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 feed their babies at their breasts. But Jerusalem's young women have become cruel. They are like ostriches that leave their eggs in the desert. 4The mouths of the babies in Jerusalem are completely dry, because they are so thirsty. And the young children ask for food, but nobody gives them anything to eat. There are people here who had been very rich. They ate the best foods, but now they are hungry. Now they lie in the streets with nothing to eat. They wore the best clothes, but now they sit in the ashes. 6God has punished my people. He punished us more than he punished Sodom's people. God destroyed that city in a moment, and nobody was there to help them. 7In past times, the leaders of Jerusalem were more pure than very white snow. They were strong and healthy. Their bodies seemed to shine like valuable stones.

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 28:54Even the best and kindest man among you will turn against his brother. He will turn against the wife that he loves and against his children who are still alive.
• Isaiah 3:16The Lord says, ‘Zion's women are very proud. They walk with their heads up high. They turn their eyes towards the men and they have no shame. They like the men to look at them. They walk with small steps so that the rings on their ankles make a nice sound.
• Isaiah 24:6That is why a curse is destroying the land. The people who live on it are guilty and God is punishing them. They become fewer and fewer. Only a very few of them remain.
• Isaiah 32:9You women, listen carefully to what I say to you! You think that you have no problems. You feel very safe. But listen to me!
• Jeremiah 6:2Jerusalem is a beautiful city, like a daughter that I love. She cannot protect herself, and I will destroy her.
• Amos 6:3You refuse to think that trouble might come to you. But the cruel things that you do are causing trouble to come very soon.
• Luke 7:25Did you go to see a man who was wearing expensive clothes? No! People like that do not live in the wilderness. They have many beautiful things and they live in great houses.
• 1 Timothy 5:6But some widows only want to enjoy themselves. For a widow like that, her spirit is already dead, even while she is still alive.
• Revelation 18:7She liked to receive honour. She bought expensive things to enjoy a wicked life. So now give her the trouble and pain that she deserves. She has said to herself, “I rule people like a queen. I do not live like a widow. I will never need to be sad.”
• 2 Samuel 1:24You women of Israel, weep for Saul. He gave you beautiful clothes to wear. He gave you gold and jewels to fix on your clothes.
• Proverbs 31:21All her family have warm clothes to wear. She is not afraid when cold weather comes.
• Luke 16:19Jesus then said, ‘At one time, there was a rich man who wore very expensive clothes. This rich man ate big meals every day.
• Job 24:8The rain that falls in the mountains makes them very wet. So they hide among the rocks where they try to keep dry.
• Jeremiah 9:21“Death has come to visit us! It has come into our strong houses. Death has taken away our children who play in the streets. It has taken away our young men who meet together in the streets.”
• Luke 15:16Nobody gave him anything to eat. He even wanted to eat the food that the pigs were eating. But he had nothing.

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