Bible Strands
Lamentations 4:9
Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The lamenting prophet addresses the surviving population of Jerusalem during the final stages of the Babylonian siege. He speaks at the moment of total agricultural collapse to explain why starvation is viewed as a worse fate than violent death.
The words — The Hebrew טוֹבִים (tovim) translates literally to "good" or "better," while חַלְלֵי (challey) means "those slain" or "wounded." These terms establish the comparative structure that prioritizes the swift end of the sword over the protracted agony of famine.
The thread — The motif of wasting away in exile runs through Leviticus 26:39, Jeremiah 16:4, and Ezekiel 24:23. Each passage describes survivors decaying from famine, disease, or despair outside their homeland.
Why it lands — The text states that those killed by the sword are better off than those who waste away from hunger due to barren fields. It asks the reader to accept the described reality of covenant judgment without minimizing the severity of the starvation it records.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 26:39 Those of you who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away in their iniquity and will decay in the sins of their fathers.
- Jeremiah 16:4 “They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”
- Ezekiel 24:23 Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins, and you will groan among yourselves.
- Ezekiel 33:10 Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’