Lamentations 4:5

Lamentations 4:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
• New International Version (NIV)Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those brought up in royal purple now lie on ash heaps.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Those who once feasted on delicacies perish in the streets; those who were brought up in purple embrace ash heaps.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those who were brought up in scarlet Embrace ash heaps.

Context of Lamentations 4:5

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]. 4The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for food, But no one gives it to them. Those who feasted on delicacies Are perishing in the streets; Those reared in purple [as nobles] Embrace ash heaps. 6For the [punishment of the] wickedness of the daughter of my people [Jerusalem] Is greater than the [punishment for the] sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her [to offer help]. 7Her princes were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk [in appearance]; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Their polishing was like lapis lazuli (sapphire).

Lamentations 4:5 word by word

הָאֹֽכְלִים֙ לְמַ֣עֲדַנִּ֔ים נָשַׁ֖מּוּ בַּחוּצ֑וֹת הָאֱמֻנִים֙ עֲלֵ֣י תוֹלָ֔ע חִבְּק֖וּ אַשְׁפַּתּֽוֹת׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They that did feedאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• delicatelyמַעֲדָןma‛ădân ma‛ădannâh · delicacyH4574
• are desolateשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: destroyedH8074
• in the streetsחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• they that were brought upאָמַן'âman · be faithfulH539
• in scarletתּוֹלָעtôlâ‛ tôlê‛âh tôla‛ath tôla‛ath · wormH8438
• embraceחָבַקchâbaq · to embraceH2263
• dunghillsאַשְׁפֹּת'ashpôth 'ashpôth shephôth · refuseH830

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:5

• Deuteronomy 28:54The man who is most refined and well-bred among you will be cruel and hostile toward his brother and toward the wife he cherishes and toward the rest of his children who remain,
• Isaiah 3:16Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with outstretched necks and seductive (flirtatious, alluring) eyes, And trip along with mincing steps and an affected gait And walk with jingling anklets on their feet,
• Isaiah 24:6Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer the punishment of their guilt. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned [under the curse of God’s wrath], and few people are left.
• Isaiah 32:9Rise up, you women who are carefree, And hear my voice, You confident and unsuspecting daughters! Listen to what I am saying.
• Jeremiah 6:2I will destroy the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), the lovely and delicate one [so like a luxurious pasture].
• Amos 6:3Do you put off the day of punishment, Yet cause the seat of violence to come near?
• Luke 7:25But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing [entirely unsuited for the harsh wilderness]? Those who wear splendid clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces!
• 1 Timothy 5:6Whereas she who lives for pleasure and self-indulgence is spiritually dead even while she still lives.
• Revelation 18:7To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled and gloated in her sensuality [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that same degree impose on her torment and anguish, and mourning and grief; for in her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as a queen [on a throne] and I am not a widow, and will never, ever see mourning or experience grief.’
• 2 Samuel 1:24O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
• Proverbs 31:21She does not fear the snow for her household, For all in her household are clothed in [expensive] scarlet [wool].
• Luke 16:19“Now there was a certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen, and celebrated and lived joyously in splendor every day.
• Job 24:8They are wet from the rain of the mountains And cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
• Jeremiah 9:21For death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces, Cutting off the children from the streets And the young men from the town squares.
• Luke 15:16He would have gladly eaten the [carob] pods that the pigs were eating [but they could not satisfy his hunger], and no one was giving anything to him.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Embrace dunghills - Lie on straw or rubbish, instead of the costly carpets and sofas on which they formerly stretched themselves.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5They that were brought up in scarlet - literally, “those that were carried upon scarlet;” young children in arms and of the highest birth now lie on the dirt-heaps of the city.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. 55. delicately--on dainties. are desolate--or, "perish." in scarlet embrace dunghills--Instead of the scarlet couches on which the grandees were nursed, they must lie on dunghills. embrace--They who once shrank sensitively from any soil, gladly cling close to heaps of filth as their only resting-place. Compare "embrace the rock" (Job 24:8). Vau.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:5

• Colors
• Famine

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Dunghill
• Poetry
• Scarlet
• Zedekiah
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Color; Colors
• Delicate; Delicately

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