Lamentations 4:16

Lamentations 4:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The Lord himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The face of the Lord scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not respect the priests Nor show favor to the elders.

Context of Lamentations 4:16

14My people staggered blindly through the streets. They were so contaminated with bloodstains that no one would touch their clothes. 15‘Get away! You’re unclean,’ people yelled at them. ‘Get away! Get away! Don’t touch anyone.’ When they fled and wandered around, the people of the nations said, ‘They can’t stay here any longer.’ The Lord himself has scattered them. He will no longer look favorably on them. They no longer respected the priests, nor did they honor their older leaders.” 17“We are still straining our eyes, trying in vain to find help. We waited and waited for a nation that didn’t save us. 18⌞The enemy⌟ kept tracking us down, so we couldn’t even go out into the streets. Our end was near. Our time was up. Our end had come.

Lamentations 4:16 word by word

פְּנֵ֤י יְהוָה֙ חִלְּקָ֔ם לֹ֥א יוֹסִ֖יף לְהַבִּיטָ֑ם פְּנֵ֤י כֹהֲנִים֙ לֹ֣א נָשָׂ֔אוּ וּזְקֵנִ֖ים לֹ֥א חָנָֽנוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The angerפָּנֶהpânîym · face ofH6440
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• hath dividedחָלַקchâlaq · to divideH2505
• them; he will no moreיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
• regardנָבַטnâbaţ · to lookH5027
• them: they respectedנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: kindnessH5375
• not the personsפָּנֶהpânîym · face: kindnessH6440
• of the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• they favouredחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
• not the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:16

• Genesis 49:7May their anger be cursed because it’s so fierce. May their fury be cursed because it’s so cruel. I will divide them among ⌞the sons of⌟ Jacob and scatter them among ⌞the tribes of⌟ Israel.
• Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations. War will follow you. Your country will be in ruins. Your cities will be deserted.
• Deuteronomy 28:25The Lord will let your enemies defeat you. You will attack them from one direction but run away from them in seven directions. You will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms in the world.
• Deuteronomy 32:26I said that I would cut them in pieces and erase everyone’s memory of them.
• Jeremiah 15:4I will make these people a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms on the earth. This will happen because of what Judah’s King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, did in Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah 24:9I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. They will be a disgrace and an example. They will become something ridiculed and cursed wherever I scatter them.
• Psalms 106:44He saw that they were suffering when he heard their cry for help.
• Hebrews 8:9It will not be like the promise that I made to their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. They rejected that promise, so I ignored them, says the Lord.
• Lamentations 5:12⌞Our⌟ leaders are hung by their hands. ⌞Our⌟ older leaders are shown no respect.
• 2 Kings 25:18The captain of the guard took the chief priest Seraiah, the second priest Zephaniah, and the 3 doorkeepers.
• 2 Chronicles 36:17So he had the Babylonian king attack them and execute their best young men in their holy temple. He didn’t spare the best men or the unmarried women, the old people or the sick people. God handed all of them over to him.
• Isaiah 9:14So in one day the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branches and cattails.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:16

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Literally, The countenance of Yahweh hath scattered them, has driven these outlawed priests here and there, “and He will no more regard them” with favor.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. 1616. Ain and Pe are here transposed (La 4:16, 17), as in La 2:16, 17; 3:46-51. anger--literally, "face"; it is the countenance which, by its expression, manifests anger (Psa 34:16). Gesenius translates, "the person of Jehovah"; Jehovah present; Jehovah Himself (Ex 33:14; 2Sa 17:11). divided--dispersed the Jews. they respected not ... priests--This is the language of the Gentiles. "The Jews have no hope of a return: for they respected not even good priests"…Read the comment

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