Lamentations 4:2

Lamentations 4:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
• New International Version (NIV)How the precious children of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!
• English Standard Version (ESV)The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter's hands!
• New King James Version (NKJV)The precious sons of Zion, Valuable as fine gold, How they are regarded as clay pots, The work of the hands of the potter!

Context of Lamentations 4:2

1Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner. ב (Bet) The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold – Alas! – but now they are treated like broken clay pots, made by a potter. ג (Gimel) 3Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the desert. ד (Dalet) 4The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel. ה (He)

Lamentations 4:2 word by word

בְּנֵ֤י צִיּוֹן֙ הַיְקָרִ֔ים הַמְסֻלָּאִ֖ים בַּפָּ֑ז אֵיכָ֤ה נֶחְשְׁבוּ֙ לְנִבְלֵי־חֶ֔רֶשׂ מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה יְדֵ֥י יוֹצֵֽר׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The preciousיָקָרyâqâr · preciousH3368
• sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
• comparableסָלָאsâlâ' · to weighH5537
• to fine goldפַּזpâz · pure goldH6337
• how are they esteemedחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: countH2803
• as earthenחֶ֫רֶשׂchereώ · earthenwareH2789
• pitchersנֵ֫בֶלnebel nêbel · bagH5035
• the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• of the handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• of the potterיָצַרyâtsar · to form: potterH3335

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:2

• Isaiah 51:18There was no one to lead her among all the children she bore; there was no one to take her by the hand among all the children she raised.
• Zechariah 9:13I will bend Judah as my bow; I will load the bow with Ephraim, my arrow! I will stir up your sons, Zion, against yours, Greece, and I will make you, Zion, like a warrior’s sword.
• Lamentations 2:21The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; you slaughtered them without mercy. ת (Tav)
• Lamentations 5:12Princes were hung by their hands; elders were mistreated.
• Isaiah 30:14It shatters in pieces like a clay jar, so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough to scoop a hot coal from a fire or to skim off water from a cistern.”
• Jeremiah 19:11Tell them the Lord who rules over all says, ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done. I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel which is broken beyond repair. The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’
• Jeremiah 22:28This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away. He will be like a clay vessel that no one wants. Why will he and his children be forced into exile? Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about?
• Romans 9:21Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?
• 2 Corinthians 4:7But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
• 2 Timothy 2:20Now in a wealthy home there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also ones made of wood and of clay, and some are for honorable use, but others for ignoble use.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The precious sons of Zion - The Jewish priests and Jewish believers. Comparable to fine gold - Who were of the pure standard of holiness; holy, because God who called them is holy; but now esteemed no better than earthen pitchers - vessels of dishonor in comparison of what they once were.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The precious sons of Zion - The whole nation was consecrated to God, and formed “a kingdom of priests” Exodus 19:6: in this respect, a type of the Christian Church 1 Peter 2:5. Comparable to fine gold - literally, “weighed with” solid gold, and so equal to their weight in it. With this is contrasted the hollow pitcher easily broken, and made of materials of no intrinsic value.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. 22. comparable to ... gold--(Job 28:16, 19). earthen pitchers--(Is 30:14; Jr 19:11). Gimel.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:2

• Art
• Pitcher
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Pottery
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Earthen Vessels
• Esteem
• Fine
• Gold

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