Lamentations 4:9

Lamentations 4:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
• New International Version (NIV)Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Those slain by the sword are better off Than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.

Context of Lamentations 4:9

7Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was as of sapphire. 8Their visage is blacker than a 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. 10The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children; They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11Jehovah hath accomplished his wrath, he hath poured out his fierce anger; And he hath kindled a fire in Zion, which hath devoured the foundations thereof.

Lamentations 4:9 word by word

טוֹבִ֤ים הָיוּ֙ חַלְלֵי־חֶ֔רֶב מֵֽחַלְלֵ֖י רָעָ֑ב שֶׁ֣הֵ֤ם יָז֙וּבוּ֙ מְדֻקָּרִ֔ים מִתְּנוּבֹ֖ת שָׂדָֽי׃ סRead the interlinear

• slainחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491
• swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• hungerרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• fruitsתְּנוּבָהtenûbâh · fruitH8570
• fieldשָׂדַיώâdeh ώâday · fieldH7704

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:9

• Leviticus 26:39And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
• Ezekiel 24:23And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.
• Ezekiel 33:10And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:9

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Long sieges result in a serious lack of food. Even if people could get to the fields, they would find the crops destroyed or harvested to feed the soldiers.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. The speedy death by the sword is better than the lingering death by famine. pine away--literally, "flow out"; referring to the flow of blood. This expression, and "stricken through," are drawn from death by "the sword." want of ... fruits--The words in italics have to be supplied in the original (Ge 18:28; Psa 109:24). Jod.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:9

• Famine

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Lamentations, Book of
• Pining Sickness
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Siege

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