Lamentations 1:4

Lamentations 1:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
• New International Version (NIV)The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate; her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she is in bitterness.

Context of Lamentations 1:4

2Jerusalem cries bitterly at night with tears running down its cheeks. Out of all those who love the city, no one offers it comfort. All of Jerusalem’s friends have betrayed it and become its enemies. 3“Judah has been exiled after ⌞much⌟ suffering and harsh treatment. Its ⌞people⌟ live among the nations; they find no rest. Those who chased them caught up with them in places where there was no way out. “The roads to Zion are deserted. No one comes to the annual festivals. No one passes through any of its gates. Its priests are groaning. Its young women are made to suffer. Zion is bitter. 5Its opponents are now in control. Its enemies have no worries. The Lord made Zion suffer for its many rebellious acts. Its children go ahead of their opponents into captivity. 6All splendor has abandoned the people of Zion. Its influential people were like deer that couldn’t find any pasture. They ran without any strength ahead of the hunters.

Lamentations 1:4 word by word

דַּרְכֵ֨י צִיּ֜וֹן אֲבֵל֗וֹת מִבְּלִי֙ בָּאֵ֣י מוֹעֵ֔ד כָּל־שְׁעָרֶ֙יהָ֙ שֽׁוֹמֵמִ֔ין כֹּהֲנֶ֖יהָ נֶאֱנָחִ֑ים בְּתוּלֹתֶ֥יהָ נּוּג֖וֹת וְהִ֥יא מַר־לָֽהּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The waysדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
• do mournאָבֵל'âbêl · mourningH57
• because none comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to the solemn feastsמוֹעֵדmô‛êd mô‛êd mô‛âdâh · meeting: festivalH4150
• all her gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• are desolateשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: destroyedH8074
• her priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• sighאָנַח'ânach · to sighH584
• her virginsבְּתוּלָהbethûlâh · virginH1330
• are afflictedיָגָהyâgâh · to sufferH3013
• in bitternessמָרַרmârar · to provokeH4843

Cross-references for Lamentations 1:4

• Lamentations 2:6He stripped his own booth as if it were a garden and destroyed his own festivals. The Lord wiped out the memory of festivals and days of rest—holy days—in Zion. He expelled kings and priests because of his fierce anger.
• Lamentations 5:13⌞Our⌟ young men work at the mill, and ⌞our⌟ boys stagger under loads of wood.
• Isaiah 24:4The earth dries up and withers. The world wastes away and withers. The great leaders of the earth waste away.
• Jeremiah 14:2Judah mourns; its gates fall apart. The people of Judah sit in mourning on the ground. Their cry goes up from Jerusalem.
• Micah 3:12Because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble, and the temple mountain will become a worship site covered with trees.
• Lamentations 2:9“⌞Zion’s⌟ gates have sunk into the ground. ⌞The Lord⌟ destroyed and shattered the bars across its ⌞gates⌟. Its king and influential people are ⌞scattered⌟ among the nations. There is no longer any instruction ⌞from Moses’ Teachings⌟. Its prophets can find no visions from the Lord.
• Jeremiah 9:11I will turn Jerusalem into a pile of rubble, a home for jackals. I will destroy the cities of Judah so that no one can live there.
• Jeremiah 10:22The report has arrived. A tremendous uproar is coming from the land of the north. Its army will destroy Judah’s cities and make them homes for jackals.
• Jeremiah 33:10“This is what the Lord says: You have said that this place is ruined and that no people or animals live in it. It’s true! The cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are deserted. No people or animals live there. But once again you will hear
• Lamentations 1:11All the people are groaning as they beg for bread. They trade their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. ‘O Lord, look and see how despised I am!’ ”
• Lamentations 2:10The respected leaders of Zion’s people sit silently on the ground. They throw dirt on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.
• Isaiah 32:9Get up, and listen to me, you pampered women. Hear what I say, you overconfident daughters.
• Joel 1:8Cry loudly like a young woman who is dressed in sackcloth, mourning for the man she was going to marry.

Commentaries on Lamentations 1:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The ways of Zion do mourn - A fine prosopopoeia. The ways in which the people trod coming to the sacred solemnities, being now no longer frequented, are represented as shedding tears; and the gates themselves partake of the general distress. All poets of eminence among the Greeks and Romans have recourse to this image. So Moschus, in his Epitaph on Bion, ver. 1-3: - , ̔<-144 ̔ . , , . . . "Ye winds, with grief your waving summits bow, Ye Dorian fountains…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Zion, as the holy city, is the symbol of the religious life of the people, just as Judah in the previous verse represents their national life. The “virgins” took a prominent part in all religious festivals Jeremiah 31:13; Exodus 15:20.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Zion: In the Psalms and prophetic books, Zion represents the city of Jerusalem. In Lamentations, Zion is a poetic name for the city of Jerusalem. The writer uses this name even when the city lies in ruins (destroyed buildings and broken walls). Hebrews 12:22–24 speaks of the heavenly Zion (see also Revelation 14:1–5). The annual festivals in Jerusalem included: The Passover The Feast of Unleavened Bread The Feast of the Firstfruits (also called the Feast…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. feasts--the passover, pentecost (or the feast of weeks), and the feast of tabernacles. gates--once the place of concourse. He.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 1:4

• Captivity
• Virgin
• Zion

In the dictionaries

• Faint
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Gate
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Writing

Commentaries on Lamentations 1

• 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
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings