Lamentations 4
The Punishment of Zion
Accomplished |
1 |
How is the gold become dim!
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How is the most fine gold changed! |
The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the
top of every
street. |
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2 |
The precious sons of Zion, comparable to
fine gold,
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how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, |
the work of the hands of the
potter! |
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3 |
Even the sea monsters draw out the
breast,
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they give suck to their young ones: |
the daughter of my people is become cruel, |
like the ostriches in the
wilderness. |
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4 |
The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth
to the roof of his mouth for thirst:
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the young children ask bread, and no man
breaketh it unto
them. |
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5 |
They that did feed delicately are
desolate in the streets:
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they that were brought up in scarlet embrace
dunghills. |
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6 |
For the punishment of the iniquity of the
daughter of my people
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is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Gen.
19.24 |
that was overthrown as in a moment, |
and no hands stayed on
her. |
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7 |
Her Nazarites were purer than snow,
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they were whiter than milk, |
they were more ruddy in body than rubies, |
their polishing was of
sapphire: |
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8 |
their visage is blacker than a coal;
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they are not known in the streets: |
their skin cleaveth to their bones; |
it is withered, it is become like a
stick. |
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9 |
They that be slain with the sword
are better than they that be slain with hunger:
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for these pine away, stricken through for want
of the fruits of the
field. |
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10 |
The hands of the pitiful women have
sodden their own children: Deut. 28.57 · Ezek. 5.10
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they were their meat in the destruction of the
daughter of my
people. |
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11 |
The LORD hath
accomplished his fury;
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he hath poured out his fierce anger, |
and hath kindled a fire in Zion, |
and it hath devoured the foundations
thereof. |
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12 |
The kings of the earth, and all the
inhabitants of the world,
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would not have believed that the adversary and the
enemy should have entered into the gates of
Jerusalem. |
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13 |
For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests,
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that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of
her, |
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14 |
they have wandered as blind men in the streets,
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they have polluted themselves with blood, |
so that men could not touch their
garments. |
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15 |
They cried unto them, Depart ye;
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it is unclean; depart, depart, touch
not: |
when they fled away and wandered, they said among
the heathen, |
They shall no more sojourn there. |
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16 |
The anger of the LORD hath divided them;
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he will no more regard them: |
they respected not the persons of the priests, |
they favored not the
elders. |
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17 |
As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our
vain help:
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in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us. |
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18 |
They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in
our streets:
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our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end
is come. |
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19 |
Our persecutors are swifter than the
eagles of the heaven:
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they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait
for us in the
wilderness. |
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20 |
The breath of our nostrils, the anointed
of the LORD,
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was taken in their pits, of whom we said, |
Under his shadow we shall live among the
heathen. |
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21 |
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of
Edom,
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that dwellest in the land of Uz; |
the cup also shall pass through unto thee: |
thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself
naked. |
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22 |
The punishment of thine iniquity is
accomplished, O daughter of Zion;
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he will no more carry thee away into
captivity: |
he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of
Edom; |
he will discover thy
sins. |
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