Lamentations 4–5

4TH CHAPTER^a

The Prophet Speaks Out: Zion’s Suffering Was Worse Than Sodom’s

¹“Look how the gold has become tarnished! 

The fine gold has changed! 

The sacred stones are scattered at every street corner. 

²“Zion’s precious children, who are worth their weight in fine gold, 

are now treated like clay pots, 

like those made by a potter’s hands. 

³Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, 

but the women of my people are as cruel as wild ostriches. 

⁴The tongues of nursing infants stick to the roofs of their mouths 

because of their thirst. 

Little children beg for bread, 

but no one will break off a piece for them. 

⁵Those who used to eat delicacies are now destitute in the streets. 

Those who used to wear expensive clothes now pick through piles of garbage. 

⁶The punishment for my people’s wickedness has been more severe 

than the punishment for the sins of Sodom. 

Sodom was destroyed instantly, without one human hand touching it. 

⁷Zion’s princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk. 

Their bodies were more pink than coral. 

Their hair was like sapphires. 

⁸Their faces are ⸤now⸥ blacker than soot. 

No one recognizes them on the streets. 

Their skin has shriveled on their bones. 

It has become as dry as bark. 

⁹Those who were killed with swords are better off 

than those who are dying from starvation. 

Those who were stabbed bled to death. 

The others are dying because there is nothing in the fields to eat. 

¹⁰The hands of loving mothers cooked their own children. 

The children were used for food by my people 

when they were being destroyed ⸤by a blockade⸥. 

¹¹The Lord’s fury has accomplished his purpose. 

He unleashed his burning anger. 

He started a fire in Zion that even burned its foundations. 

¹²Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe 

that enemies or invaders would ever get through the gates of Jerusalem. 

¹³⸤They got through⸥ because of the sins of Jerusalem’s prophets 

and the crimes of its priests, 

who spilled the blood of righteous people within it. 

¹⁴My people staggered blindly through the streets. 

They were so contaminated with bloodstains 

that no one would touch their clothes. 

¹⁵‘Get away! You’re unclean,’^bpeople yelled at them. 

‘Get away! Get away! Don’t touch anyone.’ 

When they fled and wandered around, 

the people of the nations said, ‘They can’t stay here any longer.’ 

¹⁶The Lord himself has scattered them. 

He will no longer look favorably on them. 

They no longer respected the priests, 

nor did they honor their older leaders.” 

The People of Zion Speak Out

¹⁷“We are still straining our eyes, trying in vain to find help. 

We waited and waited for a nation that didn’t save us. 

¹⁸⸤The enemy⸥ kept tracking us down, 

so we couldn’t even go out into the streets. 

Our end was near. 

Our time was up. 

Our end had come. 

¹⁹Those who were hunting us were faster than eagles in the sky. 

They chased us in the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness. 

²⁰The person the Lord anointed ⸤as king⸥, who is the breath of our life, 

was caught in their pits. 

We had thought that we would live 

in our king’s shadow among the nations.” 

The Prophet Speaks Out: Be Warned about Edom’s Impending Doom

²¹“Rejoice and be glad, people of Edom, inhabitants of the country of Uz. 

The cup ⸤of the Lord’s fury⸥ will be passed to you next. 

You’ll get drunk and take off all your clothes. 

²²People of Zion, the punishment for your wickedness will end. 

The Lord will not let you remain in exile. 

People of Edom, he will punish you for your wickedness. 

He will expose your sins.” 

5TH CHAPTER

A Prayer of the Prophet

¹“Remember, O Lord, what has happened to us. 

Take a look at our disgrace! 

²“The land we inherited has been turned over to strangers. 

Our homes have been turned over to foreigners. 

³We are orphans without a father. 

Our mothers are like widows. 

⁴We have to pay to drink our own water. 

We have to pay to chop our own wood. 

⁵⸤Our enemies⸥ are breathing down our necks. 

We are worn out ⸤and⸥ not permitted to rest. 

⁶We had to beg Egypt and Assyria for food.^a

⁷Our ancestors sinned. 

Now they are gone, 

⸤but⸥ we have to take the punishment for their wickedness. 

⁸Slaves rule us. 

There is no one to rescue us from them. 

⁹To get our food, we have to risk our lives 

in the heatof the desert. 

¹⁰Our skin is as hot as an oven from the burning heat of starvation. 

¹¹Women in Zion are raped, so are the girls in the cities of Judah. 

¹²⸤Our⸥ leaders are hung by their hands. 

⸤Our⸥ older leaders are shown no respect. 

¹³⸤Our⸥ young men work at the mill, 

and ⸤our⸥ boys stagger under loads of wood. 

¹⁴⸤Our⸥ older leaders have stopped meeting at the city gate, 

and ⸤our⸥ young men no longer play their music. 

¹⁵There is no joy left in our hearts. 

Our dancing has turned into mourning. 

¹⁶The crown has fallen from our head. 

Because we have sinned, it has been disastrous for us. 

¹⁷This is why we feel sick. 

This is why our eyes see less and less. 

¹⁸Foxes roam around on Mount Zion, which lies in ruins. 

¹⁹“But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever, 

and your reign continues throughout every generation. 

²⁰Why have you completely forgotten us? 

Why have you abandoned us for such a long time? 

²¹O Lord, bring us back to you, and we’ll come back. 

Give us back the life we had long ago, 

²²unless you have completely rejected us 

⸤and⸥ are very angry with us.”