Lamentations 4:1
What does Lamentations 4:1 mean?
A plain-English look at Lamentations 4:1 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Lamentations 4:1 means
The opening cry mourns how what was once radiant and precious has been reduced to ruin. “Gold” and “most pure gold” picture the city’s former splendor and the temple’s glory, now dulled and defaced. The “stones of the sanctuary” strewn in the streets points to the desecration of God’s house—holy things treated like rubble. The visible collapse mirrors a deeper spiritual collapse: the beauty that came from God’s presence has faded because His favor has been withdrawn. The shock is not only material loss but the loss of holiness, order, and honor. What had been set apart for God now lies common and exposed, a public sign of judgment.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000How is the gold become dim! how is the most pure gold changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street.
KJV
King James Version · 1611How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901How is the gold become dim! how is the most pure gold changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949How dark has the gold become! how changed the best gold! the stones of the holy place are dropping out at the top of every street.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862How is the gold become dim, Changed the best--the pure gold? Poured out are stones of the sanctuary At the head of all out-places.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Aleph. How is the gold become dim, the finest colour is changed, the stones of the sanctuary are scattered in the top of every street?
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890How is the gold become dim! the most pure gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary poured out at the top of all the streets!
Context
Verse 1 sets the tone for the chapter with a stark contrast between former glory and present desolation. It introduces images of precious metals and temple stones to embody Jerusalem’s decline. The lament looks back to what was, to better grasp the depth of what is. Verses 2–5 continue this contrast by moving from the sanctuary to the people themselves—especially the precious sons of Zion and the once-delicate. The immediate frame is the fall of the city and temple; the coming verses will unpack the human cost and the theological cause of this devastation.
v.1This passage
v.2The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, How are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Jeremiah 52:13
And he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned he with fire.
- Lamentations 2:19
Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; Pour out thy heart like water before the face of the Lord: Lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger at the head of every street.
- Isaiah 1:21
How is the faithful city become a harlot! she that was full of justice! righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.
- 2 Kings 25:9
And he burnt the house of Jehovah, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burnt he with fire.
- Isaiah 14:12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations!
- Mark 13:2
And Jesus said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down.
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