Lamentations

Lamentations 4:1–2

¹How^a the gold has become tarnished,

the pure gold has become dull!

The gems of the temple lie scattered

on every street corner.

²How the precious sons of Zion,

once worth their weight in pure gold,

are now esteemed as jars of clay,

the work of a potter’s hands!

Footnotes

a 4:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Word by word

Each English word or phrase beside the Hebrew it translates, in the order of the English. Choose a number to open that word’s study.

English	Hebrew	Sounds like	Grammar	Word study
How	אֵיכָה֙	’ê·ḵāh	Interjection	H349 How?
the gold	זָהָ֔ב	zā·hāḇ	Noun - masculine singular	H2091 gold
has become tarnished	יוּעַ֣ם	yū·‘am	Verb - Hofal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular	H6004 darken, dim
the pure	הַטּ֑וֹב	haṭ·ṭō·wḇ	Article; Adjective - masculine singular	H2896 pleasant, agreeable, good
gold	הַכֶּ֣תֶם	hak·ke·ṯem	Article; Noun - masculine singular	H3800 gold
has become dull	יִשְׁנֶ֖א	yiš·ne	Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular	H8132 alter
The gems	אַבְנֵי־	’aḇ·nê-	Noun - feminine plural construct	H68 stone
of the temple	קֹ֔דֶשׁ	qō·ḏeš	Noun - masculine singular	H6944 sacred, sanctity
lie scattered	תִּשְׁתַּפֵּ֙כְנָה֙	tiš·tap·pê·ḵə·nāh	Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - third person feminine plural	H8210 pour out, pour
on every	כָּל־	kāl-	Noun - masculine singular construct	H3605 the whole, all
street	חוּצֽוֹת׃ס	ḥū·ṣō·wṯ	Noun - masculine plural	H2351 the outside
corner	בְּרֹ֖אשׁ	bə·rōš	Preposition-b; Noun - masculine singular construct	H7218 head

English	Hebrew	Sounds like	Grammar	Word study
How	אֵיכָ֤ה	’ê·ḵāh	Interjection	H349 How?
the precious	הַיְקָרִ֔ים	hay·qā·rîm	Article; Adjective - masculine plural	H3368 precious, rare, splendid, weighty
sons	בְּנֵ֤י	bə·nê	Noun - masculine plural construct	H1121 son
of Zion	צִיּוֹן֙	ṣî·yō·wn	Noun - proper - feminine singular	H6726 Zion
once worth their weight	הַמְסֻלָּאִ֖ים	ham·sul·lā·’îm	Article; Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine plural	H5537 weigh
in pure gold	בַּפָּ֑ז	bap·pāz	Preposition-b, Article; Noun - masculine singular	H6337 refined, pure gold
are now esteemed	נֶחְשְׁבוּ֙	neḥ·šə·ḇū	Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural	H2803 think, account
as jars	לְנִבְלֵי־	lə·niḇ·lê-	Preposition-l; Noun - masculine plural construct	H5035 skin-bottle, skin
of clay	חֶ֔רֶשׂ	ḥe·reś	Noun - masculine singular	H2789 earthenware, earthen vessel, sherd, potsherd
the work	מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה	ma·‘ă·śêh	Noun - masculine singular construct	H4639 deed, work
of a potter’s	יוֹצֵֽר׃ס	yō·w·ṣêr	Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular	H3335 form, fashion
hands	יְדֵ֥י	yə·ḏê	Noun - feminine dual construct	H3027 hand

Other passages that speak to the same thing. Point at one to read it.

Lamentations 4:1 Ezekiel 7:19–22 · Lamentations 2:19 · Isaiah 1:21

Lamentations 4:2 Isaiah 30:14 · Jeremiah 19:11 · Romans 9:21–23 · 2 Timothy 2:20 · 2 Corinthians 4:7 · Zechariah 9:13 · Lamentations 5:12 · Isaiah 51:18

Cross-references from OpenBible.info, used under CC BY 4.0. The best-supported references for each verse are shown.

Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible.