Lamentations 4:11
in Lamentations 4The LORD has exhausted His wrath; He has poured out His fierce anger; He has kindled a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah hath accomplished his wrath, he hath poured out his fierce anger; And he hath kindled a fire in Zion, which hath devoured the foundations thereof.
KJV
The Lord hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.
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This verse in Lamentations 4
Commentary
2 notes on this verseHe has poured out the full vials of his fierce anger, poured them out to the bottom, even the dregs of them. He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has not only consumed the houses, and levelled them with the ground, but, beyond what other fires do, has devoured the foundations thereof, as if they were to be no more built upon. It is an amazing destruction,
This site's exposition
The Lord hath accomplished his fury
on Lamentations 4:11-12
Verse 11 names the fire's true source: the Lord hath accomplished his fury, poured out his fierce anger and kindled a fire in Zion that devoured her foundations, the temple's burning read as the Lord's own act and not only Babylon's. Verse 12 records a settled unbelief among the nations, that the kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world would not have believed that any adversary or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem, a city guarded by its own reputation until it fell.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Adonoy spent His wrath. Which burned in Him for many years. 17 God’s fury is compared to a ‘consuming fire’ as in Eichah:3 above; also see Devorim:24. He now spent it when He avenged Himself upon them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּלָּ֤ה | kilah | he has completed | H3615 → | 208 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֲמָת֔וֹ | chamato | rage his | H2534 → | |
| שָׁפַ֖ךְ | shafakh | he has poured out | H8210 → | 114 times |
| חֲר֣וֹן | charon | [the] burning of | H2740 → | |
| אַפּ֑וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| וַיַּצֶּת־ | vaiyatzet- | and he has kindled | H3341 → | |
| אֵ֣שׁ | ʾesh | a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| בְּצִיּ֔וֹן | betziyon | in Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| וַתֹּ֖אכַל | vatokhal | and it has consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| יְסוֹדֹתֶֽיהָ׃ ס | yesodoteiha | foundations its | H3247 → |
כִּלָּ֤הhe has completed
kilahH3615 →208 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֲמָת֔וֹrage his
chamatoH2534 →
שָׁפַ֖ךְhe has poured out
shafakhH8210 →114 times
חֲר֣וֹן[the] burning of
charonH2740 →
אַפּ֑וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
וַיַּצֶּת־and he has kindled
vaiyatzet-H3341 →
אֵ֣שׁa fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
בְּצִיּ֔וֹןin Zion
betziyonH6726 →154 times
וַתֹּ֖אכַלand it has consumed
vatokhalH398 →810 times
יְסוֹדֹתֶֽיהָ׃ סfoundations its
yesodoteihaH3247 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 22:31So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 7:8–9
Very soon I will pour out My wrath upon you and vent My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and repay you for all your abominations.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 7:8–9
Through
Jeremiah 17:27But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 25:9
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Jeremiah 7:20
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce…
- Jeremiah 21:14
I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forest that will consume everything around you.’”
- Amos 2:4–5
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they reject the Law of the LORD and fail to keep His statutes; they…
- Ezekiel 22:8
You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
- 2 Kings 25:9
Through
Jeremiah 7:20Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 42:18
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out…
- Jeremiah 42:18
Through
Lamentations 2:17The LORD has done what He planned; He has accomplished His decree, which He ordained in days of old; He has overthrown you without pity. He has let the enemy gloat over you and…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 5:11
Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon…
- Ezekiel 5:11
About Lamentations
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.