It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, That have shed the blood of the just in the middle of her.
Parallel translations
- KJV 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,
- BSB But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
- NKJV Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who shed in her midst The blood of the just.
- NASB Because of the sins of her prophets And the wrongdoings of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous,
- NLT Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The catastrophe came because of the sins of Jerusalem's prophets and priests, who shed innocent blood.
Overview
The poet names the corruption of the spiritual leaders as a chief cause of the disaster. False prophets and unfaithful priests had shed righteous blood in the city. This indictment of corrupt leadership underscores the seriousness of leading God's people astray and heightens the need for the faithful Prophet and Priest, Jesus Christ (Heb. 7:26-27; Matt. 23:35).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Jer 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority; and my people love to have it so. What will you do in the end of it?
- Jer 6:13“For from their least even to their greatest, everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely.
- Jer 26:8–9When Jeremiah had finished speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You shall surely die!
- Lam 2:14Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; They have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captivity, but have seen for you false revelations and causes of banishment.
- Matt 23:31Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets.
- Ezek 22:26–28Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
- Matt 23:33–37You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?
- 1 Th 2:15–16who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and didn’t please God, and are contrary to all men;
- Jer 14:14Then Yahweh said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I didn’t send them, neither have I commanded them, neither did I speak to them. They prophesy to you a lying vision, divination, and a thing of nothing, and the deceit of their own heart.
- Luke 11:47–51Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
- Jer 23:11–21for both prophet and priest are profane; yes, in my house I have found their wickedness,” says Yahweh.
- Mic 3:11–12Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.”
- Acts 7:52Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.
- Jer 2:20“For long ago I broke off your yoke, and burst your bonds. You said, ‘I will not serve;’ for on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed yourself, playing the prostitute.
- Zeph 3:3–4Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day.
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 4:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.