4  The tongue of the nursing infant usticks

to the roof of its mouth for thirst;

vthe children beg for food,

but no one gives to them.

5  Those who once feasted on delicacies

perish in the streets;

wthose who were brought up in purple

embrace ash heaps.

6  xFor the chastisement1 of the daughter of my people has been greater

than the punishment2 of Sodom,

ywhich was overthrown in a moment,

and no hands were wrung for her.3

7  Her princes were purer than snow,

whiter than milk;

their bodies were more ruddy than coral,

the beauty of their form4 was like sapphire.5

8  zNow their face is blacker than soot;

they are not recognized in the streets;

their skin has shriveled on their bones;

it has become as dry as wood.

9  Happier were the victims of the sword

than the victims of hunger,

who wasted away, pierced

by lack of the fruits of the field.