Lamentations 4:20 Meaning and Explanation
“The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The anointed king, their very life-breath and hope, was captured, dashing their refuge.
What Does Lamentations 4:20 Mean?
The capture of the king is mourned in the tenderest terms: 'the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD.' The king was as vital to the people as the very breath they breathed, the LORD's anointed one through whom they expected protection and life. To lose him was to lose the breath of the nation.
'Of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.' They had hoped that under the king's protection, his 'shadow,' they might survive even among foreign nations. That hope was crushed when he 'was taken in their pits,' caught in the enemy's traps. Christians have long seen in the title 'the anointed of the LORD' a foreshadowing, for the word points toward the true Anointed One under whose shadow the nations would indeed find life. The failed hope in an earthly anointed king awakens a longing for the King whose protection never fails.
Lamentations 4:20 in the Original Language
mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), 'anointed' -- the one anointed by God; the word from which 'Messiah' comes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lamentations 4:20
What does Lamentations 4:20 mean?
The anointed king, their very life-breath and hope, was captured, dashing their refuge.