Lamentations 4:19

¹⁷ All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.

¹⁸ They stalked our every step, so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end drew near, our time ran out, for our end had come!

Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.

²⁰ The LORD’s anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. We had said of him, “Under his shadow we will live among the nations.”

²¹ So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
KJV: Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
WEB: Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the sky. They chased us on the mountains. They set an ambush for us in the wilderness.
ASV: Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens: They chased us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
DARBY: Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens; they chased us hotly upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
BLB: Swifter were our pursuers than the eagles of the heavens; over the mountains they were hot after us, [and] in the wilderness they set an ambush for us.

ÅB: Våre forfølgere var raskere enn himmelens ørner; på fjellene forfulgte de oss, i ørkenen lurte de på oss.
OTB: Våre forfølgere var raskere enn ørner på himmelen; de jaget oss over fjellene og lå i bakhold for oss i ørkenen.
B1930: Våre forfølgere var raskere enn himmelens ørner; på fjellene forfulgte de oss, i ørkenen lurte de på oss.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Habakkuk 1:8
Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour.
Read in context
Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
Read in context
Isaiah 5:26–28
He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
Read in context
Deuteronomy 28:49
The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
Read in context
Isaiah 30:16–17
“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
Read in context
Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
Read in context
Amos 2:14
Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.
Read in context
Matthew 24:27–28
For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Read in context