Lamentations 4:13

Lamentations 4:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,
• New International Version (NIV)But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.
• English Standard Version (ESV)This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.

Context of Lamentations 4:13

11The Lord has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, And it has devoured its foundations. 12The kings of the earth, And all inhabitants of the world, Would not have believed That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem— Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who shed in her midst The blood of the just. 14They wandered blind in the streets; They have defiled themselves with blood, So that no one would touch their garments. 15They cried out to them, “Go away, unclean! Go away, go away, Do not touch us!” When they fled and wandered, Those among the nations said, “They shall no longer dwell here.”

Lamentations 4:13 word by word

מֵֽחַטֹּ֣את נְבִיאֶ֔יהָ עֲוֹנ֖וֹת כֹּהֲנֶ֑יהָ הַשֹּׁפְכִ֥ים בְּקִרְבָּ֖הּ דַּ֥ם צַדִּיקִֽים׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For the sinsחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
• of her prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• the iniquitiesעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
• of her priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• that have shedשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: killH8210
• the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• of the justצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
• in the midstקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:13

• Lamentations 2:14Your prophets have seen for you False and deceptive visions; They have not uncovered your iniquity, To bring back your captives, But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?
• Jeremiah 6:13“Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely.
• Jeremiah 14:14And the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.
• Jeremiah 23:11“For both prophet and priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the Lord.
• Ezekiel 22:26Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
• Micah 3:11Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.”
• Zephaniah 3:3Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning.
• Jeremiah 2:20“For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds; And you said, ‘I will not transgress,’ When on every high hill and under every green tree You lay down, playing the harlot.
• Jeremiah 26:8Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die!
• Matthew 23:31“Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
• Luke 11:47Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
• Acts 7:52Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
• 1 Thessalonians 2:15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men,

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests - These most wretched beings, under the pretense of zeal for the true religion, persecuted the genuine prophets, priests, and people of God, and caused their blood to be shed in the midst of the city, in the most open and public manner; exactly as the murderous priests, and blood-thirsty preachers, under the reign of bloody Queen Mary, did in England. However, the profligate priests and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13The blood of the just - Jeremiah 26:7-24 exhibits priests and prophets as the prime movers in an attempt to silence the word of God by putting Jeremiah to death. Compare the margin reference to Matthew.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. 1313. prophets--the false prophets (Jr 23:11, 21). Supply the sense thus: "For the sins ... these calamities have befallen her." shed the blood of the just--(Mt 23:31, 37). This received its full fulfilment in the slaying of Messiah and the Jews' consequent dispersion (Jas 5:6). Nun.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:13

• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Lamentations, Book of
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Ostrich

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