Lamentations 4:14

Lamentations 4:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
• New International Version (NIV)Now they grope through the streets as if they were blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They wandered, blind, through the streets; they were so defiled with blood that no one was able to touch their garments.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They wandered blind in the streets; They have defiled themselves with blood, So that no one would touch their garments.

Context of Lamentations 4:14

12The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of the inhabitants of the earth, That the adversary (oppressor) and enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem. 13Because of the sins of her [counterfeit] prophets And the wickedness of her [unfaithful] priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the just and righteous; They wandered, blind, in the streets; They were defiled with blood So that no one could touch their garments. 15People cried to them, “Go away! Unclean! Depart! Depart! Do not touch!” So they fled, then they wandered [as fugitives]; People among the nations said, “They shall not stay here any longer with us.” 16The presence of the Lord scattered them [among the nations]; He will not continue to look after them. They did not honor the priests; They did not favor the elders.

Lamentations 4:14 word by word

נָע֤וּ עִוְרִים֙ בַּֽחוּצ֔וֹת נְגֹֽאֲל֖וּ בַּדָּ֑ם בְּלֹ֣א יֽוּכְל֔וּ יִגְּע֖וּ בִּלְבֻשֵׁיהֶֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They have wanderedנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• blindעִוֵּר‛ivvêr · blindH5787
• in the streetsחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• they have pollutedגָּאַלgâ'al · to defileH1351
• themselves with bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• so that men couldיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• touchנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
• their garmentsלְבוּשׁlebûsh lebûsh · clothingH3830

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:14

• Deuteronomy 28:28The Lord will strike you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart and mind;
• Isaiah 29:10For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed your eyes, [you who are] the prophets; And He has covered your heads, [you who are] the seers.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.
• Isaiah 59:9Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us. We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness; We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom.
• Micah 3:6Therefore it will be night (tragedy) for you—without vision, And darkness (cataclysm) for you—without foresight. The sun shall go down on the [false] prophets, And the day shall become dark and black over them.
• Matthew 15:14Leave them alone; they are blind guides [leading blind followers]. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
• Ephesians 4:18for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; [they are] alienated and self-banished from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the [willful] ignorance and spiritual blindness that is [deep-seated] within them, because of the hardness and insensitivity of their heart.
• Numbers 35:33So you shall not pollute and defile the land in which you live; for [the shedding of innocent] blood pollutes and defiles the land. No atonement (expiation) can be made for the land for the [innocent] blood shed in it, except by the blood (execution) of him who shed it.
• Isaiah 1:15So when you spread out your hands [in prayer, pleading for My help], I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you offer many prayers, I will not be listening. Your hands are full of blood!
• Jeremiah 2:34Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; You did not find them breaking in [a house]. But in spite of all these things [your disobedience, your love of idolatry, your lack of compassion]—
• Numbers 19:16Also, anyone in the open field who touches one who has been killed with a sword or who has died [of natural causes], or a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days.
• Hosea 4:2There is [false] swearing of oaths, deception (broken faith), murder, stealing, and adultery; They employ violence, so that one [act of] bloodshed follows closely on another.
• Numbers 16:26And he said to the congregation, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away in all their sin.”
• Psalms 6:8Depart from me, all you who do evil, For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
• Psalms 139:19O that You would kill the wicked, O God; Go away from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
• Micah 2:10Arise and depart [because the captivity is inevitable], For this [land] is not the place of rest Because of the defilement that brings destruction, A painful and terrible destruction.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14They have wandered as blind men in the streets - Rather, "They ran frantic through the streets, they were stained with blood." This was in their pretended zeal for their cause. Bishop Bonner, who was at the head of those sanguinary executions in England, was accustomed to buffet the poor Protestants, when on their examinations they were too powerful for him in argument: - "He proved his doctrine orthodox, By apostolic blows and knocks." Just as his elder…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14They have wandered - God‘s ministers, consecrated to His service, wandered through the city blinded by the insatiable lust of slaughter. It was a pollution to touch their garments.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-20Verses 13-20 Nothing ripens a people more for ruin, nor fills the measure faster, than the sins of priests and prophets. The king himself cannot escape, for Divine vengeance pursues him. Our anointed King alone is the life of our souls; we may safely live under his shadow, and rejoice in Him in the midst of our enemies, for He is the true God and eternal life.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. 1414. blind--with mental aberration. polluted ... with blood--both with blood of one another mutually shed (for example, Jr 2:34), and with their blood shed by the enemy [Glassius]. not touch ... garments--as being defiled with blood (Nu 19:16). Samech.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:14

• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• 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