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.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, That was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands were laid on her.
- BSB The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.
- NKJV The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, With no hand to help her!
- NASB For the wrongdoing of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her.
- NLT The guilt of my people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment and no hand offered help.
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
Judah's guilt is called greater than Sodom's, for its prolonged suffering exceeds Sodom's swift end.
Overview
The poet judges his people's punishment, and so their guilt, as worse than Sodom's, which was destroyed quickly. Jerusalem's drawn-out agony under siege surpassed Sodom's sudden overthrow. This sobering comparison underscores that greater privilege brings greater accountability, a principle Jesus applies to cities that reject Him (Matt. 11:23-24).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 19:25And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
- Matt 24:21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
- Luke 10:12But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
- Isa 1:9–10Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
- Luke 12:47And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
- Ezek 16:48–50As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
- Dan 9:12And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
- Matt 11:23–24And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
- Lam 4:9They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
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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 4:6 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
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