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Lamentations 4

Lam. 4:14 KJV (With Strong’s)

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14
They have wandered
nuwa` (Hebrew #5128)
to waver, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively (as subjoined)
KJV usage: continually, fugitive, X make, to (go) up and down, be gone away, (be) move(-able, -d), be promoted, reel, remove, scatter, set, shake, sift, stagger, to and fro, be vagabond, wag, (make) wander (up and down).
Pronounce: noo'-ah
Origin: a primitive root
as blind
`ivver (Hebrew #5787)
blind (literally or figuratively)
KJV usage: blind (men, people).
Pronounce: iv-vare'
Origin: intensive from 5786
men in the streets
chuwts (Hebrew #2351)
(both forms feminine in the plural) from an unused root meaning to sever; properly, separate by a wall, i.e. outside, outdoors
KJV usage: abroad, field, forth, highway, more, out(-side, -ward), street, without.
Pronounce: khoots
Origin: or (shortened) chuts {khoots}
, theyi have polluted
ga'al (Hebrew #1351)
to soil or (figuratively) desecrate
KJV usage: defile, pollute, stain.
Pronounce: gaw-al'
Origin: a primitive root, (rather identified with 1350, through the idea of freeing, i.e. repudiating)
themselves with blood
dam (Hebrew #1818)
blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or an animal; by analogy, the juice of the grape; figuratively (especially in the plural) bloodshed (i.e. drops of blood)
KJV usage: blood(-y, -guiltiness, (-thirsty), + innocent.
Pronounce: dawm
Origin: from 1826 (compare 119)
, τso thatk men could
yakol (Hebrew #3201)
a primitive root; to be able, literally (can, could) or morally (may, might)
KJV usage: be able, any at all (ways), attain, can (away with, (-not)), could, endure, might, overcome, have power, prevail, still, suffer.
Pronounce: yaw-kole'
Origin: or (fuller) yakowl {yaw-kole'}
not
lo' (Hebrew #3808)
or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles (as follows)
KJV usage: X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.
Pronounce: lo
Origin: or lowi {lo}
touch
naga` (Hebrew #5060)
properly, to touch, i.e. lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphem., to lie with a woman); by implication, to reach (figuratively, to arrive, acquire); violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.)
KJV usage: beat, (X be able to) bring (down), cast, come (nigh), draw near (nigh), get up, happen, join, near, plague, reach (up), smite, strike, touch.
Pronounce: naw-gah'
Origin: a primitive root
their garments
lbuwsh (Hebrew #3830)
from 3847; a garment (literally or figuratively); by implication (euphem.) a wife
KJV usage: apparel, clothed with, clothing, garment, raiment, vestment, vesture.
Pronounce: leb-oosh'
Origin: or lbush {leb-oosh'}
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i
Jer. 2:34• 34Yea, in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor, whom thou didst not encounter breaking in, but it is found upon all these. (Jer. 2:34)
τ
or, in that they could not but.
k
Num. 19:16• 16And every one that toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead person, or the bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. (Num. 19:16)

More on:

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Blood,
Garments

Cross References

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Ministry on This Verse

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have wandered.
Deut. 28:28‑29• 28Jehovah will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;
 29and thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways; and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled continually, and there shall be none to save. (Deut. 28:28‑29)
;
Isa. 29:10‑12• 10For Jehovah hath poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your chiefs, the seers, hath he covered.
 11And the whole vision is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to one that can read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed.
 12And they give the book to him that cannot read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot read. (Isa. 29:10‑12)
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Isa. 56:10• 10His watchmen are all of them blind, they are without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs that cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber: (Isa. 56:10)
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Isa. 59:9‑11• 9Therefore is justice far from us, and righteousness overtaketh us not: we wait for light, and behold darkness; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity.
 10We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at midday as in the twilight; amongst the flourishing we are as the dead.
 11We roar all like bears, and mourn grievously like doves: we look for judgment, and there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. (Isa. 59:9‑11)
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Mic. 3:6‑7• 6therefore ye shall have night without a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, without divination; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them.
 7And the seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners confounded; and they shall all cover their lips, for there will be no answer of God. (Mic. 3:6‑7)
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Matt. 15:14• 14Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of blind: but if blind lead blind, both will fall into a ditch. (Matt. 15:14)
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Eph. 4:18• 18being darkened in understanding, estranged from the life of God by reason of the ignorance which is in them, by reason of the hardness of their hearts, (Eph. 4:18)
they have polluted.
Num. 35:33• 33And ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and there can be no atonement made for the land, for the blood that hath been shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. (Num. 35:33)
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Isa. 1:15• 15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. (Isa. 1:15)
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Jer. 2:34• 34Yea, in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor, whom thou didst not encounter breaking in, but it is found upon all these. (Jer. 2:34)
so that men could not touch.
or, in that they could not buttouch.
Num. 19:16• 16And every one that toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead person, or the bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. (Num. 19:16)
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Hos. 4:2• 2Swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery,--they break out; and blood toucheth blood. (Hos. 4:2)
• As the clause stands in the common version, the import appears to be that wandering blindly in the streets they defiled themselves in the worst way possible, with blood, so that their very garments must pollute any who might touch them. (“Lamentations of Jeremiah: Chapter 4:12-22” by W. Kelly)

J. N. Darby Translation

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14
They wandered about blind in the streets; they were polluted with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.