Lamentations 4:3

King James Version

Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Even jackals offer their breaststo nurse their young,but my dear people have become cruellike ostriches in the wilderness.

Hebrew Names Version
Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

English Standard Version
Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young; but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

New American Standard Bible
Even jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has proved herself cruel, Like ostriches in the wilderness.

New Century Version
Even wild dogs give their milk to feed their young, but my people are cruel like ostriches in the desert.

Amplified Bible
Even the jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness [that desert their young].

World English Bible
Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Euen the dragons draw out the breastes, and giue sucke to their yong, but the daughter of my people is become cruell like the ostriches in the wildernesse.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Even jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness.

Legacy Standard Bible
Even jackals offer the breast;They nurse their young;But the daughter of my people has become cruelLike ostriches in the wilderness.

Berean Standard Bible
Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness.

Contemporary English Version
Even jackals nurse their young, but my people are like ostriches that abandon their own.

Complete Jewish Bible
Even jackals bare their breasts in order to nurse their young, but the daughters of my people have become as cruel as ostriches in the desert.

Darby Translation
Even the jackals offer the breast, they give suck to their young; the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

Easy-to-Read Version
Even a wild dog feeds her babies. Even the jackal lets her pups suck at her breast. But the daughter of my people is cruel. She is like the ostrich in the desert that forgets its eggs in the sand.

George Lamsa Translation
The women uncover their breasts like jackals, they give suck to their young ones; the daughters of my people have become like wounds that cannot be healed and like ostriches in the wilderness.

Good News Translation
Even a mother wolf will nurse her cubs, but my people are like ostriches, cruel to their young.

Lexham English Bible
Even the jackal bears the beast and nurses their cubs; but the daughter of my people has become ruthless, like ostriches in the wilderness.

Literal Translation
Even the jackals draw out the breast; they suckle their young. But the daughter of my people is cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The Lamyes geue their yonge ones suck wt bare brestes: but the doughter of my people is cruel, and dwelleth in the wyldernesse: like the Estriches.

American Standard Version
Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

Bible in Basic English
Even the beasts of the waste land have full breasts, they give milk to their young ones: the daughter of my people has become cruel like the ostriches in the waste land.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones; the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

King James Version (1611)
Euen the sea-monsters draw out the breast, they giue sucke to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruell, like the ostriches in the wildernesse.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The dragons geue their young ones sucke with bare brestes: but the daughter of my people is cruel, like the Estriches in the wildernesse.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
GIMEL. Nay, serpents have drawn out the breasts, they give suck to their young, the daughters of my people are incurably cruel, as an ostrich in a desert.

English Revised Version
Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Gimel. But also lamyes maden nakid her tetis, yauen mylk to her whelpis; the douyter of my puple is cruel, as an ostrig in desert.

Update Bible Version
Even the jackals draw out the breast, they nurse their young ones: The daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

Webster's Bible Translation
Even the sea-monsters draw out the breast, they nurse their young ones: the daughter of my people [is become] cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

New English Translation

ג (Gimel)

Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the desert.

New King James Version
Even the jackals present their breasts To nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, Like ostriches in the wilderness.

New Living Translation
Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people Israel. They ignore their children's cries, like ostriches in the desert.

New Life Bible
Even wild dogs give their breast to feed their young, but my people show no pity. They are like ostriches in the desert.

New Revised Standard
Even the jackals offer the breast and nurse their young, but my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Even wild dogs, draw out the breast, give suck to their whelps - The daughter of my people, hath become cruel, like the ostriches in the desert.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Ghimel. Even the sea monsters have drawn out the breast, they have given suck to their young: the daughter of my people is cruel, like the ostrich in the desert.

Revised Standard Version
Even the jackals give the breast and suckle their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

Young's Literal Translation
Even dragons have drawn out the breast, They have suckled their young ones, The daughter of my people is become cruel, Like the ostriches in a wilderness.

THE MESSAGE
Even wild jackals nurture their babies, give them their breasts to suckle. But my people have turned cruel to their babies, like an ostrich in the wilderness.

Contextual Overview

¹ How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. ² The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! ³ Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. ⁴ The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. ⁵ They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. ⁶ For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. ⁷ Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: ⁸ Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

sea monsters: or, sea calves

the daughter: Lamentations 2:20, Lamentations 4:10, Leviticus 26:29, Deuteronomy 28:52-57, 2 Kings 6:26-29, Isaiah 49:15, Jeremiah 19:9, Ezekiel 5:10, Luke 23:28, Luke 23:29

like: Job 39:13-16, Romans 1:31

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:55 - famished Leviticus 26:26 - General Deuteronomy 28:56 - and delicate 1 Kings 3:21 - give Job 39:16 - hardened Isaiah 32:12 - lament Jeremiah 4:11 - daughter Jeremiah 6:26 - daughter Jeremiah 32:24 - because Jeremiah 47:3 - the fathers Lamentations 2:11 - because Ezekiel 16:5 - eye Matthew 24:19 - General Mark 13:17 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 4:1
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord .

Genesis 4:11
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

Numbers 18:12
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord , them have I given thee.

1 Kings 17:7
And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

Nehemiah 13:6
But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Even the sea monsters draw out the breast,.... Which some interpret of dragons; others of seals, or sea calves; but it is best to understand it of whales, as the word is rendered in Genesis 1:21; and elsewhere: and Bochart d has proved, out of various writers, that these have breasts and milk; but that their breasts, or however their paps, are not manifest, but are hid as in cases, and must be drawn out: and so Jarchi observes that they draw their breasts out of a case, for their breasts have a covering, which they uncover: so Ben Melech. Aristotle e says, that whales, as the dolphin, sea calf, and balaena, have breasts or paps, and milk, which he makes to be certain species of the whale; and each of these, he elsewhere says, have milk, and suckle their young: the dolphin and sturgeon, he observes f have milk, and are sucked; and so the sea calf, he says g, lets out milk as a sheep, and has two breasts, and is sucked by its young, as four footed beasts are. Agreeably to which Aelianus h relates, that the female dolphins have paps like women, and suckle their young, with great plenty of milk; and the balaena, he says i, is a creature like a dolphin, and has milk. And Pliny, speaking of the dolphins, observes k, that they bring forth their "whelps", and so the young of this creature are called here in the next clause in the Hebrew text l, and nourish them with their breasts, as the balaena; and of the sea calves the same writer says m they feed their young with their paps; but the paps of these creatures are not manifest, as those of four footed beasts, as Aristotle observes; but are like two channels or pipes, out of which the milk flows, and the young are suckled;

they give suck to their young ones; as they do, when they are hungry; which is mentioned, as an aggravation of the case of the Jewish women, with respect to their behaviour towards their children, by reason of the famine, during the siege of Jerusalem; which here, and in the following verses, is described in the sad effects of it; and which had a further accomplishment at the destruction of the same city by the Romans: now, though the monsters suckled their young when hungry, yet these women did not suckle theirs;

the daughter of my people [is become] cruel; or, is "unto a cruel one" n: that is, is changed unto a cruel one, or is like unto one, and behaves as such, though of force and necessity: the meaning is, that the Jewish women, though before tenderhearted mothers, yet, by reason of the famine, having no milk in their breasts, could give none to their children, and so acted as if they were cruel to them; nay, in fact, instead of feeding them, they fed upon them, Lamentations 4:10;

like the ostriches in the wilderness; which lay their eggs, and leave them in places easily to be crushed and broken; and when they have any young ones, they are hardened against them, as if they were none of theirs, Job 39:13; and this seemed now to be the case of these women; or, "like the owls", as the word is sometimes rendered; and which also leave their eggs, and for want of food will eat their young, as those women did. So Ben Melech says, it is a bird which dwells in the wilderness, and causes a voice of hooping to be heard.

d Hierozoic. l. 1. c. 7. p. 46. e Hist. Animal. l. 3. c. 20. f Ib. l. 6. c. 12. g lbid. h Hist. de Animal. 1. 10. c. 8. i Ib. l. 5. c. 4. k Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 8. l גוריהן "catulos suos", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius. m Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 13. n לאכזר "in crudelem", Montanus "sub. mutata fuit", Piscator; "similis est crudeli", Munster.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Sea monsters - Rather, jackals.

Their young ones - “Their” whelps. The term is applied only to the young of dogs, lions, and the like.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Lamentations 4:3. Even the sea monsters draw out the breast — The whales give suck to their young ones. The word תנין tannin, signifies all large and cruel creatures, whether aquatic or terrestrial; and need not here be restrained to the former sort. My Old MS. Bible translates curiously: Bot and the cruel bestis that ben clepid Lamya, and thei nakeden ther tetis, geve ther whelpis souken.

Like the ostriches in the wilderness. — For her carelessness about her eggs, and her inattention to her young, the ostrich is proverbial.