Lamentations 4:6

Lamentations 4:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.
• New International Version (NIV)The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater than the punishment of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands were wrung for her.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, With no hand to help her!

Context of Lamentations 4:6

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. 5There 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. God 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. 8Now their faces are dirty and black. People see them in the streets, but they do not recognize them. Their skin hangs on their bones. Their skin is as dry as wood for a fire.

Lamentations 4:6 word by word

וַיִּגְדַּל֙ עֲוֹ֣ן בַּת־עַמִּ֔י מֵֽחַטַּ֖את סְדֹ֑ם הַֽהֲפוּכָ֣ה כְמוֹ־רָ֔גַע וְלֹא־חָ֥לוּ בָ֖הּ יָדָֽיִם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For the punishment of the iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: punishmentH5771
• of the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• is greaterגָּדַלgâdal · to magnifyH1431
• than the punishmentחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sin: punishmentH2403
• of the sin of Sodomסְדֹםsedôm · SodomH5467
• that was overthrownהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• as in a momentרֶ֫גַעrega‛ · momentH7281
• and no handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• stayedחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: trembleH2342

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:6

• Isaiah 1:9Unless the Lord Almighty had left some of us alive, we would have become like Sodom. We would have been completely destroyed, like Gomorrah.
• Ezekiel 16:48Your sister Sodom and her daughters never did such wicked things as you and your daughters have done. That is true as surely as I live, says the Almighty Lord.
• Matthew 11:23And what will happen to you people in Capernaum? You think that God will lift you up to heaven, do you? No! He will throw you down to Hades, the place for dead people. I did powerful things in your town. If I had done these powerful things in Sodom, it would still be there today.
• Luke 10:12One day God will punish the people from that town. Yes, he will punish them more than the people who lived in Sodom long ago.’
• Luke 12:47A servant may know what his master wants him to do. Then he should prepare himself and do that. If he does not, his master will punish him very much. He will hit him a lot.
• Lamentations 4:9Our enemies have killed many people with long knives. It is better for those dead people than for the people who have no food. They are very hungry. And they die slowly because they have nothing to eat.
• Genesis 19:25In that way God destroyed those cities and everything in the valley. He killed all the people who lived in those cities. And he killed all the plants that grew on the land.
• Daniel 9:12So you have done what you promised to do to us and to our rulers. You have caused us to have terrible trouble. You have punished Jerusalem with more trouble than has ever happened to any other city.
• Matthew 24:21Great troubles will happen to people at that time. Nothing as bad has ever happened before, since the beginning of the world. Nothing as bad will ever happen again.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6For the punishment - He thinks the punishment of Jerusalem far greater than that of Sodom. That was destroyed in a moment while all her inhabitants were in health and strength; Jerusalem fell by the most lingering calamities; her men partly destroyed by the sword, and partly by the famine. Instead of no hands stayed on her, Blayney translates, "Nor were hands weakened in her." Perhaps the meaning is, "Sodom was destroyed in a moment without any human…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Rather, “For” the iniquity “of the daughter of my people was greater than” the sin “of Sodom.” The prophet deduces this conclusion from the greatness of Judah‘s misery (compare Jeremiah 30:11; see also Luke 13:1-5). No hands stayed on her - Or, “no hands were round about her.” Sodom‘s sufferings in dying were brief: there were no starving children, no mothers cooking their offspring for food.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. 66. greater than ... Sodom--(Mt 11:23). No prophets had been sent to Sodom, as there had been to Judea; therefore the punishment of the latter was heavier than that of the former. overthrown ... in a moment--whereas the Jews had to endure the protracted and manifold hardships of a siege. no hands stayed on her--No hostile force, as the Chaldeans in the case of Jerusalem, continually pressed on her before her overthrow. Jeremiah thus shows the greater…Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:6

• Famine
• Sin
• Sodom

In the dictionaries

• Sodom
• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Lamentations, Book of
• Moment
• 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