How the gold has become tarnished, the pure gold has become dull! The gems of the temple lie scattered on every street corner.
Parallel translations
- WEB How the gold has become dim! The most pure gold has changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street.
- KJV How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
- NKJV How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered At the head of every street.
- NASB How dark the gold has become, How the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones are spilled out At the corner of every street.
- NLT How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull. The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets!
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 glory of Zion has been tarnished, like pure gold gone dim and sacred stones scattered.
Overview
Chapter 4 opens by lamenting how the once-glorious city and temple have been defiled and ruined. The dimmed gold and scattered sanctuary stones picture the loss of Jerusalem's former splendor and holiness. This fading of earthly glory underscores the need for a lasting, unfading inheritance secured in Christ (1 Pet. 1:4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ezek 7:19–22They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.
- Lam 2:19Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street.
- Isa 1:21See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!
- Jer 52:13He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Isa 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.
- Matt 24:2“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
- 2 Kgs 25:9–10He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Mark 13:2“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
- Luke 21:5–6As some of the disciples were remarking how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and consecrated gifts, Jesus said,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:1 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.