Lamentations 4–5

The Holy Stones Lie Scattered

4^qHow the gold has grown dim,

how the pure gold is changed!

The holy stones lie scattered

^rat the head of every street.

²The precious sons of Zion,

worth their weight in ^sfine gold,

how they are regarded as ^tearthen pots,

the work of a potter’s hands!

³Even jackals offer the breast;

they nurse their young;

but the daughter of my people has become cruel,

like the ostriches in the wilderness.

⁴The 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.

⁵Those who once feasted on delicacies

perish in the streets;

^wthose who were brought up in purple

embrace ash heaps.

^6xFor 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

⁷Her princes were purer than snow,

whiter than milk;

their bodies were more ruddy than coral,

the beauty of their form⁴ was like sapphire.⁵

^8zNow 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.

⁹Happier were the victims of the sword

than the victims of hunger,

who wasted away, pierced

by lack of the fruits of the field.

^10aThe hands of ^bcompassionate women

^chave boiled their own children;

^dthey became their food

during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

^11eThe Lord gave full vent to his wrath;

he poured out his hot anger,

and ^fhe kindled a fire in Zion

that consumed its foundations.

^12gThe kings of the earth did not believe,

nor any of the inhabitants of the world,

that foe or enemy could enter

the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³This was for ^hthe sins of her prophets

and ^hthe iniquities of her priests,

who shed in the midst of her

the blood of the righteous.

¹⁴ⁱThey wandered, blind, through the streets;

they were so defiled with blood

^jthat no one was able to touch

their garments.

¹⁵“Away! ^kUnclean!” people cried at them.

“Away! Away! Do not touch!”

So they became fugitives and wanderers;

people said among the nations,

“They shall stay with us no longer.”

^16lThe Lord himself⁶ has scattered them;

he will regard them no more;

^mno honor was shown to the priests,

ⁿno favor to the elders.

^17oOur eyes failed, ever watching

^ovainly for help;

in our watching we watched

for ^pa nation which could not save.

^18qThey dogged our steps

so that we could not walk in our streets;

^rour end drew near; our days were numbered,

for our end had come.

¹⁹Our pursuers were ^sswifter

than the eagles in the heavens;

they chased us on the mountains;

they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

^20tThe breath of our nostrils, ^uthe Lord’s anointed,

was captured ^vin their pits,

of whom we said, ^w“Under his shadow

we shall live among the nations.”

^21xRejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,

you who dwell in ^ythe land of Uz;

but to you also ^zthe cup shall pass;

you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.

^22aThe punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;

he will keep you in exile no longer;⁷

but ^byour iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;

he will uncover your sins.

Restore Us to Yourself, O Lord

5^cRemember, O Lord, what has befallen us;

look, and see ^dour disgrace!

^2eOur inheritance has been turned over to strangers,

our homes to foreigners.

³We have become orphans, fatherless;

our mothers are like widows.

⁴We must pay for the water we drink;

the wood we get must be bought.

^5fOur pursuers are at our necks;

we are weary; we are given no rest.

⁶We have given the hand to ^gEgypt, and to ^gAssyria,

to get bread enough.

⁷Our fathers sinned, and are no more;

^hand we bear their iniquities.

⁸ⁱSlaves rule over us;

there is none to deliver us from their hand.

^9jWe get our bread at the peril of our lives,

because of the sword in the wilderness.

^10kOur skin is hot as an oven

with ^lthe burning heat of famine.

¹¹Women are raped in Zion,

young women in the towns of Judah.

^12mPrinces are hung up by their hands;

ⁿno respect is shown to the elders.

¹³Young men are compelled to ^ogrind at the mill,

and boys stagger ^punder loads of wood.

¹⁴ⁿThe old men have left the city gate,

the young men ^qtheir music.

^15qThe joy of our hearts has ceased;

^rour dancing has been turned to mourning.

^16sThe crown has fallen from our head;

woe to us, for we have sinned!

¹⁷For this ^tour heart has become sick,

for these things ^uour eyes have grown dim,

¹⁸for Mount Zion which lies desolate;

^vjackals prowl over it.

^19wBut you, O Lord, reign forever;

your throne endures to all generations.

^20xWhy do you forget us forever,

why do you forsake us for so many days?

^21yRestore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!

Renew our days as of old—

^22zunless you have utterly rejected us,

and you remain exceedingly angry with us.