Lamentations 4 · Verse 15

Lamentations 4:15

They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.

Lamentations 4:15, King James Version

Lamentations 4:15 in other translations

BSB	“Go away! Unclean!” men shouted at them. “Away, away! Do not touch us!” So they fled and wandered. Among the nations it was said, “They can stay here no longer.”
WEB	“Go away!” they cried to them. “Unclean! Go away! Go away! Don’t touch! When they fled away and wandered, men said among the nations, “They can’t live here any more.”
ASV	Depart ye, they cried unto them, Unclean! depart, depart, touch not! When they fled away and wandered, men said among the nations, They shall no more sojourn here.
YLT	‘Turn aside--unclean,' they called to them, ‘Turn aside, turn aside, touch not,' For they fled--yea, they have wandered, They have said among nations: ‘They do not add to sojourn.'
DARBY	They cried unto them, Depart! Unclean! Depart! depart, touch not! When they fled away, and wandered about, it was said among the nations, They shall no more sojourn there.
BBE	Away! unclean! they were crying out to them, Away! away! let there be no touching: when they went away in flight and wandering, men said among the nations, There is no further resting-place for them.
Webster	They cried to them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.

What does Lamentations 4:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

15. They ... them--"They," that is, "men" (La 4:14). Even the very Gentiles, regarded as unclean by the Jews, who were ordered most religiously to avoid all defilements, cried unto the latter, "depart," as being unclean: so universal was the defilement of the city by blood. wandered--As the false prophets and their followers had "wandered" blind with infatuated and idolatrous crime in the city (La 4:14), so they must now "wander" among the heathen in blind consternation with calamity. they said--that is, the Gentiles said: it was said among the heathen, "The Jews shall no more sojourn in their own land" [Grotius]; or, wheresoever they go in their wandering exile, "they shall not stay long" [Ludovicus De Dieu], (De 28:65). Pe.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 15 When they fled away - These priests and prophets were so bad, that the very heathen did not like to permit them to sojourn among them. The prophet now resumes the history of the siege.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Lamentations 4:13-20

Nothing ripens a people more for ruin, nor fills the measure faster, than the sins of priests and prophets. The king himself cannot escape, for Divine vengeance pursues him. Our anointed King alone is the life of our souls; we may safely live under his shadow, and rejoice in Him in the midst of our enemies, for He is the true God and eternal life.

Read the full comment on Lamentations 4:13-20 →

Lamentations 4:15 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.

ס֣וּרוּSu.rudepartH5493

טָמֵ֞אta.Me'uncleanH2931

קָ֣רְאוּKa.re.'upeople called outH7121

לָ֗מוֹla.moto them

ס֤וּרוּSu.rudepartH5493

ס֙וּרוּ֙su.rudepartH5493

אַל\־'al-may notH408

תִּגָּ֔עוּti.Ga.'uyou touchH5060

כִּ֥יkiforH3588

נָצ֖וּna.Tzuthey fledH5132

גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571

נָ֑עוּNa.'uthey wanderedH5128

אָֽמְרוּ֙'a.me.Rupeople saidH559

בַּגּוֹיִ֔םba.go.Yimamong the nationsH1471

לֹ֥אlo'notH3808

יוֹסִ֖יפוּyo.Si.futhey will increaseH3254

לָגֽוּר\׃\ \סla.Gurto sojournH1481

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

Cross references for Lamentations 4:15

Leviticus 13:45-46
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

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

Context

Lamentations 4:14
They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
Lamentations 4:15
They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.
Lamentations 4:16
The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.

Read all of Lamentations 4

Lamentations 4:15 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Apartaos ¡inmundos!, les gritaban, Apartaos, apartaos, no toquéis. Cuando huyeron y fueron dispersos, dijeron entre las gentes: Nunca más morarán aquí.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Retirez-vous! un impur! leur criait-on; retirez-vous, retirez-vous, ne touchez pas!… Quand ils se sont enfuis, ils ont erré çà et là; on a dit parmi les nations: Ils n’auront plus leur demeure!
German Elberfelder 1871	"Weichet! Unrein!" rief man ihnen zu; "Weichet, weichet, rühret nicht an!" Wenn sie flüchteten, so irrten sie umher man sagte unter den Nationen: Sie sollen nicht länger bei uns weilen!
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Recedite polluti, clamaverunt eis; recedite, abite, nolite tangere: jurgati quippe sunt, et commoti dixerunt inter gentes: Non addet ultra ut habitet in eis.