Lamentations 4:7
Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
The surrounding context of Lamentations 4:3-10 portrays the severe suffering of Jerusalem under the Babylonians as equal in measure to the suffering of its later destruction. The tribulation endured there under Babylon was therefore as great as that connected with the later fall of Jerusalem, so that the destruction by Rome was not the greatest tribulation ever to fall upon the Jews. Against that background of distress, the verse recalls the former purity, beauty, and health of Jerusalem's consecrated Nazarites, who were purer than snow, whiter than milk, ruddy in body like rubies, and polished like sapphire.
The term rendered ruddy denotes a healthy, rosy coloring of the body. It shares a Hebrew root with Adam, which means ruddy, flushed, or showing blood, and it indicates a condition of perfect health. That pure and healthy appearance of the Nazarites was evidence of God's approval resting upon them.