Lamentations 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
The Punishment of the Prophet and People
1 How the gold has become tarnished,
how the pure gold has lost its luster!
The sacred stones lie scattered
at every street corner.
2 The precious sons of Zion
were formerly worth their weight in gold.
Now they are reckoned as no more valuable
than clay jars fashioned by a potter.
3 Even jackals bare their breasts
and nurse their young.
But the daughters of my people have become
as cruel as ostriches[a] in the desert.
4 The tongue of an infant
sticks to the roof of its mouth in thirst.
Little children beg for bread,
but no one offers them a crumb.
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies
now lie dying in the streets.
Those who once wore purple garments
now grovel in rubbish heaps.
6 The punishment inflicted on my people
has been greater than that of Sodom,
which was overthrown in an instant
without a hand being lifted to help her.
7 Her princes were once brighter than snow
and whiter than milk.
Their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
more precious than sapphire.
8 Now their faces are blacker than soot,
and no one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled tightly over their bones,
as dry as a stick.
9 More blessed were those who died by the sword
than those who died of hunger,
with their limbs wasting away,
deprived of the produce of the field.
10 With their own hands, compassionate women
have boiled their own children;
those offspring became their food
when my people were on the verge of extinction,
11 The Lord let his blazing anger pour forth
and gave full vent to his wrath
as he kindled a fire in Zion
that devoured her foundations.
12 The kings of the earth never believed,
nor did any of the inhabitants of the world,
that any adversary or enemy
could ever penetrate the gates of Jerusalem.
13 That occurred because of the sins of her prophets
and the crimes of her priests
who had shed within her walls
the blood of the righteous.[b]
14 They staggered blindly in the streets,
so defiled with blood
that not one of the people dared
to touch their garments.
15 “Go away! You are unclean!” the people shouted.
“Keep away! Do not touch us!”
Wherever they fled, the people would cry out,
“You cannot stay here any longer!”
16 The Lord himself scattered them;
he no longer watches over them.
He showed no favor to the priests
or kindness to the elders.
17 Continually we strained our eyes,
looking in vain for help.
From our towers we watched endlessly
for a nation that could not save us.
18 Men dogged our steps
so that we were unable to walk in our streets.
Our end drew near; our days were numbered;
our time had come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than eagles in the heavens.
They hounded us over the mountains
and lay in ambush for us in the wilderness.
20 The Lord’s anointed,[c] our breath of life,
was caught in their traps,
he in whose shadow we thought
that we could live in safety among the nations.
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who live in the land of Uz.
But to you also the cup will be passed;
you will become drunk and strip yourself naked.
22 O daughter of Zion, your punishment is now complete;
he will not prolong your exile.
But, daughter of Edom, he will punish your iniquity,
and he will lay bare your sins.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:3 Ostriches: it was thought that ostriches did not take care of their young.
- Lamentations 4:13 The sins of the priests and prophets were cause for great hurt and destruction for the people. This is true in our day as well, and a cause for deep repentance and renewal in the church.
- Lamentations 4:20 The Lord’s anointed: King Zedekiah, the Lord’s anointed, was taken prisoner (see 2 Ki 25:4-7).
Tužaljke 4
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod
Užasi opustošenog Jeruzalema
4 Kako je strašno što je potamnjelo zlato,
što je suho zlato izgubilo sjaj!
Prosuti su sveti dragulji
na svakom uličnom uglu.
2 Dragocjene ljude Siona
nekad su cijenili kao čisto zlato,
a sada ih smatraju bezvrijednima,
poput jeftinih posuda lončara.
3 Čak i šakali nude dojke
da bi napojili svoje mlade,
a moj narod odbacuje djecu,
poput nojeva u pustinji.[a]
4 Dojenčadi se od žeđi
za nepce jezik lijepi.
Djeca traže kruha,
a nitko im ga ne daje.
5 Oni koji su nekad jeli poslastice,
sada životare na ulicama,
oni koji su odrasli u skupocjenoj odjeći,
prekapaju po smetlištu.
6 Kazna za zlodjela mojeg naroda
teža je od kazne za grijehe Sodome,
a bila je razorena u tren oka,
i to ne ljudskom rukom.
7 Uglednici Jeruzalema bili su čišći od snijega
i bjelji od mlijeka,
tijela su im bila rumena kao koralj
i sjajna kao plavi dragulj.
8 A sada su im lica tamnija od čađe,
nitko ih na ulici ne prepoznaje.
Koža im se zalijepila za kosti,
suha kao kora drveta.
9 Bolje su prošli oni koje je ubio mač
nego oni koji su umrli od gladi.
Iz gladnih je život polako istekao
jer im polja nisu dala plodova.
10 Žene, inače samilosne,
vlastitim su rukama
kuhale svoju djecu.
Njima su se hranile
kad je uništen moj narod.
11 BOG je iskalio svoju srdžbu,
izlio je sav svoj ljuti gnjev.
Na Sionu je zapalio vatru
koja mu je spalila temelje.
12 Nisu vjerovali zemaljski kraljevi,
niti itko od stanovnika svijeta,
da će neprijatelji prodrijeti
kroz vrata Jeruzalema.
13 Sve je to zbog grijehâ njegovih proroka
i zlodjela njegovih svećenika.
Oni su usred Jeruzalema
prolijevali krv pravednikâ.
14 Sada slijepo tumaraju ulicama;
onečišćeni su krvlju
pa se nitko ne usuđuje
dotaknuti njihovu odjeću.
15 »Odlazite, nečisti!« viču im.
»Odlazite! Nemojte nas doticati!«
Postali su lutalice i bjegunci,
a drugi narodi govore:
»Ne želimo da žive s nama.«
16 Sâm BOG ih je raspršio
i više ne bdije nad njima.
Svećenicima se više ne ukazuje čast,
za starješine nema naklonosti.
17 Stanovnici Jeruzalema rekli su:
»Oči su nam oslabjele dok smo gledali
i uzalud pomoć čekali.
Naprezali smo oči iščekujući
narod koji nas nije mogao spasiti.
18 Neprijatelji su nas vrebali,
nismo smjeli izaći na ulice.
Kraj se bližio, dani su nam bili odbrojeni.
Da, naš kraj je došao.
19 Naši progonitelji bili su brži
od orlova na nebu.
Lovili su nas po brdima,
u zasjedi čekali u pustinji.
20 Naš kralj, BOŽJI pomazanik,
dah naših života,
uhvaćen je u njihove zamke.
Onaj za kojeg smo govorili:
‘Pod njegovom ćemo zaštitom živjeti
u sigurnosti među narodima.’«
21 Veseli se i raduj sada, narode Edoma,
ti koji živiš u zemlji Uz.
Ali i k tebi će doći čaša Božjega gnjeva—
napit ćeš se i skinuti gol.
22 Dovršena je tvoja kazna, narode Siona,
Bog ti neće produžiti progonstvo.
Ali kaznit će tvoja zlodjela, narode Edoma,
i razotkrit će tvoje grijehe.
Footnotes
- 4,3 Vidi Job 39,13-17 gdje se za noja kaže da jaja napušta u pustinji.
Lamentations 4
21st Century King James Version
4 How the gold hath become dim! How the most fine gold hath changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how they are esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the seamonsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones; but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst; the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.
5 They that fed on delicacies are desolate in the streets; they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.
7 Her Nazirites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire.
8 Now their visage is blacker than coal; they are not known in the streets; their skin cleaveth to their bones, it is withered, it has become like a stick.
9 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.
10 The hands of the pitying women have sodden their own children; they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord hath accomplished His fury; He hath poured out His fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.
12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
13 For the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,
14 they have wandered as blind men in the streets; they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
15 They cried unto them, “Depart ye; it is unclean! Depart, depart, touch not!” When they fled away and wandered, it was said among the heathen, “They shall no more sojourn there.”
16 The anger of the Lord hath divided them; He will no more regard them; they respected not the persons of the priests, they favored not the elders.
17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets; our end is near, our days are fulfilled, for our end has come.
19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heavens; they pursued us upon the mountains, they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, “Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz. The cup also shall pass through unto thee; thou shalt be drunken and shalt make thyself naked.
22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; He will no more carry thee away into captivity. He will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will uncover thy sins.
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod (SHP) © 2019 Bible League International
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