Lamentations 4:9 Meaning and Explanation
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Those killed quickly by the sword are reckoned better off than those who waste away slowly by famine.
What Does Lamentations 4:9 Mean?
The poet voices a grim judgment born of extremity: 'They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger.' A swift death by the blade is reckoned a mercy compared to the slow agony of starvation. The comparison reveals just how prolonged and torturous the famine's death is.
'For these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.' Those dying of hunger waste slowly, pierced not by a weapon but by the lack of bread, the absence of the field's harvest. The slow wasting is its own kind of being run through. The verse lets us feel the particular cruelty of famine, where death comes by inches. It is the language of people pressed to the very limit of endurance, and Scripture lets their hard words stand.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lamentations 4:9
What does Lamentations 4:9 mean?
Those killed quickly by the sword are reckoned better off than those who waste away slowly by famine.