Lamentations 4:7

Lamentations 4:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
• New International Version (NIV)Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like lapis lazuli.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than coral, the beauty of their form was like sapphire.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Her Nazirites were brighter than snow And whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Like sapphire in their appearance.

Context of Lamentations 4:7

5Those who used to eat delicacies Are made to tremble in the streets; Those who were raised in crimson clothing Embrace garbage heaps. 6For the wrongdoing of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her. Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They shined more than milk; They were more ruddy in body than pearls of coral, Their form was like lapis lazuli. 8Their appearance is darker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is dry, it has become like wood. 9Better off are those killed by the sword Than those killed by hunger; For they waste away, stricken By the lack of the produce of the field.

Lamentations 4:7 word by word

זַכּ֤וּ נְזִירֶ֙יהָ֙ מִשֶּׁ֔לֶג צַח֖וּ מֵחָלָ֑ב אָ֤דְמוּ עֶ֙צֶם֙ מִפְּנִינִ֔ים סַפִּ֖יר גִּזְרָתָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

• consecratedנָזִירnâzîyr nâzir · NaziriteH5139
• purerזָכַךְzâkak · be cleanH2141
• thanמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• snowשֶׁ֫לֶגsheleg · snowH7950
• They shinedצָחַחtsâchach · be dazzlingH6705
• milkחָלָבchâlâb · milkH2461
• ruddyאָדֹם'âdam · to reddenH119
• bodyעֶ֫צֶם‛etsem · bone: bodyH6106
• pearlsפְּנִינִיםpânîyn pânîy · jewelH6443
• Their formגִּזְרָהgizrâh · cutting/separationH1508
• lapisסַפִּירsappîyr · sapphireH5601

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:7

• Numbers 6:2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, namely, the vow of a Nazirite, to live as a Nazirite for the Lord,
• Judges 13:5For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he will begin to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
• Judges 16:17So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
• Amos 2:11Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets, And some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is this not so, you sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
• Luke 1:15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.
• 1 Samuel 16:12So he sent word and brought him in. Now he was reddish, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.”
• Psalms 51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.
• Psalms 144:12When our sons in their youth are like growing plants, And our daughters like corner pillars fashioned for a palace,
• Daniel 1:15And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed better, and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Her Nazarites were purer than snow - נזיר nazir does not always signify a person separated under a religious vow; it sometimes denotes what is chief or eminent. It is applied to Joseph, Genesis 49:26. Blayney therefore translates here, Her Nobles. "Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were ruddier on the bone than rubies; their veining was the sapphires." On which he remarks: - "In the first line the whiteness of their skin is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The Nazarites from their temperance were remarkable for health and personal beauty, besides being held in religious veneration. Rubies - Or, corals. Their polishing was of sapphire - Or, their shape was “a sapphire.” The allusion is no longer to color, but to form. Their shape was exact and faultless as the cutting of a precious stone.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7their appearance like sapphires: (literally like lapis lazuli): Lapis lazuli is a beautiful blue stone. It is soft enough to carve and is often used in decorations and mosaics.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. Nazarites--literally, "separated ones" (Nu 6:2). They were held once in the highest estimation, but now they are degraded. God's blessing formerly caused their body not to be the less fair and ruddy for their abstinence from strong drink. Compare the similar case of Daniel, &c. (Da 1:8-15). Also David (1Sa 16:12; 17:42). Type of Messiah (So 5:10). rubies--Gesenius translates, "corals," from a Hebrew root, "to divide into branches," from the branching…Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:7

• Famine
• Fraternity
• Nazarite
• Ruby
• Snow

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Ruby
• Stones, Precious
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Body
• Color; Colors
• Coral

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