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Lamentations 4:9

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

8 But now their appearance is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.

Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.

10 The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.

11 The LORD has exhausted His wrath; He has poured out His fierce anger; He has kindled a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.

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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 slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.
KJV
They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
WEB
Those who are killed with the sword are better than those who are killed with hunger; for these pine away, stricken through, for lack of the fruits of the field.
ASV
They that are slain with the sword are better than they that are slain with hunger; For these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field.
DARBY
The slain with the sword are happier than the slain with hunger; for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
BLB
Better are those slain by the sword than those dying of hunger, who waste away from the piercing of produce the field.
ÅB
Lykkeligere var de som ble drept ved sverd, enn de som ble drept ved hunger, de som tærtes bort og gikk til grunne av mangel på brød.
OTB
Bedre er de som ble drept med sverd enn de som dør av sult; de visner bort, slått av mangel på markens grøde.
B1930
Lykkeligere var de som blev drept ved sverd, enn de som blev drept ved hunger, de som tærtes bort og gikk til grunne av mangel på brød.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Jeremiah 16:4

    “They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”

    Read in context

  • Ezekiel 24:23

    Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins, and you will groan among yourselves.

    Read in context

  • Leviticus 26:39

    Those of you who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away in their iniquity and will decay in the sins of their fathers.

    Read in context

  • Ezekiel 33:10

    Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’

    Read in context