Lamentations 4:7

Lamentations 4:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
• New International Version (NIV)Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like lapis lazuli.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than coral, the beauty of their form was like sapphire.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Her Nazirites were brighter than snow And whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Like sapphire in their appearance.

Context of Lamentations 4:7

5Those who used to eat delicacies are desolate in the streets. Those who were brought up in purple embrace trash heaps. 6For the iniquities of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, yet no hands turned to her. Purer than snow were her princes, whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphire. 8Their form has become darker than soot! They are not recognized in the street. Their skin has shriveled on their bones, withered like a tree. 9Better are those slain by the sword than those struck down by famine— they waste away, racked with pain, for lack of fruits of the field.

Lamentations 4:7 word by word

זַכּ֤וּ נְזִירֶ֙יהָ֙ מִשֶּׁ֔לֶג צַח֖וּ מֵחָלָ֑ב אָ֤דְמוּ עֶ֙צֶם֙ מִפְּנִינִ֔ים סַפִּ֖יר גִּזְרָתָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Her Nazaritesנָזִירnâzîyr nâzir · NaziriteH5139
• were purerזָכַךְzâkak · be cleanH2141
• than snowשֶׁ֫לֶגsheleg · snowH7950
• they were whiterצָחַחtsâchach · be dazzlingH6705
• than milkחָלָבchâlâb · milkH2461
• they were more ruddyאָדֹם'âdam · to reddenH119
• in bodyעֶ֫צֶם‛etsem · bone: bodyH6106
• than rubiesפְּנִינִיםpânîyn pânîy · jewelH6443
• their polishingגִּזְרָהgizrâh · cutting/separationH1508
• of sapphireסַפִּירsappîyr · sapphireH5601

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:7

• Numbers 6:2“Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and say to them: Any man or woman who desires to vow a Nazirite vow to be separate for Adonai,
• Judges 13:5For behold, you will conceive and bear a son. Let no razor come upon his head, for the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb. He will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
• Judges 16:17So he divulged to her all his heart and said to her, “No razor has ever been upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will be weak and be like any other man.”
• Amos 2:11I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men. Is this not so, Bnei Yisrael?” declares Adonai.
• Luke 1:15He will be great before Adonai; and he should not drink wine and intoxicating beverage, but he will be filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh just out of his mother’s womb.
• 1 Samuel 16:12So he sent word and had him come. Now he was ruddy-cheeked, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. Then Adonai said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is the one.”
• Psalms 51:7Behold, I was born in iniquity and in sin when my mother conceived me.
• Psalms 144:12Then our sons will be like plants nurtured in their youth, our daughters like corner pillars carved for the construction of a palace.
• Daniel 1:15At the end of ten days their appearance looked better and their bodies healthier than all the youths who ate the king’s food.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Her Nazarites were purer than snow - נזיר nazir does not always signify a person separated under a religious vow; it sometimes denotes what is chief or eminent. It is applied to Joseph, Genesis 49:26. Blayney therefore translates here, Her Nobles. "Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were ruddier on the bone than rubies; their veining was the sapphires." On which he remarks: - "In the first line the whiteness of their skin is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The Nazarites from their temperance were remarkable for health and personal beauty, besides being held in religious veneration. Rubies - Or, corals. Their polishing was of sapphire - Or, their shape was “a sapphire.” The allusion is no longer to color, but to form. Their shape was exact and faultless as the cutting of a precious stone.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7their appearance like sapphires: (literally like lapis lazuli): Lapis lazuli is a beautiful blue stone. It is soft enough to carve and is often used in decorations and mosaics.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. Nazarites--literally, "separated ones" (Nu 6:2). They were held once in the highest estimation, but now they are degraded. God's blessing formerly caused their body not to be the less fair and ruddy for their abstinence from strong drink. Compare the similar case of Daniel, &c. (Da 1:8-15). Also David (1Sa 16:12; 17:42). Type of Messiah (So 5:10). rubies--Gesenius translates, "corals," from a Hebrew root, "to divide into branches," from the branching…Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:7

• Famine
• Fraternity
• Nazarite
• Ruby
• Snow

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Ruby
• Stones, Precious
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Body
• Color; Colors
• Coral

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