Lamentations 4:9

Lamentations 4:9

7 Her¹ Nazirites were brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their¹ appearance.

8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
^aTheir skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.

9 Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these ^apine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the ^bfield.

10 The hands of the ^acompassionate women
Have¹ cooked their ^bown children;
They became ^cfood for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.

11 The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
^aHe has poured out His fierce anger.
^bHe kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.

12 The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could ^aenter the gates of Jerusalem—

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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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 (Genesis 18:28; Psalms 109:24).

**Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Lamentations 4:9:**

2 Kings 25:3
Isaiah 22:2
Jeremiah 48:45

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Lamentations 4:10 >>

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