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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 whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a 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 shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and 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)
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Isa. 29:10‑12• 10For Jehovah hath poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers, hath he covered.
 11And all the vision is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which they deliver to one that can read, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed.
 12And the book is delivered 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] blind, they are all without knowledge; they [are] all dumb dogs, they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. (Isa. 56:10)
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Isa. 59:9‑11• 9Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth righteousness overtake us: we look for light, but behold darkness; for brightness, [but] we walk in obscurity.
 10We grope for the wall like the blind, yea, we grope as having no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; among the flourishing we [are] as dead [men].
 11We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, and there is none; for salvation, [but] it is far off 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, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
 7Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is 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 the understanding, estranged from the life of God on account of the ignorance that is in them, on account of the hardening of their heart, (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 whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a 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, burst out, and blood toucheth on 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.

W. Kelly Translation

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14
They wandered blind in the streets, they were defiled with blood,{HR}So that men could not touch their garments.