Lamentations 4:16

Lamentations 4:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The Lord himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The face of the Lord scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not respect the priests Nor show favor to the elders.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The Lord himself has scattered them, and he no longer helps them. People show no respect for the priests and no longer honor the leaders.

Context of Lamentations 4:16

14Now they grope through the streets as if they were blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments. 15“Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them. “Away! Away! Don’t touch us!” When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, “They can stay here no longer.” The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor. 17Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us. 18People stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.

Lamentations 4:16 word by word

פְּנֵ֤י יְהוָה֙ חִלְּקָ֔ם לֹ֥א יוֹסִ֖יף לְהַבִּיטָ֑ם פְּנֵ֤י כֹהֲנִים֙ לֹ֣א נָשָׂ֔אוּ וּזְקֵנִ֖ים לֹ֥א חָנָֽנוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The angerפָּנֶהpânîym · face ofH6440
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• hath dividedחָלַקchâlaq · to divideH2505
• them; he will no moreיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
• regardנָבַטnâbaţ · to lookH5027
• them: they respectedנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: kindnessH5375
• not the personsפָּנֶהpânîym · face: kindnessH6440
• of the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• they favouredחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
• not the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:16

• Genesis 49:7Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
• Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.
• Deuteronomy 28:25The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.
• Deuteronomy 32:26I said I would scatter them and erase their name from human memory,
• Jeremiah 15:4I will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah 24:9I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them.
• Psalms 106:44Yet he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;
• Hebrews 8:9It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
• Lamentations 5:12Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect.
• 2 Kings 25:18The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.
• 2 Chronicles 36:17He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.
• Isaiah 9:14So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day;

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:16

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Literally, The countenance of Yahweh hath scattered them, has driven these outlawed priests here and there, “and He will no more regard them” with favor.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-20Verses 13-20 Nothing ripens a people more for ruin, nor fills the measure faster, than the sins of priests and prophets. The king himself cannot escape, for Divine vengeance pursues him. Our anointed King alone is the life of our souls; we may safely live under his shadow, and rejoice in Him in the midst of our enemies, for He is the true God and eternal life.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. 1616. Ain and Pe are here transposed (La 4:16, 17), as in La 2:16, 17; 3:46-51. anger--literally, "face"; it is the countenance which, by its expression, manifests anger (Psa 34:16). Gesenius translates, "the person of Jehovah"; Jehovah present; Jehovah Himself (Ex 33:14; 2Sa 17:11). divided--dispersed the Jews. they respected not ... priests--This is the language of the Gentiles. "The Jews have no hope of a return: for they respected not even good priests"…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• 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