Lamentations 4:9

Contemporary English Version

Being killed with a sword is better than slowly starving to death.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Those slain by the sword are better offthan those slain by hunger,who waste away, pierced with painbecause the fields lack produce.

Hebrew Names Version
Those who are killed with the sword are better than those who are killed with hunger; For these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field.

King James Version
They 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.

English Standard Version
Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field.

New American Standard Bible
Better off are those killed by the sword Than those killed by hunger; For they waste away, stricken By the lack of the produce of the field.

New Century Version
Those who were killed in the war were better off than those killed by hunger. They starve in pain and die, because there is no food from the field.

Amplified Bible
Those killed with the sword Are more fortunate than those killed with hunger; For the hungry pine and ebb away, For the lack of the fruits of the field.

World English Bible
Those who are killed with the sword are better than those who are killed with hunger; For these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field.

Geneva Bible (1587)
They that be slaine with the sword are better, then they that are killed with hunger: for they fade away as they were striken through for the fruites of the fielde.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Better are those slain with the sword Than those slain with hunger; For they pine away, being stricken For lack of the fruits of the field.

Legacy Standard Bible
Better are those pierced through with the swordThan those pierced through with hunger;For their life flows away, being strickenFor lack of the produce of the field.

Berean Standard Bible
Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.

Complete Jewish Bible
Those slain by the sword are better off than those who are dying from hunger; since these waste away as if pierced through, for lack of food from the fields.

Darby Translation
The slain with the sword are happier than the slain with hunger; for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.

Easy-to-Read Version
It was better for those who were killed by the sword than for those who died of hunger. Those starving people were sad and hurt. They died because they got no food from the field.

George Lamsa Translation
Those who were slain by the sword are better than those who are slain with hunger; for these pine away, like those who are wounded and thrown in the field.

Good News Translation
Those who died in the war were better off than those who died later, who starved slowly to death, with no food to keep them alive.

Lexham English Bible
Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of famine; they have pined away, very hungry for the crops of my field.

Literal Translation
Better are the ones slain by the sword than the ones slain by famine, those who flow away, pierced because the produce of my fields failed .

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They that be slayne with the swearde, are happier, then soch as dye of honger, and perishe awaye famishinge for the frutes of the felde.

American Standard Version
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.

Bible in Basic English
Those who have been put to the sword are better off than those whose death is caused by need of food; for these come to death slowly, burned up like the fruit of the field.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.

King James Version (1611)
They that bee slaine with the sword, are better then they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They that be slayne with the sworde, are happier then such as dye of hunger, and perishe away famishing for the fruites of the fielde.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
TETH. The slain with the sword were better than they that were slain with hunger: they have departed, pierced through from want of the fruits of the field.

English Revised Version
They 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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Teth. It was betere to men slayn with swerd, than to men slayn with hungur; for these men wexiden rotun, thei weren wastid of the bareynesse of erthe.

Update Bible Version
Those that are slain with the sword are better than those that are slain with hunger; For these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field.

Webster's Bible Translation
[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.

New English Translation

ט (Tet)

Those who died by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, those who waste away, struck down from lack of food.

New King James Version
Those slain by the sword are better off Than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.

New Living Translation
Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away for lack of food from the fields.

New Life Bible
Those who are killed with the sword are better off than those killed with hunger. For they waste away, suffering because they have no fruits of the field.

New Revised Standard
Happier were those pierced by the sword than those pierced by hunger, whose life drains away, deprived of the produce of the field.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Better are the slain of the sword, than the slain of the famine, - for, these, pine away, stricken through, wanting the produce of the field.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Teth. It was better with them that were slain by the sword, than with them that died with hunger: for these pined away being consumed for want of the fruits of the earth.

Revised Standard Version
Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who pined away, stricken by want of the fruits of the field.

Young's Literal Translation
Better have been the pierced of a sword Than the pierced of famine, For these flow away, pierced through, Without the increase of the field.

THE MESSAGE
Better to have been killed in battle than killed by starvation. Better to have died of battle wounds than to slowly starve to death.

Contextual Overview

¹ The Prophet Speaks: The purest gold is ruined and has lost its shine; jewels from the temple lie scattered in the streets. ² These are Zion's people, worth more than purest gold; yet they are counted worthless like dishes of clay. ³ Even jackals nurse their young, but my people are like ostriches that abandon their own. ⁴ Babies are so thirsty that their tongues are stuck to the roof of the mouth. Children go begging for food, but no one gives them any. ⁵ All who ate expensive foods lie starving in the streets; those who grew up in luxury now sit on trash heaps. ⁶ My nation was punished worse than the people of Sodom, whose city was destroyed in a flash without the help of human hands. ⁷ The leaders of Jerusalem were purer than snow and whiter than milk; their bodies were healthy and glowed like jewels. ⁸ Now they are blacker than tar, and no one recognizes them; their skin clings to their bones and is drier than firewood. ⁹ Being killed with a sword is better than slowly starving to death. ¹⁰ Life in the city is so bad that loving mothers have boiled and eaten their own children.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

for: Leviticus 26:39, Ezekiel 24:23, Ezekiel 33:10

pine away: Heb. flow out

Reciprocal: Genesis 47:13 - so that Exodus 16:3 - Would Numbers 20:3 - when 1 Kings 17:12 - that we may eat it 2 Kings 7:13 - they are even 1 Chronicles 21:12 - three years' famine Psalms 59:15 - for meat Isaiah 5:13 - honourable men are famished Isaiah 8:21 - hardly bestead Isaiah 22:2 - thy slain Isaiah 36:12 - that they may Jeremiah 14:2 - they Jeremiah 14:18 - go forth Jeremiah 22:10 - Weep ye Jeremiah 37:21 - until Lamentations 1:20 - abroad Lamentations 2:11 - because Lamentations 4:6 - the punishment Ezekiel 4:16 - eat Ezekiel 5:9 - that which Ezekiel 6:7 - slain Ezekiel 14:13 - break

Cross-References

Genesis 4:4
and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord . He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

Genesis 4:9
Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, "Where is Abel?" "How should I know?" he answered. "Am I supposed to look after my brother?"

Genesis 4:11
And so, I'll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm the land again.

Genesis 4:13
"This punishment is too hard!" Cain said.

Genesis 4:14
"You're making me leave my home and live far from you. I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me."

Genesis 37:32
After this, they took the coat to their father and said, "We found this! Look at it carefully and see if it belongs to your son."

Psalms 9:12
You did not forget to punish the guilty or listen to the cries of those in need.

Proverbs 28:13
If you don't confess your sins, you will be a failure. But God will be merciful if you confess your sins and give them up.

John 8:44
Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

[They that be] slain with the sword are better than [they that be] slain with hunger,.... Not that they are better with respect to their state after death, but with respect to their manner of dying. They that were slain by the sword of the Chaldeans, as many were, either upon the walls, or in sallies out against the enemy, these felt less pain, and had less terror of mind in dying, than those did who perished by famine; they died a lingering death, as it were by inches, and were in continual pain of body and uneasiness of mind:

for these pine away, stricken through for [want of] the fruits of the field: that is, those that died by famine gradually wasted or "flowed" away, their fluid parts by degrees went off; and though they were not run through with the sword, they were stabbed by famine, and were so distressed in body and mind as if a sword had pierced them; not having the fruits of the field, the corn and the wine, to support nature, and keep them alive. Jarchi's note is,

"they that were slain with hunger were inflated at the smell of the fruits of the field, when the enemies were roasting their flesh upon the grass without the wall; the smell entered into those that swelled by famine, and their bellies burst, and their excrements flowed out; and this is the death worse than that of being slain with the sword.''

And to this agrees the Targum,

"more happy are they that are slain with the sword than they that are slain with famine; for they that are slain with the sword flowed when their bellies were burst, by that which they ate of the fruits of the field; and those that were inflated with famine, their bellies burst through "want" of food.''

Most interpreters refer this clause to those that died of famine: but Gussetius z interprets it of those that were killed with the sword; and renders and paraphrases the words thus, "for they being stabbed, sent out"; by the open wounds, "a flux, [which arose] from the fruits of the field"; their food and nourishment being yet in their belly and veins, and so did not pine away through penury and famine; and their misery was short and light, in comparison of others: and so Abendana.

z Comment. Ebr. p. 225.