Lamentations 4:12

Lamentations 4:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
• New International Version (NIV)The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the peoples of the world, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The kings of the earth, And all inhabitants of the world, Would not have believed That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem—

Context of Lamentations 4:12

10The hands of loving mothers cooked their own children. The children were used for food by my people when they were being destroyed ⌞by a blockade⌟. 11The Lord’s fury has accomplished his purpose. He unleashed his burning anger. He started a fire in Zion that even burned its foundations. Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe that enemies or invaders would ever get through the gates of Jerusalem. 13⌞They got through⌟ because of the sins of Jerusalem’s prophets and the crimes of its priests, who spilled the blood of righteous people within it. 14My people staggered blindly through the streets. They were so contaminated with bloodstains that no one would touch their clothes.

Lamentations 4:12 word by word

לֹ֤א הֶאֱמִ֙ינוּ֙ מַלְכֵי־אֶ֔רֶץ כֹּ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֣י תֵבֵ֑ל כִּ֤י יָבֹא֙ צַ֣ר וְאוֹיֵ֔ב בְּשַׁעֲרֵ֖י יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and all the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• of the worldתֵּבֵלtêbêl · worldH8398
• would not have believedאָמַן'âman · be faithfulH539
• that the adversaryצַרtsar tsâr · enemyH6862
• and the enemyאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
• should have enteredבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• into the gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• of Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:12

• Deuteronomy 29:24Then all the other nations in the world will ask, “Why has the Lord done this to their land? Why is he so angry?”
• 1 Kings 9:8Everyone passing by this temple, as impressive as it is, will be appalled. They will gasp and ask, ‘Why did the Lord do these things to this land and this temple?’
• Psalms 48:4The kings have gathered. They marched together.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12The kings of the earth - Jerusalem was so well fortified, both by nature and art, that it appeared as a miracle that it should be taken at all.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Though Jerusalem had been several times captured 1 Kings 14:26; 2 Kings 14:13; 2 Kings 23:33-35, yet it had been so strongly fortified by Uzziah and his successors as to have been made virtually impregnable. Its present capture by Nebuchadnezzar had cost him a year and a half‘s siege.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12The kings of the earth … could enter the gates of Jerusalem: Since God had saved Jerusalem from Sennacherib of Assyria over a century earlier (2 Kings 19:36–37), the Judeans firmly believed that even the powerful king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon could not conquer the city.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. Jerusalem was so fortified that all thought it impregnable. It therefore could only have been the hand of God, not the force of man, which overthrew it. Mem.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Captivity
• 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