Lamentations 4 · Verse 12

Lamentations 4:12

The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.
Lamentations 4:12, King James Version

Lamentations 4:12 in other translations

BSBThe kings of the earth did not believe, nor any people of the world, that an enemy or a foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
WEBThe kings of the earth didn’t believe, neither did all the inhabitants of the world, that the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem.
ASVThe kings of the earth believed not, neither all the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem.
YLTBelieve not did the kings of earth, And any of the inhabitants of the world, That come would an adversary and enemy Into the gates of Jerusalem.
DARBYThe kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should enter into the gates of Jerusalem.
BBETo the kings of the earth and to all the people of the world it did not seem possible that the attackers and the haters would go into the doors of Jerusalem.
WebsterThe kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy would have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.

What does Lamentations 4:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. Jerusalem was so fortified that all thought it impregnable. It therefore could only have been the hand of God, not the force of man, which overthrew it. Mem.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 The kings of the earth - Jerusalem was so well fortified, both by nature and art, that it appeared as a miracle that it should be taken at all.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Lamentations 4:1-12

The deplorable state of the nation is contrasted with its ancient prosperity. Verses 1-12 What a change is here! Sin tarnishes the beauty of the most exalted powers and the most excellent gifts; but that gold, tried in the fire, which Christ bestows, never will be taken from us; its outward appearance may be dimmed, but its real value can never be changed. The horrors of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem are…

Read the full comment on Lamentations 4:1-12 →

Lamentations 4:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

לֹ֤אlo'notH3808
הֶאֱמִ֙ינוּ֙he.'e.Mi.nuthey believedH539
מַלְכֵי\־mal.khei-[the] kings ofH4428
אֶ֔רֶץ'E.retz[the] earthH776
כֹּ֖לkholallH3605
יֹשְׁבֵ֣יyo.she.Vei[the] inhabitants ofH3427
תֵבֵ֑לte.Vel[the] worldH8398
כִּ֤יkithatH3588
יָבֹא֙ya.Vo'he will goH935
צַ֣רtzaropponentH6862
וְאוֹיֵ֔בve.'o.Yevand enemyH341
בְּשַׁעֲרֵ֖יbe.sha.'a.Reiin [the] gates ofH8179
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם\׃\ \סye.ru.sha.LimJerusalemH3389

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Lamentations 4:12

  • Psalms 48:4-6

    For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

  • Deuteronomy 29:24-28

    Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book: …

  • 1 Kings 9:8-9

    And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

  • Jeremiah 21:13

    Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
De 29:24-28; 1Ki 9:8,9; Ps 48:4-6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Lamentations 4:11

    The Lord hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.

  • Lamentations 4:12

    The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.

  • Lamentations 4:13

    For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,

Read all of Lamentations 4

Lamentations 4:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Nunca los reyes de la tierra, ni todos los que habitan en el mundo, creyeron que el enemigo y el adversario entrara por las puertas de Jerusalem.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Les rois de la terre et tous les habitants du monde n’auraient pas cru que l’adversaire et l’ennemi entreraient dans les portes de Jérusalem.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Die Könige der Erde hätten es nicht geglaubt, noch alle Bewohner des Erdkreises, daß Bedränger und Feind in die Tore Jerusalems kommen würden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Non crediderunt reges terræ, et universi habitatores orbis, quoniam ingrederetur hostis et inimicus per portas Jerusalem.