Lamentations 4:1

Lamentations 4:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
• New International Version (NIV)How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner.
• English Standard Version (ESV)How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street.
• New King James Version (NKJV)How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered At the head of every street.

Context of Lamentations 4:1

How dark and dim the gold has become, How the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones [of the temple] are poured out and scattered At the head of every street. 2The [noble and] precious sons of Zion, [Once] worth their weight in fine gold, How they are regarded [merely] as earthen jars, The work of a potter’s hands! 3Even the jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness [that desert their young].

Lamentations 4:1 word by word

אֵיכָה֙ יוּעַ֣ם זָהָ֔ב יִשְׁנֶ֖א הַכֶּ֣תֶם הַטּ֑וֹב תִּשְׁתַּפֵּ֙כְנָה֙ אַבְנֵי־קֹ֔דֶשׁ בְּרֹ֖אשׁ כָּל־חוּצֽוֹת׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• How is the goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• become dimעָמַם‛âmam · to darkenH6004
• is the mostטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• fine goldכֶּ֫תֶםkethem · goldH3800
• changedשָׁנָאshânâ' · to changeH8132
• the stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• of the sanctuaryקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
• are poured outשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: scatterH8210
• in the topרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
• of every streetחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:1

• 2 Kings 25:9He burned the house (temple) of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.
• Isaiah 1:21How the faithful city has become a prostitute [idolatrous, despicable], She who was full of justice! Right standing with God once lodged in her, But now murderers.
• Isaiah 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]!
• Ezekiel 7:19They will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will be [discarded] like something unclean; their silver and their gold shall not be able to save them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. These [things] cannot satisfy their soul nor fill their stomachs, for they have become their stumbling block and source of sin.
• Lamentations 2:19Arise, cry aloud in the night, At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who are faint from hunger At the head of every street.”
• Jeremiah 52:13He burned down the house of the Lord and the king’s palace and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house or important structure he set on fire.
• Matthew 24:2And He said to them, “Do you see all these things? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, not one stone here will be left on another, which will not be torn down.”
• Mark 13:2Jesus replied to him, “You see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another which will not be torn down!”
• Luke 21:5As some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and consecrated offerings [of magnificent gifts of gold which were displayed on the walls and hung in the porticoes], He said,

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1How is the gold become dim - The prophet contrasts, in various affecting instances, the wretched circumstances of the Jewish nation, with the flourishing state of their affairs in former times. Here they are compared to gold, זהב zahab, native gold from the mine, which, contrary to its nature, is become dim, is tarnished; and even the fine, the sterling gold, כתם kethem, that which was stamped to make it current, is changed or adulterated, so as to be no…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The stones of the sanctuary - Or, the hallowed stones, literally stones of holiness, a metaphor for the people themselves. The actual stones of the temple would not be thus widely thrown about as to be seen everywhere, but the prophet has already affirmed this of the young children dying of hunger (compare Lamentations 2:19).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The deplorable state of the nation is contrasted with its ancient prosperity. Verses 1-12 What a change is here! Sin tarnishes the beauty of the most exalted powers and the most excellent gifts; but that gold, tried in the fire, which Christ bestows, never will be taken from us; its outward appearance may be dimmed, but its real value can never be changed. The horrors of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem are again described. Beholding the sad…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-22Although God’s people still experience his judgment, they will soon experience restoration.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-22Aleph. 1. gold--the splendid adornment of the temple [Calvin] (La 1:10; 1Ki 6:22; Jr 52:19); or, the principal men of Judea [Grotius] (La 4:2). stones of ... sanctuary--the gems on the breastplate of the high priest; or, metaphorically, the priests and Levites. Beth.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:1

• Church
• Gold
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Fine
• Gold
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of

Commentaries on Lamentations 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings