Lamentations 4

It is a relief to get back to Lamentations after a week away. The poem in this chapter is a part of the scaffolding for the central chapter. In chapter 3 we see a specific warrior taking personal responsibility for the disaster. Now we return to 99% plural pronouns. (I couldn't stop myself in the middle of this scroll - must finish).

Notice of course the links to the Song and to Job.

Verse	Hebrew text	A translation	What shall we say?
Aleph	אֵיכָה יוּעַם זָהָב יִשְׁנֶא הַכֶּתֶם הַטּוֹב תִּשְׁתַּפֵּכְנָה אַבְנֵי קֹדֶשׁ בְּרֹאשׁ כָּל חוּצוֹת ס	Ah how gold is dimmed the finest gold, the good is changed the stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street	compare Lam 2:18 But who is the gold? Not just the temple's gold, but the Beloved himself as described in Song 5:11. Poured out - 4 times in chapter 2, 3 times in this chapter, unifying the two and highlighting that which comes between them - chapter 3
Bet	בְּנֵי צִיּוֹן הַיְקָרִים הַמְסֻלָּאִים בַּפָּז אֵיכָה נֶחְשְׁבוּ לְנִבְלֵי חֶרֶשׂ מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי יוֹצֵר ס	But the kids of Zion, the splendid ones to be compared with gold how they are zeroed in on as earthenware skin-bottles made by the potter's hand	As in Job 28, 3 differing words for gold. zero (esteemed is a normal gloss) matches Zayin in Lam 2:7 - again linking the two poems since the word  occurs only in these two chapters in Lamentations.
Gimel	גַּם תַּנִּים חָלְצוּ שַׁד הֵינִיקוּ גּוּרֵיהֶן בַּת עַמִּי לְאַכְזָר כַּיְעֵנִים בַּמִּדְבָּר ס	Great sea monsters bare a breast they suckle their whelps the daughter of my people is fierce like the ostriches of the desert	Two connections with words from Job - sea monster and fierce. Job had become a sea monster (Job 7:12, 30:29), here depicted as still doing normal caring things. Daughter of Zion has become fierce as Job accused Hashem of being. (Job 30:21, 41:10)
Dalet	דָּבַק לְשׁוֹן יוֹנֵק אֶל חִכּוֹ בַּצָּמָא עוֹלָלִים שָׁאֲלוּ לֶחֶם פֹּרֵשׂ אֵין לָהֶם ס	Direct to their palate the tongues of the suckling stick in their thirst. Babes ask for bread there is no one to spread it for them	suckling is plural - tongue is singular. I have treated suckling as collective and tongue as plural - with 'their' as pronoun rather than 'his'.
He	הָאֹכְלִים לְמַעֲדַנִּים  נָשַׁמּוּ בַּחוּצוֹת הָאֱמֻנִים עֲלֵי תוֹלָע חִבְּקוּ אַשְׁפַּתּוֹת ס	How they who devoured delicacies are desolate in the streets they who were reared faithfully in crimson eke from garbage dumps	brought up with a silver spoon in the mouth - I was tempted to coin a new verb in English - 'to amen'. Joining the sound to verse 12 doesn't work well with any English word.
Vav	וַיִּגְדַּל עֲו‍ֹן בַּת עַמִּי מֵחַטַּאת סְדֹם הַהֲפוּכָה כְמוֹ רָגַע וְלֹא חָלוּ בָהּ יָדָיִם ס	Visualize the iniquity of the daughter of my people - greater than the sin of Sodom overturned as in a moment and no hands working her over	There is no word for punishment here - why should it be added to the text (here or in verse 22)?
Zayin	זַכּוּ נְזִירֶיהָ מִשֶּׁלֶג צַחוּ מֵחָלָב אָדְמוּ עֶצֶם מִפְּנִינִים סַפִּיר גִּזְרָתָם ס	Zero dirt - white like snow her Nazarites shining from milk ruddier of bone than rubies sapphire their polish	O Z - can you do better than this? Zapped can't be like snow. Zot is a Hebrew word but appears in English only in comic books. Zero is a cold water wash too - good for silk and other delicates. Shining? I imagined the greased warriors body (another link with Job are the rubies) - and why white here when the poet has already used snow? This is a foreign image after all.
Chet	חָשַׁךְ מִשְּׁחוֹר תָּאֳרָם לֹא נִכְּרוּ בַּחוּצוֹת צָפַד עוֹרָם עַל עַצְמָם יָבֵשׁ הָיָה כָעֵץ ס	How their form is black as coal unrecognizable in the streets their skin sticks to their bones dried like a piece of wood	and to be contrasted in this next verse. Wood will match the sound to come in chapter 5 - it is a new word in the poem.
Tet	טוֹבִים הָיוּ חַלְלֵי חֶרֶב מֵחַלְלֵי רָעָב  שֶׁהֵם יָזוּבוּ  מְדֻקָּרִים מִתְּנוּבֹת שָׂדָי	To be wounded by sword is better than the wound of hunger for these waste away, pierced for the produce of the field
Yod	יְדֵי נָשִׁים רַחֲמָנִיּוֹת בִּשְּׁלוּ יַלְדֵיהֶן הָיוּ לְבָרוֹת לָמוֹ בְּשֶׁבֶר בַּת-עַמִּי ס	Yea the hands of the women to be pitied have boiled their own children they become meals to them in the destruction of the daughter of my people
Kaf	כִּלָּה יְהוָה אֶת חֲמָתוֹ  שָׁפַךְ חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ וַיַּצֶּת אֵשׁ בְּצִיּוֹן וַתֹּאכַל יְסֹדֹתֶיהָ ס	Know that יְהוָה has exhausted his wrath he has poured out his fierce anger and it has kindled a fire in Zion and devoured her foundations	חֲמָתוֹ is another link to chapter 2 as is poured out (4 times in chapter 2 and 3 times in chapter 4 and nowhere else in Lamentations) and devoured (see also verse 5 here). There are enough of these verbal links to suggest that the repetitions are deliberate around the central chapter.
Lamed	לֹא הֶאֱמִינוּ מַלְכֵי אֶרֶץ כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל כִּי יָבֹא צַר וְאוֹיֵב בְּשַׁעֲרֵי יְרוּשָׁלִָם ס	Leaders of the earth and dwellers in the world would not have had faith that there would come adversity and enemy into the gates of Jerusalem
Mem	מֵחַטֹּאת נְבִיאֶיהָ עֲו‍ֹנֹת כֹּהֲנֶיהָ הַשֹּׁפְכִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ דַּם צַדִּיקִים ס	Mid the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests pouring out in her midst the blood of the righteous	iniquity frames this chapter and connects to both chapters 2 and 5.
Nun	נָעוּ עִוְרִים בַּחוּצוֹת נְגֹאֲלוּ בַּדָּם בְּלֹא יוּכְלוּ יִגְּעוּ בִּלְבֻשֵׁיהֶם ס	Nodding about blind in the streets defiled with blood so they were not able to touch their garments	it is strange that there are homonyms meaning defile and redeem - blood should redeem and not defile, especially the blood of the righteous. This could be severely misread. Compare Lam 1:14 (Nun)
Samech	סוּרוּ טָמֵא קָרְאוּ לָמוֹ סוּרוּ סוּרוּ אַל-תִּגָּעוּ כִּי נָצוּ גַּם-נָעוּ אָמְרוּ בַּגּוֹיִם לֹא יוֹסִפוּ לָגוּר ס	Scurry off unclean, they cry to them scurry - scurry - do not touch for they fled - even nodding they say among the nations they will no longer continue here	נוץ (fled) occurs elsewhere only in the Song where it is glossed as 'bud'. Nod is odd but also links these two chapters 2 and 4.
Peh	פְּנֵי יְהוָה חִלְּקָם לֹא יוֹסִיף לְהַבִּיטָם פְּנֵי כֹהֲנִים לֹא נָשָׂאוּ וּזְקֵנִים לֹא חָנָנוּ ס	Presence divides them יְהוָה  will no longer look to them they did not bear the presence of the priests and the elders they did not favour	there are many unresolved or ambiguous third person plural pronouns - who is saying what to whom about what? A severe warning against taking pleasure in another's humiliation
Ayin	עוֹדֵינוּ תִּכְלֶינָה עֵינֵינוּ אֶל-עֶזְרָתֵנוּ הָבֶל בְּצִפִּיָּתֵנוּ צִפִּינוּ אֶל גּוֹי לֹא יוֹשִׁעַ ס	Indeed for us, for them, our eyes are exhausted over our vaporous help in our watch we watched over a nation he will not deliver	I am looking forward to the challenge of dealing with הָבֶל in Qohelet .
Tsade	צָדוּ צְעָדֵינוּ מִלֶּכֶת בִּרְחֹבֹתֵינוּ קָרַב קִצֵּנוּ מָלְאוּ יָמֵינוּ כִּי בָא קִצֵּנוּ ס	'ts-our steps they hunt more than going into our plazas near is our end fulfilled our days for our end is come	plaza - another join with chapter 2
Qof	קַלִּים הָיוּ רֹדְפֵינוּ  מִנִּשְׁרֵי שָׁמָיִם עַל הֶהָרִים דְּלָקֻנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר אָרְבוּ לָנוּ ס	Quicker are our persecutors than the eagles of heaven on the mountains they pursued us in the desert they lurk for us
Resh	רוּחַ אַפֵּינוּ מְשִׁיחַ יְהוָה נִלְכַּד בִּשְׁחִיתוֹתָם אֲשֶׁר אָמַרְנוּ בְּצִלּוֹ נִחְיֶה בַגּוֹיִם ס	Removed in their destroying is the breath of our noses, the anointed of יְהוָה as we said under his shadow we will live among the nations	third phrase in the Hebrew moved up for the R. The anointed is singular and appears to be in apposition to the breath of our noses - the spirit of our life. Make of it what you must.
Shin	שִׂישִׂי וְשִׂמְחִי בַּת אֱדוֹם יוֹשֶׁבֶת בְּאֶרֶץ עוּץ גַּם עָלַיִךְ תַּעֲבָר כּוֹס תִּשְׁכְּרִי וְתִתְעָרִי ס	Sing and rejoice daughter of Edom that lives in the land of Uz Even to you a cup will pass You will be intoxicated and will expose yourself	A similar ending to Lam 1:21-22 - no Adam (in this case Edom) will escape - is Uz, the land of Job, the generic land?
Taf	תַּם עֲו‍ֹנֵךְ בַּת צִיּוֹן לֹא יוֹסִיף לְהַגְלוֹתֵךְ פָּקַד עֲו‍ֹנֵךְ בַּת אֱדוֹם גִּלָּה עַל חַטֹּאתָיִךְ פ	Thus your iniquity is complete daughter of Zion No longer will he carry you into exile He will visit your iniquity daughter of Edom He will carry on about your sins.	the envelope opened in Lam 1:3 and touched in Lam 2:14 is closed here. The threat is ultimately accomplished but with the unforeseen circumstance that Edom also is given opportunity for consecration and deliverance from sin and iniquity