Lamentations 4:7 BSB

Lamentations 4:7

Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was as of sapphire.

KJV

Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:

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Commentary

3 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

Her Nazarites were purer than snow,.... Such who separated themselves by a vow to the Lord, and abstained from drinking wine and strong drink, and by a moderate diet, and often washing themselves, as well as taking great care of their hair, appeared very neat and comely, like snow, without any spot or blemish.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

The Nazarites from their temperance were remarkable for health and personal beauty, besides being held in religious veneration. Rubies - Or, corals. Their polishing was of sapphire - Or, their shape was “a sapphire.” The allusion is no longer to color, but to form. Their shape was exact and faultless as the cutting of a precious stone.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

God's blessing formerly caused their body not to be the less fair and ruddy for their abstinence from strong drink. Compare the similar case of Daniel, &c. Type of Messiah (So 5:10). rubies--GESENIUS translates, "corals," from a Hebrew root, "to divide into branches," from the branching form of corals. polishing--They were like exquisitely cut and polished sapphires.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

10 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
זַכּ֤וּ	za.Ku	they were bright	H2141 →
נְזִירֶ֙יהָ֙	ne.zi.Rei.ha	ones of high rank its	H5139 →
מִשֶּׁ֔לֶג	mi.She.leg	more than snow	H7950 →
צַח֖וּ	tza.Chu	they were dazzling	H6705 →
מֵחָלָ֑ב	me.cha.Lav	more than milk	H2461 →
אָ֤דְמוּ	'A.de.mu	they were red	H119 →
עֶ֙צֶם֙	'e.tzem	bone	H6106 →
מִפְּנִינִ֔ים	mi.pe.ni.Nim	more than corals	H6443 →
סַפִּ֖יר	sa.Pir	[was] sapphire	H5601 →
גִּזְרָתָֽם׃ ס	giz.ra.Tam	polishing their	H1508 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H6106ʾetzembone126×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Psalms 51:7
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
leads to
- 1 John 1:7
  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Isaiah 1:18
  “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
- Hebrews 9:13–14
  For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
- Numbers 19:18–20
  Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to…
- Hebrews 9:19
  For when Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and…
Through
Psalms 144:12
Then our sons will be like plants nurtured in their youth, our daughters like corner pillars carved to adorn a palace.
leads to
- Psalms 128:3
  Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
- 1 Peter 3:3–6
  Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,
Through
Judges 13:5
For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will…
leads to
- Numbers 6:5
  For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let…

About Lamentations

People Mourn over the Destruction of Jerusalem — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Lamentations: the study guide →Read chapter 4 →The featured study →

Continue: Lamentations 4 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Lamentations

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Lamentations