Lamentations 4:1

Lamentations 4:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
• English Standard Version (ESV)How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street.
• New King James Version (NKJV)How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered At the head of every street.
• New Living Translation (NLT)How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull. The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets!

Context of Lamentations 4:1

How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner. 2How 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! 3Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert.

Lamentations 4:1 word by word

אֵיכָה֙ יוּעַ֣ם זָהָ֔ב יִשְׁנֶ֖א הַכֶּ֣תֶם הַטּ֑וֹב תִּשְׁתַּפֵּ֙כְנָה֙ אַבְנֵי־קֹ֔דֶשׁ בְּרֹ֖אשׁ כָּל־חוּצֽוֹת׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• How is the goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• become dimעָמַם‛âmam · to darkenH6004
• is the mostטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• fine goldכֶּ֫תֶםkethem · goldH3800
• changedשָׁנָאshânâ' · to changeH8132
• the stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• of the sanctuaryקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
• are poured outשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: scatterH8210
• in the topרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
• of every streetחוּץchûts chûts · outsideH2351

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:1

• 2 Kings 25:9He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.
• Isaiah 1:21See how the faithful city has become a prostitute! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers!
• Isaiah 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
• Ezekiel 7:19“ ‘They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean. Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, for it has caused them to stumble into sin.
• Lamentations 2:19Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner.
• Jeremiah 52:13He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.
• Matthew 24:2“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
• Mark 13:2“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
• Luke 21:5Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1How is the gold become dim - The prophet contrasts, in various affecting instances, the wretched circumstances of the Jewish nation, with the flourishing state of their affairs in former times. Here they are compared to gold, זהב zahab, native gold from the mine, which, contrary to its nature, is become dim, is tarnished; and even the fine, the sterling gold, כתם kethem, that which was stamped to make it current, is changed or adulterated, so as to be no…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The stones of the sanctuary - Or, the hallowed stones, literally stones of holiness, a metaphor for the people themselves. The actual stones of the temple would not be thus widely thrown about as to be seen everywhere, but the prophet has already affirmed this of the young children dying of hunger (compare Lamentations 2:19).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The deplorable state of the nation is contrasted with its ancient prosperity. Verses 1-12 What a change is here! Sin tarnishes the beauty of the most exalted powers and the most excellent gifts; but that gold, tried in the fire, which Christ bestows, never will be taken from us; its outward appearance may be dimmed, but its real value can never be changed. The horrors of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem are again described. Beholding the sad…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. 1-22Aleph. 1. gold--the splendid adornment of the temple [Calvin] (La 1:10; 1Ki 6:22; Jr 52:19); or, the principal men of Judea [Grotius] (La 4:2). stones of ... sanctuary--the gems on the breastplate of the high priest; or, metaphorically, the priests and Levites. Beth.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:1

• Church
• Gold
• Temple

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Fine
• Gold
• 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