Lamentations 4:3 kjv
Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
Lamentations 4:3 nkjv
Even the jackals present their breasts To nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, Like ostriches in the wilderness.
Lamentations 4:3 niv
Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert.
Lamentations 4:3 esv
Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young; but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
Lamentations 4:3 nlt
Even the jackals feed their young,
but not my people Israel.
They ignore their children's cries,
like ostriches in the desert.
Lamentations 4 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lamentations 4:3 | Yet even jackals offered the breast, and gave suck to their young; but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. | Maternal abandonment/Cruelty |
| Isaiah 13:22 | They shall call for the wild beasts of the desert with the beasts of the islands, and dragons in the pleasant palaces. | Desolation of cities |
| Jeremiah 14:5 | Even the hind also in the field bears young and forsakes it, because there is no grass. | Abandonment due to hardship |
| Hosea 13:8 | I will meet them like a bear robbed of her cubs, and I will tear open the pericardium of their heart. | Cruelty/Ferocity |
| Matthew 23:37 | O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! | Maternal longing/Rejection |
| Deuteronomy 28:56 | The most tender and delicately bred woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground by reason of tenderness and delicacy, she will not consent to give the husband of her bosom, or her son or her daughter, | Extreme hardship/Decline |
| Job 39:13-16 | It has the wings of the ostrich, the plumage of the stork and the vulture. It deposits its eggs on the ground and warms them in the sand, forgetting that a foot may crush them, or that a wild beast may break them. It is hardened against its young as though they were not its own. | Ostrich's hardened nature |
| Micah 4:8 | And you, O watchtower of the flock, stronghold of the daughter of Zion, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. | Past glory contrasted |
| Psalm 137:8-9 | O daughter of Babylon, you devastation! Blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! | Cruelty/Infanticide |
| Jeremiah 4:30 | And when you are despoiled, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, you make yourself a harlot. In vain is your hope of renewal; you are destroyed. | False hope/Destruction |
| Ezekiel 16:4 | And as for your birth, the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling clothes. | Neglect at birth |
| 2 Kings 18:13 | Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. | Historical context |
| 2 Chronicles 36:19 | And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its desirable vessels. | Destruction of Jerusalem |
| Psalm 8:2 | Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to make silent the enemy and the avenger. | Innocent suffering |
| Amos 6:1 | Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! | Complacency/Consequences |
| Nahum 2:12 | The lion has ravaged his prey and crushed it, and has filled his caves with prey, and his lairs with what he has torn. | Brutality of conquerors |
| Isaiah 34:11-15 | But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He will stretch over it the measuring line of chaos, and the plummet of emptiness. They shall name it "No Kingdom Here," says the Lord. Its choicest princes shall be no more. Its nobles shall be as lions. Thorns shall grow up in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses. It shall be an abode for jackals, an enclosure for ostriches. Beasts of the desert shall meet jackals, and the wild goat shall cry to its kind; yes, night creatures shall repose there and find for themselves a resting place. The osprey shall nest there and lay and hatch and brood and gather their young in her shadow; yes, the hawks shall be there, each with its mate. | Prophecy of desolation |
| Jeremiah 17:1-4 | Judah’s sin is brought to the LORD with a pen of iron with a point of diamond it is engraved on the table of their heart and on the horns of their altars, while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, by the green trees on the high hills, on mountain in the field. O my mountain in the country I will give as plunder your riches and all your treasures, and your high places of sin throughout your land. And you shall even give up your heritage that I gave to you, and I will serve your enemies in the land that you do not know, for the fire of my anger burns hot against you. | Sin leading to destruction |
| Habakkuk 1:8 | Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than evening wolves; they pour forth their steeds, their steeds come from afar; they fly like an eagle swoorting to its prey. | Fierceness of enemies |
| Lamentations 1:1 | How lonely she sits, the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow, the mistress of nations, the princess among provinces, who has become a vassal. | Previous glory/current state |
Lamentations 4 verses
Lamentations 4 3 Meaning
The verse vividly describes the horrific consequences of Jerusalem's downfall. The preciousness of those who were once cherished is contrasted with their present state. The sea creatures of the deep, like jackals and ostriches, are described as nurturing their young in the absence of human care, highlighting the desolation and the abandonment of the once-proud city.
Lamentations 4 3 Context
Lamentations chapter 4 describes the dire aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The prophet laments the catastrophic suffering and humiliation that befell the city and its people. Verse 3 specifically focuses on the breakdown of natural order and the loss of basic maternal instincts in the face of extreme hardship and despair. This echoes the prophecies of judgment pronounced by earlier prophets for Israel's disobedience and idolatry, such as in Deuteronomy 28. The imagery serves to illustrate the depth of degradation and the perversion of life caused by divine wrath.
Lamentations 4 3 Word Analysis
- Yet (Və-): A conjunctive particle, indicating contrast or continuation despite a previous statement. Here it marks a stark contrast to the former state of luxury.
- even (gam): Also, even. Emphasizes the unexpectedness of the action by jackals.
- jackals (tannayim): Wild canine animals, scavengers, often associated with desolation and ruins. Implies the inhabitation of former dwellings by wild creatures.
- offered the breast (hinaqu shadayim): Literally "gave the breasts to suck." Refers to maternal feeding.
- and gave suck (vəhiniku): "And they caused to suck." Repetition emphasizes the act of nursing.
- to their young (lāləvālāl): "to their little ones," "to their young." Denotes offspring, innocents.
- but (‘ak): "but," "however." A strong adversative, introducing the sharp contrast.
- the daughter of my people (bat ‘ammî): Refers to Jerusalem or the people of Judah, personified as a daughter. Highlights a tender relationship being lost.
- has become (hiwəṯâ): "has become," "she has become." Indicates a transformation into a new state.
- cruel (˒ākêlâ): "cruel," "hard-hearted," "brutal." Derived from a root meaning to eat or devour, suggesting a savage, unfeeling nature.
- like (kemô): "as," "like." Introduces a simile.
- the ostriches (bənôt na‘ameṣoth): Literally "daughters of the ostrich" or "daughters of the ostrich-like." Ostriches were known for their apparent cruelty or neglect towards their young, leaving eggs or chicks vulnerable in the sand, as Job 39 describes.
Words Group Analysis:
- "Yet even jackals offered the breast, and gave suck to their young": This phrase paints a picture of nature itself, in its wildness, demonstrating a level of maternal care or instinct that was lost by the human inhabitants of Jerusalem. It signifies an inversion of expected roles and affections.
- "but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness": This directly contrasts the natural world's perceived parental care with the shocking cruelty displayed by the people, specifically the women and mothers. The comparison to ostriches highlights a perceived lack of natural maternal instinct in the face of extreme suffering.
Lamentations 4 3 Bonus Section
The comparison of the people to ostriches is significant. The ostrich was not a creature viewed with great affection in ancient Near Eastern cultures. Its wildness, its perceived lack of diligent parenting (though this understanding is a simplification of its actual behavior), and its tendency to inhabit desolate places all contribute to the imagery of degradation. This verse could also be seen as a subtle polemic against any practices that were seen to dehumanize motherhood or inflict harm on the innocent, suggesting that even the harshness of the natural world did not descend to the level of depravity the people of Jerusalem had reached. The mention of jackals, associated with ruins and mourning, further underscores the complete devastation.
Lamentations 4 3 Commentary
The verse paints a stark and devastating picture of Jerusalem's fallen state. The prophet contrasts the care shown by wild animals (jackals nurturing their young) with the appalling cruelty exhibited by the people of Jerusalem, likening them to ostriches. This is a profound indictment. While ostriches, as Job 39 describes, may appear hardened and their eggs left vulnerable, here it's used to depict a human failure to exercise maternal compassion. In times of intense famine and siege, desperation can indeed lead to unfathomable cruelty, where even basic human instincts are perverted. The loss of such tender mercies reflects a society broken to its core, a consequence of divine judgment. This inversion of nature's expected order serves to amplify the horror of the catastrophe.