Lamentations 4 — T4T
What happened when Jerusalem was destroyed
4Verse 1Previously our people were like [MET] pure gold,but now they are worthless.Like [MET] the sacred stones in the temple have been scattered,our young men have been scattered.Verse 2The young men of Jerusalem were as valuable as [MET] large amounts of gold,but now people consider that they are as worthless as ordinary clay pots.Verse 3Even the female jackals/wolves feed their pups,but my people act cruelly toward their children;they are like [SIM] ostriches in the desert that abandon their eggs.Verse 4My people’s infants’ tongues cling to the roofs/tops of their mouthsbecause they are extremely thirsty;the children plead for some food,but no one gives them any.Verse 5People who previously ate fine foodare now starving in the streets;those who previously lived luxuriously [MTY]now paw/dig through rubbish heaps to find some food.Verse 6The people of Sodom were struck with a disaster very suddenly,and there was no one to rescue them;but my people have been punishedmore severely than the people of Sodom were punished.Verse 7Our leaders’ behavior was previously very pure,whiter and brighter than snow and milk;their bodies were redder than red coral/stones;they were very strong and healthy [MET].Verse 8But now their faces are blacker than soot,and no one recognizes them in the streets.Their skin has shriveled on their bones,and it has become as dry as [SIM] a wooden stick.Verse 9It is better to die in a battle [MTY]than to die of hunger.There was no food to harvest in the fields,so the people slowly starved until they died.Verse 10Women who usually/previously were very kindhave killed and cooked their own children;they ate them when there was no other food,when Jerusalem was surrounded by enemy soldiers.Verse 11Yahweh has shown that he was extremely angry;it is as though he started/ignited a fire in Jerusalemthat burned everything to ashes.Verse 12None of the kings on the earth or anyone elsebelieved that any of our enemies could enter the gates of Jerusalem.Verse 13But that is what happened;it happened because the prophets sinned;and the priests also sinnedby causing innocent people to be executed [MTY].Verse 14The prophets and priests wandered through the streetsas though they were blind.No one would touch thembecause their clothes were stained with the blood of people who had been killed.Verse 15The people who were alive shouted, “Stay away from us [DOU]! You are defiled/untouchable!Do not touch us!”So the prophets and priests fled from Israel,and they wandered around from one country to another,
because people in each country kept saying to them, “You cannot stay here!”Verse 16It is Yahweh himself who has scattered them;he no longer is concerned about them.People do not respect our priests or leaders.Verse 17We [SYN] continued to look for someone to help us,but it was useless.We continued to watch to see if one of our allies would save us,but none of the nations that we were waiting for could help us.Verse 18Our enemies were hunting for us,so we could not even walk in our streets lest they seize us.We were about to be captured;it was time for us to be killed.Verse 19Those who pursued us were faster than eagles flying in the sky.
Even if we fled to the mountainsor hid in the desert,
they went there ahead of us and waited to attack us.Verse 20Our king, whom Yahweh appointed,was the one who enabled us to remain alive [MTY];he was the one whom we trusted to protect us [IDM]from the armies of other nations.But he was capturedlike animals are [MET] caught in a pit.Verse 21You people of [IDM] Edom and Uz,you may be happy about what is happening to us now,but Yahweh will be punishing [MTY] you also.You will become drunk and will be ashamed
because your enemies will have stripped off your clothes.Verse 22You people of [APO] Jerusalem,the time of your being punished will end;Yahweh will not allow you to continue to live in ◄exile/foreign countries►.But you people of [APO] Edom, Yahweh will punish you;
he will reveal the wicked things that you have done.