Lamentations 4:9

Lamentations 4:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
• New International Version (NIV)Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Those slain by the sword are better off Than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.

Context of Lamentations 4:9

7Purer 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. Better 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. 10The hands of compassionate women boiled their own children. They became their food when the daughter of my people were destroyed. 11Adonai has vented His fury. He has poured out His burning anger. Yes, He kindled a fire in Zion that devoured her foundations.

Lamentations 4:9 word by word

טוֹבִ֤ים הָיוּ֙ חַלְלֵי־חֶ֔רֶב מֵֽחַלְלֵ֖י רָעָ֑ב שֶׁ֣הֵ֤ם יָז֙וּבוּ֙ מְדֻקָּרִ֔ים מִתְּנוּבֹ֖ת שָׂדָֽי׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• slainחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491
• with the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• are betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• with hungerרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• for theseהֵ֫מָּהhêm hêmmâh · they(masc.)H1992
• pine awayזוּבzûb · to flow: waste awayH2100
• strickenדָּקַרdâqar · to pierceH1856
• the fruitsתְּנוּבָהtenûbâh · fruitH8570
• of the fieldשָׂדַיώâdeh ώâday · fieldH7704

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:9

• Leviticus 26:39Those of you who are left in the land of your enemies will rot away because of their iniquity, and because of the iniquities of their fathers they will rot away with them.
• Ezekiel 24:23Your turbans will remain on your heads and your shoes on your feet—you will not lament or weep. But you will pine away in your iniquities and groan to each other.
• Ezekiel 33:10“You, son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘You have said, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us and we are pining away in them. So how can we live.”

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:9

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Long sieges result in a serious lack of food. Even if people could get to the fields, they would find the crops destroyed or harvested to feed the soldiers.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. The speedy death by the sword is better than the lingering death by famine. pine away--literally, "flow out"; referring to the flow of blood. This expression, and "stricken through," are drawn from death by "the sword." want of ... fruits--The words in italics have to be supplied in the original (Ge 18:28; Psa 109:24). Jod.Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:9

• Famine

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Lamentations, Book of
• Pining Sickness
• Poetry, Hebrew
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Siege

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