1 How tarnished is the gold, how changed the noble metal; How the sacred stones lie strewn at every street corner!
2 Zion's precious sons, fine gold their counterpart, Now worth no more than earthen jars made by the hands of a potter!
3 Even the jackals bare their breasts and suckle their young; The daughter of my people has become as cruel as the ostrich in the desert.
4 The tongue of the suckling cleaves to the roof of its mouth in thirst; The babes cry for food, but there is no one to give it to them.
5 Those accustomed to dainty food perish in the streets; Those brought up in purple now cling to the ash heaps.
6 The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than the penalty of Sodom, Which was overthrown in an instant without the turning of a hand.
7 Brighter than snow were her princes, whiter than milk, More ruddy than coral, more precious than sapphire.
8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot, they are unrecognized on the streets; Their skin shrinks on their bones, as dry as wood.
9 Better for those who perish by the sword than for those who die of hunger, Who waste away, as though pierced through, lacking the fruits of the field!
10 The hands of compassionate women boiled their own children, To serve them as mourners' food in the downfall of the daughter of my people.
11 The LORD has spent his anger, 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, nor any of the world's inhabitants, That enemy or foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Because of the sins of her prophets and the crimes of her priests, Who shed in her midst the blood of the just!--
14 They staggered blindly in the streets, soiled with blood, So that people could not touch even their garments:
15 "Away you unclean!" they cried to them, "Away, away, do not draw near!" If they left and wandered among the nations, nowhere could they remain.
16 The LORD himself has dispersed them, he regards them no more; He does not receive the priests with favor, nor show kindness to the elders.
17 Our eyes ever wasted away, looking in vain for aid; From our watchtower we watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 Men dogged our steps so that we could not walk in our streets; Our end drew near, and came; our time had expired.
19 Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the air, They harassed us on the mountains and waylaid us in the desert.
20 The anointed one of the LORD, our breath of life, was caught in their snares, He in whose shadow we thought we could live on among the nations.
21 Though you rejoice and are glad, O daughter Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz, To you also shall the cup be passed; you shall become drunk and naked.
22 Your chastisement is completed, O daughter Zion, he will not prolong your exile; But your wickedness, O daughter Edom, he will punish, he will lay bare your sins.
Versículos relacionados com Lamentations, 4:
Lamentations 4 talks about the destruction of Jerusalem and the punishment that the people suffered because of their sins. The chapter also describes the desperate situation of the city's inhabitants, who have gone hungry and suffered other forms of violence. Here are five verses related to the topics covered in lamentations 4:
Psalm 137:7: "Remember, Lord, of the children of Edom, on the day of Jerusalem, who said, I discovered it, I discovered it to its foundations." This psalm is a lamentation of the Jews who were taken captive to Babylon, and he remembers the suffering of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The cited verse asks God to remember those who contributed to the destruction of the city.
Isaiah 3:8: "Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah has fallen; for his tongue and works are against the Lord to tease the eyes of His glory." This verse describes the fall of Jerusalem and Judah, and attributes the blame to its inhabitants because of their sinful actions.
Ezekiel 5:10: "Therefore, parents will eat their children in the midst of you, and their children will eat their parents; and I will perform in you judgments, and all that remains of you will spread to all the winds." This verse describes the extreme hunger that occurred during the siege of Jerusalem, which led people to resort to cannibalism.
Lamentations 4:9: "Those who were killed to the sword were happier than those who starved to death; because these, exhausted by the effects of hunger, were slowly firing, until they expired, while those, crossed by the sword, died, suddenly." This verse describes the difference between the deaths that occurred during the siege, and states that dying through the sword was preferable to slow and agonizing death because of hunger.
Jeremiah 19:9: "I will make them eat the flesh of their children and the flesh of their daughters, and each will eat the flesh of their neighbor, during the siege and the tightening with which they shall squeeze their enemies, and those who seek them take their lives out. " This verse is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and states that the people will suffer so much during the siege that will resort to cannibalism to survive.
Fejezetek: