Lamentations 4:1-2

Some people think that the ‘young men’ were the priests of the *temple.

The fine gold of God’s house (see 1 Kings 6:22) and its special stone was dirty. It was dirty with smoke after the fire. Now the enemy has scattered the materials that the builders used.

v3 Even the wild dogs give milk to their young ones. But the young women in my country have become cruel. They behave like *ostriches in the desert.

Verse 3 *Ostriches in the desert lay their eggs in the sand and leave them. (See Job 39:14-15.) They do not look after their eggs.

v4 The tongue of the baby at the breast sticks in its mouth because the breast has gone dry. The young children ask for food but nobody gives them anything to eat.

v5 People who once ate the best of food are now in the streets with nothing to eat. The people that wore the best of clothes now search piles of rubbish to find food.

v6 That is the punishment for the *sins of my people. It is greater punishment than the punishment of *Sodom, which God, not man, destroyed in a moment.

Verse 6 The people in *Sodom were very wicked and they did not care about God. They all died quickly (Genesis 19:25). The people in *Jerusalem knew a lot about God. But they too were wicked. They were dying slowly. See also verse 9. In Matthew 11:23-24, Jesus was speaking about *Sodom. He was telling some of the *Jews what would happen to them. They listened to him but they would not change their behaviour.

v7 The leaders in *Jerusalem were cleaner than snow. They were whiter than milk. Their bodies were redder than *rubies. Their shapes were like smooth precious stones.

v8 Now their faces are black like coal. People see them but they do not recognise them. Their skin hangs on their bones. Their skin is dry like a stick.

Verses 7-8 These people had been healthy and strong. Also, they were extra careful to be clean. They did not have bad habits.

People considered that their leaders were very special. Now they look the same as everybody else in the streets.

v9 The sword has killed some people. They are happier than the ones who die from hunger. The hungry ones die slowly because there is nothing for them to eat.

v10 The women who once were kind-hearted have now boiled their own children. The children were food for them in the bad times of my people.

Verse 10 ‘Boiled children’. See also Deuteronomy 28:56-57; 2 Kings 6:29; Jeremiah 19:9. See also chapter 2 verse 20. See what awful things people do when God is punishing them for their *sins.

v11 The *Lord has now satisfied his anger. The *Lord was so angry that he sent his fire on *Jerusalem. He has burnt even the strong base of the houses.

v12 No foreign rulers or their people believed that an enemy could ever enter through the gates of *Jerusalem.

Verse 12 These people had seen or had heard about the strong walls of *Jerusalem. They also knew that *Jerusalem was special to God. So, the fate of the city greatly surprised them.

v13 It was the *sins of *Jerusalem’s *prophets and its priests that caused the city’s ruin. It is because of them that good people died.

Verse 13 The wicked people were just as bad as the priests and *prophets were. (See Jeremiah 5:31.) It was sad that good people died too because of the *sins of *Jerusalem’s people. See 2 Kings 24:3-4 and James 5:5-6.

v14 Those leaders wandered in the streets like blind men. There is blood on their clothes and nobody wants to touch them.

Verse 14 ‘Blood’ See Numbers 19:16. But there was not actual blood on the leaders’ clothes. It means that they caused many people to die by their *sins.

v15 ‘Go away! You are unclean!’ people shouted at their leaders. ‘Do not touch us!’ They hurried away. And they wandered among the nations. They could not find any place to rest.

v16 The anger of the *Lord has scattered them. He does not look on them in a favourable way any more. The ordinary people now have no respect for bad priests, or for bad leaders.

Verse 16 God will not look with kindness on people who practise *sin. See Psalms 66:18. Good people may be sorry for bad priests. But they do not listen to them or respect them.

v17 We wore out our eyes as we looked in vain for help. But help did not come. We looked in vain for help from a nation that could not save us.

Verse 17 The help that the *Jews hoped to receive was from *Egypt (Jeremiah 37:7). But nobody can help us if God is against us. See Psalms 60:11. But God is for us against our *sins, if we love and follow him.

v18 Enemies hunted us where we walked. So we could not go into the streets. Our end was near. We could not live now. The end had come.

v19 Our enemies went after us. They were quicker than *eagles that dive out of the sky. Our enemies hunted us among the mountains. They hid and waited for us in the wild places.

v20 Our great hope had been in the king that God gave us. But the enemies caught him as men catch an animal in a pit (a hole in the ground). We had said about him, ‘Under his shadow we shall live in safety among the foreigners.’

Verse 20 The king was Zedekiah. He was the last king of *Judah. See Jeremiah 39:1-14 and 2 Kings 25:1-7.

The *Jews thought that their kings were very special. That was because God had caused them to rule over his people.

v21 Be happy and glad while you may, you people of *Edom and *Uz. But the cup will come to you also. You will become like drunks. You will be naked, too.

Verse 21 ‘The cup’ means the experience of trouble which God will send to *Edom. God will punish *Edom’s people because they have been cruel to his people. See Numbers 20:18-20; Ezekiel 35:1-7; 1 Samuel 14:47; 2 Chronicles 20:10 and Psalms 137:7.

v22 The punishment for your *sins has come to its end, you people of *Jerusalem. God will no more let enemies take you away as prisoners. But you, you people of *Edom, he will punish you for your *sins. He will uncover them.

Verse 22 God also talked about the punishment of *Edom in Isaiah 34:5-15. The people of *Edom did scatter. It is not a nation now.

temple ~ the sacred house in Jerusalem where Israel’s people went to pray.
Jerusalem ~ the Jews’ capital city; God told King Solomon to build God’s sacred temple there.
Israel ~ Israel is the group of people that God chose to be his people.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jerusalem ~ the Jews’ capital city; God told King Solomon to build God’s sacred temple there.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
temple ~ the sacred house in Jerusalem where Israel’s people went to pray.
Israel ~ Israel is the group of people that God chose to be his people.
clay ~ earth, heavy and firm when dry, stiff and soft when wet.
potter ~ a person who makes pots from clay.
clay ~ earth, heavy and firm when dry, stiff and soft when wet.
ostrich ~ a big bird. It does not fly, but runs. It lives in hot desert places.
ostrich ~ a big bird. It does not fly, but runs. It lives in hot desert places.
sin ~ to do things against God and other people; an bad action that we do against God and other people.
Sodom ~ a town where the people were very wicked. God destroyed Sodom.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
ruby ~ a red precious stone.
Lord ~ a special name for God that his people use. He will do what he has promised them. That is what this name means.
prophet ~ a person who hears God’s words, and tells them to other people; a person who spoke God’s words. Some prophets wrote books in the Bible.
Egypt ~ a country in Africa, south of Judah. The people there sometimes liked God’s people and sometimes they did not.
Judah ~ a part of the country that God gave to his people.
eagle ~ a very large bird that hunts other birds for food.
Judah ~ a part of the country that God gave to his people.
Edom ~ a country. The people there did not like God’s people.
Uz ~ a country, east of Edom. The people there did not like God’s people.
Edom ~ a country. The people there did not like God’s people.