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 any people of the world, that an enemy or a foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem. 13But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst. They wandered blind in the streets, defiled by this blood, so that no one dared to touch their garments. 15“Go away! Unclean!” men shouted at them. “Away, away! Do not touch us!” So they fled and wandered. Among the nations it was said, “They can stay here no longer.” 16The presence of the LORD has scattered them; He regards them no more. The priests are shown no honor; the elders find no favor.

Lamentations 4:14 word by word

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

• They wanderedנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
• blindעִוֵּר‛ivvêr · blindH5787
• in the streetsחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351
• defiledגָּאַלgâ'al · to defileH1351
• by this bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• so that noלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• one daredיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• to touchנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
• their garmentsלְבוּשׁlebûsh lebûsh · clothingH3830

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:14

• Deuteronomy 28:28The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind,
• Isaiah 29:10For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
• Isaiah 59:9Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
• Micah 3:6Therefore night will come over you without visions, and darkness without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.
• Matthew 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
• Ephesians 4:18They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.
• Numbers 35:33Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
• Isaiah 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
• Jeremiah 2:34Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, though you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things
• Numbers 19:16Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
• Hosea 4:2Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.
• Numbers 16:26And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
• Psalms 6:8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
• Psalms 139:19O God, that You would slay the wicked— away from me, you bloodthirsty men—
• Micah 2:10Arise and depart, for this is not your place of rest, because its defilement brings destruction— a grievous 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