Lamentations 4

The Degradation of Zion

4How the gold has become dim!

How changed the fine gold!

The stones of the sanctuary are ¹scattered

At the head of every street.

²The precious sons of Zion,

²Valuable as fine gold,

How they are ³regarded ^aas clay pots,

The work of the hands of the potter!

³Even the jackals present their breasts

To nurse their young;

But the daughter of my people is cruel,

^bLike ostriches in the wilderness.

⁴The tongue of the infant clings

To the roof of its mouth for thirst;

^cThe young children ask for bread,

But no one breaks it for them.

⁵Those who ate delicacies

Are desolate in the streets;

Those who were brought up in scarlet

^dEmbrace ash heaps.

⁶The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people

Is greater than the punishment of the ^esin of Sodom,

Which was ^foverthrown in a moment,

With no hand to help her!

⁷Her ⁴Nazirites were ⁵brighter than snow

And whiter than milk;

They were more ruddy in body than rubies,

Like sapphire in their ⁶appearance.

⁸Now their appearance is blacker than soot;

They go unrecognized in the streets;

^gTheir skin clings to their bones,

It has become as dry as wood.

⁹Those slain by the sword are better off

Than those who die of hunger;

For these ^hpine away,

Stricken for lack of the fruits of the ⁱfield.

¹⁰The hands of the ^jcompassionate women

Have ⁷cooked their ^kown children;

They became ^lfood for them

In the destruction of the daughter of my people.

¹¹The Lord has fulfilled His fury,

^mHe has poured out His fierce anger.

ⁿHe kindled a fire in Zion,

And it has devoured its foundations.

¹²The kings of the earth,

And all inhabitants of the world,

Would not have believed

That the adversary and the enemy

Could ^oenter the gates of Jerusalem—

^13pBecause of the sins of her prophets

And the iniquities of her priests,

^qWho shed in her midst

The blood of the just.

¹⁴They wandered blind in the streets;

^rThey have defiled themselves with blood,

^sSo that no one would touch their garments.

¹⁵They cried out to them,

“Go away, ^tunclean!

Go away, go away,

Do not touch us!”

When they fled and wandered,

Those among the nations said,

“They shall no longer dwell here.”

¹⁶The ⁸face of the Lord scattered them;

He no longer regards them.

^uThe people do not respect the priests

Nor show favor to the elders.

¹⁷Still ^vour eyes failed us,

Watching vainly for our help;

In our watching we watched

For a nation that could not save us.

^18wThey ⁹tracked our steps

So that we could not walk in our streets.

^xOur end was near;

Our days were over,

For our end had come.

¹⁹Our pursuers were ^yswifter

Than the eagles of the heavens.

They pursued us on the mountains

And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

²⁰The ^zbreath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,

^aWas caught in their pits,

Of whom we said, “Under his shadow

We shall live among the nations.”

²¹Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of ^bEdom,

You who dwell in the land of Uz!

^cThe cup shall also pass over to you

And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.

^22dThe punishment of your iniquity ¹is accomplished,

O daughter of Zion;

He will no longer send you into captivity.

^eHe will punish your iniquity,

O daughter of Edom;

He will uncover your sins!