Lamentations 4:22 Meaning and Explanation

The chapter ends with a gleam of hope for Zion: 'The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity.' The discipline has reached its appointed end. The word 'accomplished' signals that the worst is finished, and a promise follows that the captivity will not be repeated. Beyond the judgment lies restoration.

For Edom, by contrast, the reckoning is still to come: 'he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.' The same justice that has completed Zion's punishment will yet expose and punish Edom's. The chapter closes by holding these two truths together: God's discipline of his own people has an end and gives way to mercy, while the gloating wicked will be brought to account. For Zion, the night of punishment is passing, and the promise of return shines at the close.