infants cling to their throats for thirst; the little ones ask for bread, but there is none.
Those who were fed on delicacies gasp in the streets; the privileged embrace ashes.
The guilt of the daughter of my people is heavier than the guilt of Sodom; she was overthrown in an instant, and there was no one to help her.
Her nobles were whiter than snow, whiter than milk; their bones were more ruddy than coral, their appearance like polished sapphire.
Their faces grew darker than soot; they were not recognized in the streets. Their skin clung to their bones; it was dried like wood.
Better those slain by the sword than those wasted by famine; for they die a full death, cutting off the increase of the womb.
The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children; they became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
The LORD has accomplished his fierce anger; he has poured out his burning wrath. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.
The kings of the earth did not believe, all who inhabit the world, that an adversary and an enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem.
By the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, the blood of the righteous was poured out within her.
They wander blind in the streets; they stagger and are slain in the squares. Their blood is upon their garments, and there is no one to wash them.
They cry to them, “Depart! Unclean!”—and they depart; they flee, saying among the nations, “They shall no longer dwell there.”
The LORD has turned his face away from the priests; he will have no regard for them. He has refused to show favor to the elders.
Our eyes fail looking for our help; we hoped for relief, we looked to a nation, but there was no salvation.
Our footsteps faltered in the streets; our pursuers overtook us in the squares. Our end is near; our days are fulfilled, for our end has come.
Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens; they chased us over the mountains; in the wilderness they lay in ambush for us.
The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was trapped in their pits. Of whom we said, “Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.”
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, inhabitant of the land of Uz; yet also on you shall come the cup; you shall be drunk and be ashamed.
Your punishment is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry you away. He will punish the iniquity of the daughter of Edom and uncover her sins.