Zion's Sons Are Comparable to Fine Gold & Are Considered Like Clay Pitchers |
Lamentations 4:1-22 The Book of Lamentations [in Smaller Chunks] |
How the gold [has] become dim! How the most fine gold [has] changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out [on] the top of every street. [Lamentations 2:19 Arise & cry out in the night, [at] the beginning of the watches & pour out your heart like water, before the face of the Lord. Lift up your hands toward Him, for the life of your young children, [who] faint, [due to] hunger, [on] the top of every street.] |
How the precious sons of Zion, [similar] to fine gold, are [treated like clay] pitchers, the work of the potter's hands. [2 Kings 17:16-18 And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God & made [themselves molded] images, even 2 calves & made a grove & worshiped all the host of heaven, [a.k.a. stars & constellations,] & served Baal. |
And they caused their sons & daughters to pass through the fire & used divination & enchantments & sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel & removed them out of His sight. There [were] none left, but only the tribe of Judah.] |
Even the sea monsters, [pull] out their breast, [to nurse] their young ones. The [daughters] of my people [have] become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the [nursing] child [clings] to the roof of his mouth for thirst. |
The young children ask for bread & no man breaks it to them. [Acts 27:35 And when [Paul] had spoken [this,] he took bread & gave thanks to God in the presence of all [of] them. And when he had broken it, he began to eat.] |
[Those who ate delicacies,] are [alone] in the streets. [Those who] were brought up [wearing] scarlet, [now] [hold on to a hill of manure.] For the punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown, in a moment & no [one remained] in her. |
Her Nazarites were purer than snow & they were whiter than milk. [Their bodies] were more [reddish] than rubies & their [shine] was [like] sapphires. [Now,] their appearance is blacker than a coal. They aren't known in the streets & their skin [clings] to their bones. It is withered & it [has] become like a stick. |
[Those who are] slain [by] the sword, are better [off] than [those who are] slain [by] hunger. For [these afflicted, yearn because of the lack] of the fruits of the field. The hands of the pitiful women have [boiled] their own children. They were their meat, [during] the destruction of the daughter of my people. |
The Lord has accomplished His fury. He has poured out His fierce anger & has [started] a fire in Zion & it has devoured [its] foundations. [Jeremiah 21:9-10 He, [who remains] in this city shall die by the: sword, famine & pestilence: but he, [who] goes out, & falls to, [a.k.a. goes under the control of] the Chaldeans, [who attack] you, shall live & his life shall be to him, [as a prize.] |
For I have set My face against this city for [calamity] & not for good, says the Lord. It shall be given into the hand of [Babylon's] king, & he shall burn it with fire.] |
The kings of the earth & all the inhabitants of the world, wouldn't have believed that the adversary & the enemy [could] have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. [But it's] for the sins of her prophets & the iniquities of her priests, who] have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her. |
[Jeremiah 23:11-14 For both [prophets & priests] are [ungodly. Yes,] I have found their wickedness in My house, says the Lord. [For this reason,] their [road] shall be to them [like slippery roads] in darkness. |
They shall be driven on & fall [on them.] For I will even bring upon them, the year of their visitation, [a.k.a. punishment,] says the Lord. And I have seen [foolishness] in the prophets of Samaria. They prophesied [about] Baal & caused My people [to go astray.] |
I have also seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem. They commit adultery & [follow what are] lies. They also strengthen the hands [of those who do evil, so] that none return from his wickedness. They are all of them to Me [like] Sodom & the [residents] of Gomorrah.] |
They have wandered [like] blind men in the streets & they have polluted themselves with [bloodshed,] so that men couldn't touch their garments. [Psalm 106:35-38 But [they] were [mixed] among the heathen & learned their works. And they served their idols, which were a snare to them. |
[Yes,] they sacrificed their sons & daughters to [demons] & shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons & daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan & the land was polluted with blood.] |
They cried [out] to [the bloodstained priests,] You [leave.] It is unclean, [leave.] Depart & [don't] touch. When they fled away & wandered, the heathen said, They shall no [longer stay] there. The anger of the Lord has [scattered] them. |
He will no [longer] regard them. The [didn't] respect the priest & [didn't] favor the elders. Our eyes [still fail,] [looking] for help [in] vain. In our watching, we have watched for a nation that couldn't save us. [Jeremiah 42:15-16 Therefore, you, [remaining] of Judah, now hear the Word of the Lord. |
The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel says [this;] If you [totally focus] your faces [on entering] Egypt, to go & [stay] there, Then it shall [happen,] that the sword, [that] you feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt & the famine, [of which] you were afraid, shall follow close [behind] you & you shall die there in Egypt.] |
They hunt our [footprints,] so that we can't go [into] our streets. Our end is near & our days are fulfilled, [because] our end [has] come. [2 Kings 25:4-5 And the city was broken up & all the men of war fled [at] night [on] the [path by] the gate between 2 walls, which [are] by the king's garden. |
(Now, the Chaldees, [a.k.a. Chaldeans,] were against the city [all around.]) And the king went [on] the [road] toward the plain. So, they [captured] king [Zedekiah] & brought him to [Babylon's] king [at] Riblah. And they [passed] judgment upon him.] |
Our persecutors are [faster] than the eagles of heaven. They pursued us upon the mountains & they laid [waiting to ambush] us, in the wilderness. The [Lord's] anointed was [captured] in their pits, of whom we said, We shall live [with] the breath of our nostrils, [a.k.a. with our lives,] among the heathen under [Zedekiah's] shadow. |
Rejoice & be glad, O daughter of Edom, [who] dwells in the land of Uz. The cup shall also pass to you. You shall be drunk & shall make yourself naked. [Psalm 83:3-7 They have taken [deceitful] counsel against Your people & consulted against Your hidden ones. They have said, Come & let us cut them off from being a nation; [so] that the name of Israel may no [longer] be [remembered.] |
For they consulted together [in agreement.] [Those of] the tabernacles of: Edom; the Ishamaelites; Moab; Hagarenes; Gebal; Ammon; Amalek; Philistines; with the inhabitants of Tyre are [in alliance] against You.] |
The punishment [for] your [sin] is accomplished, O daughter of Zion. He will no [longer] carry you away into captivity. He will visit, [a.k.a. punish] your [sin,] O daughter of Edom. He will [uncover] your sins. |
[Jeremiah 31:10-12 O you nations, hear the Word of the Lord, & declare it in the [coastal islands far away] & say, He, [Who] scattered Israel, will gather [them] & keep [them like] a Shepherd [keeps] His flock.] |