Lamentations 4:9

Lamentations 4:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
• New International Version (NIV)Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Those slain by the sword are better off Than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.

Context of Lamentations 4:9

7Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than corals, Their polishing was like lapis lazuli. 8Their appearance is blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is withered, it has become like wood. Better are those slain with the sword Than those slain with hunger; For they pine away, being stricken For lack of the fruits of the field. 10The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11The Lord has accomplished His wrath, He has poured out His fierce anger; And He has kindled a fire in Zion Which has consumed its foundations.

Lamentations 4:9 word by word

טוֹבִ֤ים הָיוּ֙ חַלְלֵי־חֶ֔רֶב מֵֽחַלְלֵ֖י רָעָ֑ב שֶׁ֣הֵ֤ם יָז֙וּבוּ֙ מְדֻקָּרִ֔ים מִתְּנוּבֹ֖ת שָׂדָֽי׃ סRead the interlinear

• Betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• slainחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491
• with the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• Thanמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• with hungerרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• pineזוּבzûb · to flow: flowingH2100
• being strickenדָּקַרdâqar · to pierceH1856
• For lack of the fruitsתְּנוּבָהtenûbâh · fruitH8570

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:9

• Leviticus 26:39So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their forefathers they will rot away with them.
• Ezekiel 24:23Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep, but you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another.
• Ezekiel 33:10“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you have spoken, saying, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?”’

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:9

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Long sieges result in a serious lack of food. Even if people could get to the fields, they would find the crops destroyed or harvested to feed the soldiers.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. The speedy death by the sword is better than the lingering death by famine. pine away--literally, "flow out"; referring to the flow of blood. This expression, and "stricken through," are drawn from death by "the sword." want of ... fruits--The words in italics have to be supplied in the original (Ge 18:28; Psa 109:24). Jod.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:9

• Famine

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Lamentations, Book of
• Pining Sickness
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Siege

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