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 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. Better 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. 10The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Due to the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11The Lord has expended His wrath, He has poured out His fierce anger; And He has kindled a fire in Zion, And it 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
• killedחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491
• by the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• Thanמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• by hungerרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• wasteזוּבzûb · to flow: flowingH2100
• strickenדָּקַרdâqar · to pierceH1856
• of the produceתְּנוּבָהtenûbâh · fruitH8570

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:9

• Leviticus 26:39So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their wrongdoing in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the wrongdoing of their forefathers they will rot away with them.
• Ezekiel 24:23Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep; but you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan to one another.
• Ezekiel 33:10“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what you have said: “Surely our offenses 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