Lamentations chapter 4

Back to the nice, safe, 22 verse chapters

vs 1

All that valuable stuff - I'm guessing that was inside the temple - it's not that it's lost its hard currency value, but it's been stripped from the temple, so it's lost its shininess. Or it might be the next verse explains what the gold is.

vs 2

See, perhaps it's the people of Zion that have lost their lustre. They always thought of themselves as a jewel in God's crown, as it were, living in David's City, with the temple. Now they realise that God has dumped his precious jewelled gold crown on the street - doesn't look like it's worth so much.

vs 3

Ostriches in the desert are heartless? See, this is why we need the Bible to point this out. I assume there is something about ostriches in the desert, like they don't feed their young or something.

vs 4

Children now find themselves suffering, as they are the dependents, unable to fend for themselves, and yet those who should look after them cannot, or do not.

vs 5

The transformation of lifestyle is stark, especially for the rich. It always is in these situations.

vs 6

Is he saying the punishment is worse because it is stretched out? Because the remnant is allowed to linger?

vs 7

I assume he's talking about Sodom?

vs 8

So Sodom didn't have a long suffering - everything got turned to ash and blown away. Even their princes.

vs 9

And that's exactly what those left alive are doing now - racking with hunger, wishing they were dead.

vs 10

Can you even imagine being so hungry? This was a reality of ancient life! I wonder what children's rights activists would say to this? I wonder if this still happens? I mean, we have lots of famine and starvation in the world still, but I never saw women cooking their children on TV.

vs 11

Damn right he did. At least, in pouring it out, it's out, as it were.