Lamentations 4:4–6

The tongue of the nursing infant sticks

to the roof of its mouth for thirst;

the children beg for food,

but no one gives to them.

Those who once feasted on delicacies

perish in the streets;

those who were brought up in purple

embrace ash heaps.

For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater

than the punishment of Sodom,

which was overthrown in a moment,

and no hands were wrung for her.

Because of thirst the infant’s tongue

sticks to the roof of its mouth;

the children beg for bread,

but no one gives it to them.

Those who once ate delicacies

are destitute in the streets.

Those brought up in royal purple

now lie on ash heaps.

The punishment of my people

is greater than that of Sodom,

which was overthrown in a moment

without a hand turned to help her.

The nursing baby’s tongue

clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst.

Infants beg for food,

but no one gives them any.

Those who used to eat delicacies

are destitute in the streets;

those who were reared in purple garments

huddle in trash heaps.

The punishment of my dear people

is greater than that of Sodom,

which was overthrown in an instant

without a hand laid on it.

The parched tongues of their little ones

stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst.

The children cry for bread,

but no one has any to give them.

The people who once ate the richest foods

now beg in the streets for anything they can get.

Those who once wore the finest clothes

now search the garbage dumps for food.

The guilt of my people

is greater than that of Sodom,

where utter disaster struck in a moment

and no hand offered help.

The tongue of the nursling cleaves

to its palate in thirst.

Children beg for food,

no one lays it out before them.

The ones who eat delicacies,

they are ruined in the streets;

the ones nurtured in purple

lie on piles of trash.

The iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater

than the sin of Sodom;

it was overthrown in a moment

and no hands were laid on her.

The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst:

The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.

They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets:

They that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.

For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom,

That was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.