Lamentations 4

A RUINED KINGDOMLam_4:1-22 The fourth poem is an alphabetic acrostic like that found in chapters 1 and 2 with the exception that the stanzas here have two lines instead of three. Here also the sixteenth and seventeenth letters of the Hebrew alphabet are reversed, but without any interruption in the thought sequence. No satisfactory explanation of this reversal of letters has yet been suggested. The chapter emphasizes the suffering of the people of Jerusalem during and following the Chaldean siege. The poet uses the technique of contrast as he compares the former glory of the kingdom of Judah to the present wretched condition of the land. The poem falls into three parts. (1) The poet first gives an eyewitness account of the horrors which accompanied and followed the siege of Jerusalem (Lamentations 4:1 -­10). (2) Then the prophet offers an explanation for this overwhelming calamity (Lamentations 4:11-20). (3) Finally, the poet offers a ray of hope for his people, placing in contrast the future of Edom and the future of Israel (Lamentations 4:21-22). A OF THE Lamentations 4:1-10(Lamentations 4:1) How sad that the gold has become dim, the best gold changed! Holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. (Lamentations 4:2) The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how sad that they are re­garded as clay vessels, the work of the potter’s hands. (Lamentations 4:3) Even the jackals draw out the breast to give suck to their young. The daughter of my people has be­come cruel like the ostriches in the wilderness. (Lamentations 4:4)The tongue of the suckling child clings to the roof of his mouth for thirst; young children ask for bread but no man breaks it for them. (Lamentations 4:5) They who were accustomed to eating delicacies perish in the streets; those who were brought up in purple resort to the dunghill. (Lamentations 4:6) For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater than the punishment of Sodom which was overturned suddenly, untouched by any hand. (Lamentations 4:7) Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk; they were more ruddy in body than coral, as sapphire was their form. (Lamentations 4:8) Blacker than soot has their appearance become, they are not rec­ognized on the streets. Their skin hugs their bones having become dry like a stick. (Lamentations 4:9) Those who were slain by the sword were better off than those who were slain by the famine, for these pine away, stricken through for want of the products of the field. (Lamentations 4:10) The hands of tenderhearted women have boiled their own children; they became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.

The poet begins his lament by contrasting the former brightness of Judah with the present dark days. The golden Temple ornamentation which formerly glistened in the sunlight now is blackened and tarnished. The stones of the Temple lie scattered about at the head of every street leading from the Temple area (Lamentations 4:1). The youth of Zion, the most valuable asset of the nation, lie dead and scattered about like broken bits of pottery (Lamentations 4:2). The remaining portion of the poet’s description of the judgment on Jerusalem focuses on the famine which the city experienced while under Babylonian siege. He vividly describes the effects of hunger on four classes of the populace.

(1) The children have suffered above all. The tortured and tormented mothers of Judah treat their babies worse than the Wild animals treat their young. Wild and roving jackals (not sea monsters as in KJV) do not forget their offspring. But the famine has made the mothers of Jerusalem cruel like the ostrich (Lamentations 4:3). The ostrich was regarded by the ancients as the symbol of maternal neglect and cruelty (Job 39:13-17). The babes of Jerusalem have no breasts to suckle and hence die from lack of nourishment. Young children ask for bread but no one takes note of their need (Lamentations 4:4).

(2) The wealthy also suffer in the famine. What a pitiful sight it must have been to see those who were accustomed to the finest foods and garments perishing in the streets with the poor or scavenging in the city garbage dumps (Lamentations 4:5). The linger­ing agony of the starving city causes the poet to make a painful comparison. Jerusalem has experienced a more severe fate than ancient Sodom. Sodom’s fall was sudden but Jerusalem’s agony and suffering was prolonged over a period of several months (Lamentations 4:6).

(3) The nobles of the land (or perhaps the Nazarites) also suffered greatly from the famine. Once they were the picture of health— rosy cheeks, fair complexion, stately appearance (Lamentations 4:7). But as a result of the pangs of hunger these nobles have been reduced to skin and bones. Their fair skin is now black and leathery. No one can even recognize these once famous personages on the streets of the city (Lamentations 4 :d8). How much better off were those Who had died suddenly by the sword in battle than those who wasted away day by day (Lamentations 4:9).

(4) Most pitiful of all are the women of Judah. Once tender-hearted and loving, these women have been so crazed by hunger that they have forgotten their maternal affection. In order to preserve their own lives they were boiling and eating their own children! (Lamentations 4:10).

AN OF THE Lamentations 4:11-20 (Lamentations 4:11) The LORD has given vent to His wrath. He has poured out His fierce anger. He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has consumed her foundations.(Lamentations 4:12) Neither the kings of the earth nor the inhabi tants of the world believed that the adversary and the enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem. (Lamentations 4:13) It was because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests who shed the blood of inno cent persons in the midst of her. (Lamentations 4:14) They stag gered like blind men in the streets. They were polluted with blood so that none could touch their garments. (Lamentations 4:15) Turn back! Unclean! men cried to them; Turn back! Turn back! Do not touch! When they fled away and wandered, men said among the nations, They shall no more sojourn there. (Lamentations 4:16) The face of the LORD has scattered them, He will no more regard them. They do not respect priests nor do they favor elders. (Lamentations 4:17) Our eyes failed continuing to look for our help in vain; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save. (Lamentations 4:18) They hunted our steps preventing us from walking in our streets. Our end drew near, our days were filled up because our end had come. (Lamentations 4:19) More swift were our pursuers than the eagles of the heavens. Upon the hills they chased us, in the wilderness they laid in wait for us. (Lamentations 4:20) The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was captured in their pits, the one of whom we had said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.

In Lamentations 4:11-20 the poet begins to explain the horrendous calamity which has befallen Judah. The ultimate cause of Zion’s downfall was the burning wrath of the Lord (Lamentations 4:11). The leaders of the city, and in fact all the inhabitants of the world, believed that Jerusalem was invulnerable (Lamentations 4:12). The idea that the Lord would not destroy His special abode probably was based upon the miraculous last-minute deliverance of Jerusalem from the armies of the Assyrian Sennacherib in the days of king Hezekiah (Isaiah 37). In Lamentations 4:13-20 the prophet points out two of the reasons God’s anger was stirred up against the inhabitants of Judah. First he mentions the sins of the prophets and priests (Lamentations 4:13-16). Not only were these leaders guilty of perverting the word of the Lord, they were also guilty of murder, perhaps not directly, but indirectly (Lamentations 4:13). Because of their counsel and encouragement many inno­cent people had been executed by the government. When Jerusalem came under the Chaldean siege and the city eventually fell these leaders who had confidently predicted divine deliverance were thrown into confusion. They were so defiled by blood that men could not touch them (Lamentations 4:14).

Their countrymen treated them as though they were unclean lepers. People who met them in the way applied to them the warning cry which lepers were to use if anyone approached them. Shunned by their own countrymen these discredited religious leaders fled to foreign lands. But even there these priests and prophets were not wanted. They were forced to become vagabonds wandering from one land to another (Lamentations 4:15). It is the “face of the Lord” i.e., His anger, which has scattered these worthless leaders.

Because they are not worthy of their office the Lord no longer regards them as prophets, priests, and elders nor do the people show to these leaders the respect and favor which the dignity of their office would normally evoke (Lamentations 4:16).

The poet points to the stubborn and stupid resistance of the inhabitants of Jerusalem as the second explanation of the severity of Jerusalem’s judgment. Having committed the fundamental error of disobedience to the word of God the people of Judah stumbled on through those last years trusting confidently in false theological premises and human ingenuity. The poet points out four specific ways in which the nation had been deluded and deceived.

(1) To the bitter end they had put their trust in foreign allies, particularly Egypt (Lamentations 4:17). On one occasion Pharaoh had made an attempt to come to the aid of Jeru­salem but his forces were driven off by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, Jerusalem’s hope that Pharaoh Hophra could defeat the Babylonians proved vain. The troops of Nebuchadnezzar returned to the siege.

(2) The nation had been led to believe that they could successfully resist the might of Babylon. But with each passing day it became ever more obvious that the end had come. Missiles hurled into the city from Chaldean siege towers made any public assembly within the city hazardous. It was stupid to continue to resist (Lamentations 4:18).

(3) The inhabitants of Jerusalem also mistakenly thought they could flee the falling city. But flight was in vain. The enemy like eagles swooping down upon the prey pounced upon any who tried to escape the siege (Lamentations 4:19).

(4) The in­habitants of Jerusalem were deceived in believing that they could find protection by adhering to Zedekiah the king of Judah. Because the life of a kingdom depends upon having a king, Zedekiah is called by the poet “the breath of our nostrils.” Zedekiah was the anointed of the Lord and the current representative of the house of David. The people were supremely confident that God would never allow the house of David to be completely over­thrown. But Zedekiah was captured by the Chaldeans and deported to Babylon, a blind and broken man (Lamentations 4:20). The people had been misled by their leaders into thinking that Jerusalem was inviolable and the dynasty of David unconquerable. They had placed their trust in man and had persistently refused to heed the word of God. They have no one but themselves to blame for the severity of Jerusalem’s sufferings. AN THE Lam_4:21-22 (Lamentations 4:21) Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, who dwells in the land of Uz! But to You also shall the cup pass. You shall become drunk and make your­self naked. (Lamentations 4:22) The punishment of your iniquity is complete, O daughter of Zion! He will no more cause you to go into captivity! But your iniquity, O daugh­ter of Edom, He will punish, He will uncover your sins.

The nations of Edom and Judah were traditional enemies. During the western rebellion against Nebuchad­nezzar in 589 B.C. Edom had remained loyal to the Chal­dean king. When Jerusalem was going through her death throes Edom had acted in a most hostile and haughty way. Edom’s sin began with indifference. She showed no con­cern over what was befalling her neighbor.

From indif­ference Edom went on to rejoice over the destruction of the people of God. At some point the Edomites actually entered the weakened and helpless city of Jerusalem. They had reveled and caroused in the Temple mount. They had even helped the Chaldeans capture the poor fugitives who tried to escape the calamity of their nation (Obadiah 1:10-16). Ezekiel mentions that Edom tried to annex some of Judah’s territory at this time (Ezekiel 35:10-12). This ancient enemy, Edom, is ironically urged to rejoice and sing i.e., to enjoy their moment of triumph.

But their joy will be short-lived! The cup of divine wrath is about to pass to Edom. Jeremiah had prophesied that Edom along with most of the other nations of Syria-Palestine would have to taste of the cup of God’s wrath through the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:15-28). Edom is reminded that she must drink that dreaded cup till she becomes intoxicated and experiences shame, confusion, sorrow, and destruction. She will be stripped of all her power and glory (Lamentations 4:21). Judah has been severely punished but her punishment is over. A ray of hope illuminates the darkness of Judah’s present situation. For her a better day is dawning. Once she has returned from exile she will never again be carried away captive as a nation. The deliverance here predicted finds it fulfillment in the Messianic age when God granted salvation to His people, the New Israel, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Edom’s future, on the other hand, is not so bright. Her sin is about to be punished (Lamentations 4:22), The last remnant of Edom perished during the revolt against Rome in the early years of the Christian era, A,D. 70-71.Questions For Lamentations Chapter Four1. Judged according to form, to what other chapter in Lamentations does chapter 4 most nearly correspond? 2. Why did Jeremiah compare his people to an ostrich? Lamentations 4:3. 3. In what respect was the punishment of Zion greater than that of Sodom? Lamentations 4:6. 4. What is the evidence of the severity of the famine in Jerusalem?

1. Josephus, Jewish Wars IV. 5; V. 6. 1.
2. What was the attitude of the poet toward priests and prophets? Lamentations 4:13.
3. What was the nation to which Zion looked for help in her desperate hour? Lamentations 4:17.
4. To whom is the poet referring in Lamentations 4:20?
5. Why is Edom told to rejoice over the fate of Zion? Lamentations 4:21.
6. What is the contrast between the future of Zion and the future of Edom? Lamentations 4:22. THE ANGER OF YAHWEH (THE FOURTH LAMENT) Lamentations Chapter 4 The fourth lament is similar to the second one, in that: they both describe God’s judgment of Jerusalem and Judah. The lamentation over the terrible calamity that has befallen Jerusalem is population is contemplated, but chiefly by the circumstances that the calamity is set forth as a well-merited punishment by God for the grievous sins of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This consideration forms the chief feature in the whole poem, from the beginning to the end of which there predominates the hope that Zion will not perish, but that the appointed punishment will terminate, and then fall on their now triumphant enemies. ‘The tone [of Lamentations 4] is more matter-of-fact’ exhibiting ‘a relaxation of the more intense emotion of the earlier poems [with an absence of] the vividness imparted there by the dramatic appearance of various speakers and especially by the personification of Zion.’ Now that the zenith of emotion and theology has been reached in Lamentations 3:22-24, the intensities of the ‘front steps’ to that focal point [i.e., chapters 1 and 2] may now be eased and a time provided for quietly ‘mopping up’ what remains of the grief process. As in the first three poems, two voices are found in chapter 4. The narrator appears in Lamentations 4:1-16; Lamentations 4:21-22; and the people of Zion in Lamentations 4:17-20. In other respects, however, the fourth poem is quite different from these. It is considerably shorter, each stanza being divided into two rather than three lines; there is no prayer to God, who is referred to only in the third person; and it ends on a note of assurance (Lamentations 4:22 a)." DURING THE SIEGELam_4:1-11 This dark section of the poem consists of two parallel parts (Lamentations 4:1-11). The Judahites had become despised (Lamentations 4:1-2; Lamentations 4:7-8), and both children and adults (everyone) suffered (Lamentations 4:3-5; Lamentations 4:9-10). This calamity was the result of Yahweh’s punishment for sin (Lamentations 4:6; Lamentations 4:11). The first description of siege conditions Lamentations 4:1-6 Lamentations 4:1 –This lament resumes the characteristic “How” or “Alas” (Heb. ’eka) introduction (cf. Lamentations 1:1; Lamentations 2:1). The gold and precious stones that had decorated the temple no longer served that function. The gold was now dirty, and the gems had been been torn from their mountings. Lamentations 4:2 –Jeremiah compared the precious inhabitants of Jerusalem (cf. Exodus 19:5-6) to gold and gems. They now lay in the streets of the city defiled and dead. “For those who esteemed themselves as high-quality gold, the kind of experience which reduced them to the level of base metal in the opinion of their enemies was of harrowing psychological and spiritual proportions.“165 The enemy had regarded the citizens of Jerusalem, who were more valuable to it than gold, as worth nothing more than earthenware pots. The Chaldeans had smashed many of them. Earthenware pottery was of such little value in the ancient Near East, that people would not repair it but simply replace it. Lamentations 4:3 –The horrors of the siege of Jerusalem had turned the once-compassionate women of Judah into selfish creatures unwilling to give of themselves for the welfare of their young. Like ostriches that do not care for their offspring (cf. Job 39:14-18), these women had abandoned and even eaten their children. They behaved worse than loathsome jackals, which at least nurse their young. The children were suffering because of the sins of their parents.Lamentations 4:4 Infants in Jerusalem during the siege did not have enough to drink or eat because their parents were looking out for their own needs first (cf. Lamentations 2:11-12; Lamentations 2:19). These “infants are so weak from starvation that they no longer cry when hungry [cf. Job 29:10; Psalms 137:6; Ezekiel 3:26].” Lamentations 4:5 –The rich people who were accustomed to eating delicacies had to try to survive by finding anything at all to eat in the streets. The royal and wealthy among the people resorted to ash heaps for food (cf. Job 2:8). Lamentations 4:6 –Jerusalem’s sin and punishment were both greater than Sodom’s. God overthrew Sodom quickly, whereas the siege of Jerusalem lasted 18 months. Jerusalem was more sinful not because of extreme sexual sin but because of extreme covenant unfaithfulness, though at times the two concepts merge. The last line (“no hands were turned toward [or wrung over] her”) is unclear. It could mean that no one came to Jerusalem’s aid during her siege. Or it could mean that no onlookers mourned over Jerusalem’s siege. But it probably means that no human enemy subjected Sodom to a long siege, but a human army did lay a long siege on Jerusalem— which was worse. The second description of siege conditions Lamentations 4:7-11 Lamentations 4:7-8 –Some of the residents had dedicated themselves to the Lord and were of the highest quality of people. Perhaps they were Nazirites (cf. Numbers 6:1-21). However, even they had become victims of the siege, and had suffered terribly along with the ordinary citizens. Their fine complexions and healthy bodies had become black and shriveled. “This chapter is one of the most graphic in the book in its description of the physical suffering of the people of Jerusalem, and what makes it especially vivid is the use of color. In fact, color is one of the striking features of the chapter: gold and scarlet (Lamentations 4:1-2; Lamentations 4:5), white, red, sapphire, black (Lamentations 4:7-8). Bright colors represent the earlier conditions; as the famine progresses, the colors are erased from the picture and all that remains is dullness and blackness. Lamentations 4:9 –Some of the people had died in battle, but others had starved to death. Those who had died by the sword were more fortunate because a swift death is better than a gradual one. Lamentations 4:10 –Previously compassionate women boiled their own children and ate them to sustain their lives during the rigors of the siege (cf. Lamentations 2:20; Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:52-57; 2 Kings 6:25-29; Jeremiah 19:9). The sick irony is that the children were the means by which the women would survive into the future (by caring for them as they got older and by surviving them), and yet in order to survive the mothers must eat their own means of survival. One may assume that the mothers only ate the children who were already dead, but even so one could hardly imagine a more shocking and sickening image to serve as a climax to the description of the famine in Lamentations 4:1-10. We look back and think how horrible this was but today many mothers are having abortions, actually murdering their babies. If we don’t want a baby, we must take responsibility for our actions before a baby becomes a reality.

God has made us capable of having babies and when one has been conceived, it is His intention for that child to come into the world. The moment the child is conceived, he is a person and to abort a pregnancy is murder of a human being. CAUSES OF THE SIEGE Lamentations 4:11-20 Jeremiah now turned from the suffering to its source. Lamentations 4:11 –Yahweh had executed His wrath by punishing Jerusalem (cf. Lamentations 1:12; Lamentations 2:2-4; Lamentations 2:6; Lamentations 3:1). Like a fire, His anger burned among His people (Lamentations 2:3). Ironically, He consumed the city with fire. Even though the Babylonians were the instrumental cause of the destruction, the Lord was the efficient cause of it. The stone “foundations” of the city obviously could not be burned away; this may be hyperbole. Or it may be a reference to the human foundations of the city: its leading citizens. Lamentations 4:12 The overthrow of Jerusalem had surprised the leaders and people of other nations. Invaders had forced their way into it in the past (cf. 1 Kings 14:25-28; 2 Kings 14:13-14; 2 Chronicles 21:16-17), but the citizens had rebuilt and strengthened its defenses (2 Chronicles 32:2-5; 2 Chronicles 33:14). In Jeremiah’s day it appeared impregnable, especially to the people of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Samuel 5:6-8). Jerusalem’s fall in 586 B.C. exposed their false assurance and illustrates a theological truth of Scripture: Sinful and rebellious people, even if outwardly associated with the covenant community and the promises of God, should not presume on His protection. Lamentations 4:13 –Jerusalem’s overthrow had come because her religious leaders, represented by the priests and the false prophets, had perverted justice and forsaken the Lord’s covenant. They had even put people to death who did not deserve it, including Jeremiah’s contemporary: the prophet Uriah (Jeremiah 26:20-23). Lamentations 4:14 Some of these spiritually blind leaders had apparently lost their physical eyesight during the siege and had to wander in the streets blind. They had shed innocent blood, and now blood stained their garments. Instead of being resources for the people under siege, they had become individuals to avoid because of their uncleanness. Lamentations 4:15 –Like lepers, they warned others to stay away from them (cf. Leviticus 13:45-46). They wandered away from their own people, and even the pagans did not want them living among them (cf. Deuteronomy 28:65-66). In Scripture, leprosy often illustrates the ravages of sin and death. As the false prophets and their followers had ‘wandered’ blind with infatuated and idolatrous crime in the city (Lamentations 4:14), so they must now ‘wander’ among the heathen in blind consternation with calamity. Lamentations 4:16 –The “presence” of Yahweh had scattered these leaders because He had no regard for them. Consequently, other nations would show no respect for their presence. They had also failed to honor those who should have received honor in Judah, people like the priests and the elders of the people. The “presence of the LORD” had scattered them. Lamentations 4:17 –The Jerusalemites had looked for help to appear and save them, but none came either from man or from God. Their expectation that another nation might come to their aid, such as Egypt, proved vain (cf. Jeremiah 34:21; Jeremiah 37:7). Lamentations 4:18 –“They” evidently refers to the Babylonians. This is the first reference to Israel’s enemies in the book. The residents of Jerusalem could not even walk the streets of their city because the danger was so great during the siege. After the walls were breached, they knew that their end was near. Lamentations 4:19 –Judah’s enemies swiftly pursued the Jews around the countryside as well, not allowing any of them to escape (cf. 2 Kings 25). They chased them wherever they sought to hide, on the mountains or in the wilderness, like an eagle pursuing its prey. Lamentations 4:20 –The enemy even captured the Davidic king, Zedekiah, who was as the very breath of life to the Judahites. The Judeans had evidently hoped to live under his authority in captivity, but now he was blind and in prison (2 Kings 25:4-7; Jeremiah 39:1-10; Jeremiah 52:7-11). This section gives three causes for the siege: the sins of the priests and prophets (Lamentations 4:13-16), reliance on foreign alliances (Lamentations 4:17-19), and the capture of Zedekiah (Lamentations 4:20). HOPE THE SIEGE Lamentations 4:21-22 Lamentations 4:21-22 comes right out of the blue! The tone of chapter 4 has been to focus on the absolutely dire situation in Jerusalem, and by Lamentations 4:20 the audience is left with the distinct feeling that the end has come. Suddenly, from left field, comes what has the feel of a prophetic oracle proclaiming divine judgment on Edom for its treatment of Judah and an end to Judah’s exile. The author just quoted went on to suggest that the mention of “the LORD’s anointed” (King Zedekiah) being “captured in the pits” (Lamentations 4:19) may have recalled Jeremiah’s release from a pit and his ultimate redemption (3:53-58) and given him hope. Lamentations 4:21 –The Edomites, related to the Judahites, were rejoicing over Judah’s destruction (cf. Psalms 137:7; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Ezekiel 35), but the same fate was sure to overtake them (Deuteronomy 30:7). They would have to drink the cup of Yahweh’s judgment and would lose their self-control and selfrespect (cf. Judah’s condition in Lamentations 1:8-9). After the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC, Nebuchadnezzar allotted the rural areas of Judah to the Edomites as a reward for their political neutrality, and as a recognition of the active help which they had provided for Chaldean military units during the final days of the campaign (cf. Ezekiel 25:12-14; Obadiah 1:11-14).

The land of Uz, Job’s country, was either a part of, near, or another name for Edom (cf. Job 1:1). This is the first and only time in the book that the writer identified a specific enemy of Jerusalem by name. Some scholars take “Edom” as a personification of Israel’s enemy. Lamentations 4:22 –Jerusalem’s punishment had reached its end; the exile would not last forever. But God would still punish Edom for her sins. They would “swap places.” Zion had drunk from God’s cup of wrath, but now Edom would. Zion had been stripped bare, but now Edom would be. Zion’s punishment had been completed, but Edom’s was yet to come. Significantly, the last Hebrew word in this fourth acrostic poem is tam, which means “completed.” Zion’s prayers had been answered (cf. Lamentations 1:21-22; Lamentations 3:61-66). The closing note of certainty (Lamentations 4:22 a) as to Zion’s bright future is most remarkable to the reader who had read this far in the book. It is but an interlude, however, a point of calm in the midst of the storm. The fifth poem will find us once again in the midst of questions and doubts.

Lamentations Chapter Four Verse 1 A LAMENT OVER WHAT TO DURING THE FAMINE SIEGE AND FAMINELam_4:1-10"How is the gold become dim!How is the most pure gold changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street. The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold. How are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: They that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, That was overthrown in a moment, and no hands were laid upon her. Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Their polishing was of sapphire. Their visage is blacker than coal; they are not known in the streets: Their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. They that are slain with the sword are better than they that are slain with hunger; For these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field. The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children; They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.” These terrible lines must rank among the saddest words ever written. They described the horrors of the awful famine that preceded the flight of Zedekiah the king of Israel and the terrible destruction that followed. The actual fall of Jerusalem was an awesome event. The Temple was looted; the houses (all of them) were burned; the walls were thrown down; Zedekiah was captured; his sons were slaughtered in his presence, and then his eyes were gouged out by the Babylonians; many thousands were brutally butchered; other thousands were led away as captives, either to be sold, or to die of starvation and abuse on the journey; but these verses have no word at all concerning all those terrors. What is described here is the unspeakable horrors of the siege that preceded all that. “How is the gold become dim … changed!” (Lamentations 4:1 a). This is metaphor. The following verse identifies the gold as “the precious sons of Zion.” As elaborated a few lines later, the well-dressed, amply supplied nobles of Jerusalem had become skin and bones, dying of starvation, sitting upon dunghills in search of food. We have here Jeremiah’s eyewitness account of all this. “The stones of the sanctuary” (Lamentations 4 :lb). “This refers to the precious gems which decorated the breastplate of the High Priest."[1] Their mention here is metaphorical, and they are parallel with the fine gold. “The jackals … give suck to their young ones” (Lamentations 4:3 a). The wild animals could nurse their young, but Jerusalem’s starving women could not. Nothing, in all the horrors of warfare, ever exceeded the cruel horrors of a siege. The literature of all nations does not provide any better account of what happens in such a siege than this account from Jeremiah. “Like ostriches in the desert” (Lamentations 4:3 b). This creature is often cited as one that had no regard for their offspring. “The ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground, forgetting that her own foot may crush them or a wild beast may break them."[2]“The sucking child … the young children” (Lamentations 4:4). Starving mothers are unable to nurse their babies; the older children cry in vain for something to eat. “They that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills” (Lamentations 4:5). As noted above, even the favored heads of their society sought in vain for food. “The iniquity of … my people is greater than the sin of Sodom” (Lamentations 4:6 a). The tragedy of this shocking fact is often overlooked. Ezekiel elaborated the same truth (Ezekiel 16); but the consequences of it reached far beyond Jerusalem. For Sodom’s wickedness, God destroyed them. Why did he not then destroy Israel which had become worse than Sodom? It was only because God had promised Abraham and the patriarchs that he would bring in the Messiah, The Seed Singular, through Abraham’s posterity. In a sense, God was ‘stuck with Israel,’ until that promise was fulfilled in the birth of Christ. Israel deserved a worse punishment than Sodom, for their sin was greater, and this verse indicates that their punishment was worse! “Sodom was overthrown … no hands were laid upon her” (Lamentations 4:6 b). This emphasizes the fact that Sodom’s punishment was lighter than Israel’s. They did not endure such a terror as siege. Their overthrow was instantaneous; Israel’s lasted seventy years, beginning with this unspeakably tragic siege. “Her nobles” (Lamentations 4:7-8). These were the “upper crust” of Jerusalem’s society. They were the nobility, dressed in scarlet, living in extravagant luxury, faring sumptuously every day; and now! During the siege, like everyone else, they were starving to death. “They that are slain with the sword … better than they that are slain with hunger” (Lamentations 4:9). It is better to die instantly than to suffer for a long time starving to death. Many of the people, no doubt, prayed for a sudden death. “The pitiful women … have boiled their own children … they were their food” (Lamentations 4:10). This is the climax of this terrible paragraph. Second Kings, chapter 6 (2 Kings 6:24-30) has the account of a similar disaster suffered by the Northern Israel (Samaria) during the siege of that city by Benhadad king of Syria. Yes, indeed, the punishment of Israel, whose sins were worse than the sins of Sodom, was divinely punished by a destruction that was also far worse than what happened to Sodom. Verse 11 THE DIVINE OF WHY GOD THEM"Jehovah hath accomplished his wrath,he hath poured out his fierce anger; And he hath kindled afire in Zion, which hath devoured the foundations thereof. The kings of the earth believed not, neither all the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem. It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, That have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her. They wander as blind men in the streets, they are polluted with blood, So that men cannot touch their garments. Depart ye, they cry unto them, Unclean! depart, depart, touch not! When they fled away and wandered, men said among the nations, They shall no more sojourn here. The anger of Jehovah hath scattered them: They respected not the persons of the priests, they favored not the elders.” “A fire in Zion … hath destroyed the foundations thereof” (Lamentations 4:11). The foundations which were destroyed were not those of the ‘righteous remnant of the people’ who were among the captives in Babylon. The foundations which were destroyed were those of the “sinful kingdom” (Amos 9:8), the monarchy that was never God’s will but a concession to the Chosen People who wanted to be like the nations around them (1 Samuel 8:7). God said, “I gave them a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath” (Hosea 13:11); and this verse tells how it was done. “The kings of the earth believed not” (Lamentations 4:12). After all, the whole world was on the verge of believing in Israel’s God. Look at what had happened! God had brought them up out of Egypt in a spectacular deliverance that astounded all mankind. Before them, he displaced the populations of Canaan, and settled them in Palestine. Their second king had astounded the whole world with his magnificence.

No one, among the ancient populations, supposed that such a God would allow any nation to destroy his Temple and remove his people to another land. Therein is the unmitigated tragedy of Israel’s apostasy. That apostasy required that God should destroy them; but when he did, the ancient notion that the physical defeat of any nation meant also the defeat of their god resulted in a terrible resurgence of paganism. Israel’s destruction meant that God would have to begin all over again in his campaign to redeem Adam’s fallen race, a redemption that required, absolutely, that men should believe, worship and obey the true God. “It is because of the sins of her prophets .. and her priests” (Lamentations 4:13 a). This should be read, “because of the sins even of her prophets and priests.” It was the wickedness of Israel’s godless kings and of the people as a whole that brought on their destruction; and the thought here is that the very last vestige of the people’s righteousness, the last repository of any righteousness, even the prophets and priests were corrupted. “They have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her” (Lamentations 4:13 b). The sins of the false prophets and priests aided and encouraged great wickedness; but the actual killing of the innocent was accomplished by such kings as Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16). It is important to note that only Jeremiah could have written this. It is inconceivable that anyone except Jeremiah could have written Lamentations 4:13 without naming Jeremiah as a glorious exception to the general fact there stated. Therefore, Jeremiah is the author. Lamentations 4:14-15 are difficult passages; but what seems to be the meaning is that death was so widespread in Jerusalem during the siege that the priests were in a constant state of defilement through contact with dead bodies and graves, making them ceremonially unclean, thus robbing the people of any means of religious consolation during their awful desolation. “The anger of Jehovah hath scattered them” (Lamentations 4:16 a). There was no denial of the truth that the humiliation of Jerusalem came as a direct result of God’s anger. The near-universal immorality and wickedness of the people had finally overflowed against God’s will beyond the point of ’no return.’ No other explanation was possible. “They respected not the persons of the priest, they favored not the elders” (Lamentations 4:16 b). The indication here is that the whole population were caught up in the wholesale iniquity that led to Israel’s defeat and deportation to Babylon. It was not merely the sins of false prophets and priests, but the general wickedness of the whole nation that led to God’s destruction of the “sinful kingdom.” Verse 17 SIEGE ENDS; THE ENEMY ENTERS; CHASES “Our eyes do yet fail in looking for our vain helpIn our watching, we have watched for a nation that could not save. They hunt our steps, so that we cannot go in our streets: Our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come. Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens: They chased us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness. The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits; Of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.” “Our eyes do yet fail in looking for our vain help … a nation that could not save” (Lamentations 4:17). Zedekiah, the last king of Israel to reign in Jerusalem, had violated his oath of loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar and secretly hoped that Egypt would help Israel; but Egypt would not have helped Israel if she could have done it, and could not have done so even if she had desired to do it. “They hunt our steps … we cannot go about our streets… our end is come” (Lamentations 4:18) The siege is over. The king has fled; the walls are breached; the soldiers of the enemy are in the streets. Of course, all who are able to do so flee from the city. “They chase us upon the mountains” (Lamentations 4:19). There is no escape from the enemy. Even those fortunate enough to get out of the city were too weak from hunger to make a successful escape. They were easily captured. “The anointed of Jehovah was taken in their pits” (Lamentations 4:20). “This is a reference to Zedekiah the king."[3] However, we agree with Dummelow that, “This is rather a strong expression to be applied to Zedekiah."[4] Cook explained it on the basis that, “With the capture of Zedekiah, Israel was robbed of the only rallying point that they had."[5]Verse 21 A TO THE OF EDOM"Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz:The cup shall pass through unto thee also; thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked. The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: He will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will uncover thy sins.” The traditional hatred of Edom (the descendants of Esau) against Israel was, in all probability, exhibited by them during Jerusalem’s siege and capture by the Chaldeans. Amos 1:11-12 and the Book of Obadiah make strong references to this hatred. We may safely conclude that a disaster of such dimensions as the ruin of Jerusalem and the captivity of her people would not have been overlooked by the Edomites as a wonderful opportunity for them to rejoice over the sorrows of the people they hated. “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom” (Lamentations 4:21 a). This is sarcasm. It is as though he said, “Go ahead and laugh, O Edom, God will take care of you also, before it’s all ended.” “The cup shall pass through unto you also; thou shalt be drunken … and naked” (Lamentations 4:21 b). The cup here is the cup of the wrath of God; and the prophet flatly foretells the eventual doom of the Edomites, who are in the Old Testament (especially Isaiah) exhibited as a type of all sinful men. (See our discussion of this in Vol. 1, Major Prophets, (Isaiah), pp. 309-314.) “O daughter of Zion, he will no more carry thee away into captivity” (Lamentations 4:22 a). This is a parenthetical remark included within the prophecy of Edom’s doom, given here especially for the comfort of Israel. “Thank God, Israel, your punishment is completed.” “He will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will uncover thy sins” (22b). That God did indeed bring judgment and destruction upon Edom was fully accomplished. (See a discussion of the historical fulfillment of this prophecy in Vol. 2, Minor Prophets (Obadiah), p. 347ff.) Edom’s doom, in Scripture, is a prophecy of the divine punishment of all sinful men.

Lamentations 4:1

Lamentations 4:1. The materials named in this verse have a somewhat figurative meaning. The passage denotes the loss by Jerusalem of her glory.

Lamentations 4:2

Lamentations 4:2. As clay is inferior to gold, so the sons of Zion (citizens of the capital city) had been demoted from the glory of free citizens to the state of captivity.

Lamentations 4:3

Lamentations 4:3. The state of destitution brought upon the Jews was so extreme that many of the natural emotions were quenched, and human mothers became colder toward their young than sea monsters were to theirs.

Lamentations 4:4

Lamentations 4:4, The famine is the subject being considered by the prophet. Having no nourishment due to the dry-breasts of their mothers, the tongues of the babes stuck to the roofs of their mouths. When the other children cried for bread it was not given to them. Instead, the women even consumed their helpless babes as food for themselves, (See chapter 2: 20 and comments for this subject.)

Lamentations 4:5

Lamentations 4:5. The fallen state of the people is still the subject of the prophet expressed in figurative terms. Some had been accustomed to living on dainties and were not exposed to the rough side of life, but now they were wandering in the streets and were stunned with undernourishment. Embrace dunghills is a symbolic description of the condition expressed in the forepart of this verse.

Lamentations 4:6

Lamentations 4:6. Punishment of iniquity is all from the Hebrew word AVON and has been translated by the one word “Iniquity” more than 200 times. It has been rendered also by “punishment” 6 times, and by our present phrase 4 times. It can thus be seen that the word might sometimes mean the results or consequences, likewise the retribution for the sin, as well as the sin itself. This verse means the punishment that Judah received for her sin was greater than was that put. upon Sodom, not necessarily that the sin was greater. And yet, the people had committed Idolatry for years, and that might be regarded as a more serious offence against God than sins of a moral nature such as that of Sodom.

However, the Jews suffered national disgrace which reproached them for a century, while Sodom was destroyed in one day. Of the two instances of punishment that of the former might be considered the greater.

Lamentations 4:7

Lamentations 4:7. Nazarite is from a Hebrew word that Strong defines, “ Separate; i.e. consecrated.” The word in its primary use meant a special kind of vow but came to be used of all persons consecrated to the service of God, and it has that meaning in this verse. It describes in strong adjectives the former purity and glory of these persons while they were faithfully serving the Lord. It continued so while their lives were pleasing to Him. and he bestowed upon them more luster than the finest of gems.

Lamentations 4:8

Lamentations 4:8. After these consecrated men corrupted themselves with their abominable idolatries, the Lord de prived them of their glory. The figures of speech in this verse are a description of their state which contrasted from what it was before.

Lamentations 4:9

Lamentations 4:9. The ceremonial glory was taken from thsee men, and also they were exposed to the sword of the en-emy. Of the two misfortunes, to perish with hunger was worse than to be slain outright with the sword.

Lamentations 4:10

Lamentations 4:10. See the comments at Lamentations 2:20 for this verse.

Lamentations 4:11

Lamentations 4:11. This verse is both prophecy and history. The city of Jerusalem (or Zion) was then in the hands of the Babylonians, and the people were about all in the foreign land. But they were doomed to stay there until they served out the sentence of the 70-year captivity; and all this was because of the Lord’ s anger at their sins.

Lamentations 4:12

Lamentations 4:12. Jerusalem had been well known for centuries as the headquarters for a great nation. The histories of David and Solomon and their many important successors had raised the city to a high standing in the estimation of the world. In view of these facts the people of other countries were surprised to see the Jewish capital invaded and completely subdued as the Babylonians had done.

Lamentations 4:13

Lamentations 4:13. According t.o Jeremiah 5:31; Jeremiah 6:13-14 these public men were chiefly responsible for the sins of the nation. If these wicked men were op-posed by the righteous citizens they “won out.” against them by causing them to be slain.

Lamentations 4:14

Lamentations 4:14. The word for streets Is also rendered “ abroad” in the common version. These corrupt men roved about with the guilt of blood upon them. (See Jeremiah 2; Jeremiah 34.) Could not touch their garments. The law of Moses (Numbers 19; Numbers 16) regarded one unclean who touched another person who had blood upon bim.

Lamentations 4:15

Lamentations 4:15. They refers to men in general who observed the uncleanness of these murderers and bade them de-part. When they were exiled among the heathen (the Babylonians) the remark was made by those learning of the situation that these Jews were no longer permitted to sojourn in their own land because of their uncleanness.

Lamentations 4:16

Lamentations 4:16. The men of the world (they of the preceding verse) are still talking and accounting for the dispersion of these wicked priests and prophets. They understood that the Lord’ s anger had caused it as a punishment. They now means these evil priests who disrespected the ones who were still righteous. (See 2 Chronicles 24:18-21.)

Lamentations 4:17

Lamentations 4:17. The people of Judah are the ones talking now as if they were reminding themselves of some of their past mistakes. Watched for a nation that could not sai’ e us. While Judah was threatened by the presence of the Babylonians the Jews looked for help from Egypt (2 Kings 24:7; Isaiah 30:7; Jeremiah 37:5-11); but the Egyptians could not save Judah from the captivity.

Lamentations 4:18

Lamentations 4:18. They means the Babylo-nians, and the people of Judah are still speaking. The presence of the invaders makes it difficult for the local citizens to be upon their own streets. End is near. The 70-year captivity began in the early days of the reign ot Jehoiaklm and the entire subjugation was accomplished in the 11th year of Zedekiah. (2 Kings 24:1; 2 Kings 25:2-7.) In course of this period Jere-miah did moat of his writing, which explains why so much of it seems to be history and prophecy mixed.

Lamentations 4:19

Lamentations 4:19. This verse is a complaint of Judah about the treatment which they were receiving from their captors. They represent the attack as being so swift and general that there was no way of eseape.

Lamentations 4:20

Lamentations 4:20. Bits means the pitfalls or snares the Babylonians used to capture the people of Judah whom they named the anointed Of the Lord. Breath . . , taken denotes that the enemy was taking the breath of life from tbe unfortunate Jews.

Lamentations 4:21

Lamentations 4:21. The reader has been fre-quently reminded that God would not tolerate the attitude of the nations who rejoiced at the misfortunes of His people. This verse describes such an evil attitude on the part of the Edomites w-ho had long been enemies of Israel. Edom is ironically told to do her rejoicing against the unfortunate nation while she bad the opportunity. The cup (of affliction) was finally to come upon this nation as an expression of God’s vengeance. Drunken and naked are terms borrowed from the literal results that, often come from too much use of the cup of wine. It is applied to the staggering and shameful condition that was to come upon Edom.

Lamentations 4:22

Lamentations 4:22. In this one verse the prophet predicts the punishment of Edom and also the restoration Of Israel. See verse 6 on punishment of thine iniquity.