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Lamentations 4:6

in Lamentations 4

The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, That was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands were laid upon her.

KJV

For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.

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This verse in Lamentations 4

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

For the punishment - He thinks the punishment of Jerusalem far greater than that of Sodom. That was destroyed in a moment while all her inhabitants were in health and strength; Jerusalem fell by the most lingering calamities; her men partly destroyed by the sword, and partly by the famine.

This site's exposition

Even the sea monsters draw out the breast

on Lamentations 4:3-6

The sea monsters of verse 3, read by many of the older writers as jackals, nurse their young while the daughter of my people turns cruel as the ostriches of the wilderness, a bird Job 39 already named for abandoning her own eggs. Thirst cracks the tongue of nursing infants and starving children beg bread that no one breaks for them, while those bred to delicacy now embrace dunghills in the street. Verse 6 states the comparison the scene has been building toward: the punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, which fell in a moment with no hand to prolong it, siege famine judged the slower and heavier judgment.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

And, when the iniquity of Jerusalem is more aggravated than that of Sodom, no wonder that the punishment of it is so. Sodom never had the means of grace the Jerusalem had, the oracles of God and his prophets, and therefore the condemnation of Jerusalem will be more intolerable than that of Sodom, Matt. xi.

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּגְדַּל֙and it has become great

    vaiyigdalH1431 →

  • עֲוֹ֣ן[the] iniquity of

    ʾavonH5771 →233 times

  • בַּת־[the] daughter of

    bat-H1323 →588 times

  • עַמִּ֔יpeople my

    ʾamiH5971 →1873 times

  • מֵֽחַטַּ֖אתmore than [the] sin of

    mechatatH2403 →295 times

  • סְדֹ֑םSodom

    sedomH5467 →

  • הַֽהֲפוּכָ֣הwhich was overthrown

    hahafukhahH2015 →94 times

  • כְמוֹ־like

    khemov-H3644 →

  • רָ֔גַעa moment

    raga'H7281 →

  • וְלֹא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • חָ֥לוּthey twisted

    chaluH2342 →

  • בָ֖הּon it

    vah

  • יָדָֽיִם׃ סhands

    yadayimH3027 →1618 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 19:25Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground.6 worksGenesis 19:24Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.4 worksIsaiah 1:9–10Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.3 worksLuke 12:47That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.3 worksLuke 10:12I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.3 worksMatthew 24:21For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Deuteronomy 32:32But their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poisonous; their clusters are bitter.3 worksMatthew 11:24But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”3 worksMatthew 11:23–24And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.2 worksDaniel 9:12You have carried out the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us a great disaster. For under all of heaven, nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.2 worksEzekiel 16:48–50As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done.2 worksLamentations 4:9Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.2 worksEzekiel 16:50Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.2 worksJeremiah 30:7How awful that day will be! None will be like it! It is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved out of it.2 worksJeremiah 4:11At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A searing wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward the daughter of My people, but not to winnow or to sift;2 worksJeremiah 6:26O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.2 worksJude 1:7In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.2 worksLamentations 4:22O Daughter of Zion, your punishment is complete; He will not prolong your exile. But He will punish your iniquity, O Daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Matthew 24:21

    For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.

    it leads to

    • Daniel 12:1

      “At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning…

    • Joel 2:2

      a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be…

  • Through

    Luke 12:47

    That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.

    it leads to

    • James 4:17

      Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

    • John 9:41

      “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

    • John 12:48

      There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

    • John 15:22–24

      If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.

    • Deuteronomy 25:2–3

      If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall have him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime warrants.

  • Through

    Luke 10:12

    I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 10:15

      Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

About Lamentations

People Mourn over the Destruction of Jerusalem — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
People Mourn over the Destruction of Jerusalem — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Lamentations: the study guide →Read Lamentations 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Lamentations 4 →