LamentationsChapter 4

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¹The gold has lost its shine!
The pure gold has turned dull!
The stones of the temple lie scattered
at the corner of every street. ²The dear sons of Zion
were once worth their weight in pure gold.
Now they are treated like clay jars,
the work of a potter's hands! ³Even jackals give milk
to feed their young.
But my people have become cruel,
like ostriches in the wilderness. ⁴The nursing baby is so thirsty
that his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth.
Little children beg for bread,
but no one gives them any. ⁵Those who once ate fine foods
now have nothing in the streets.
Those who grew up wearing rich red clothes
now lie in piles of ashes. ⁶The punishment of my people
is greater than the punishment of Sodom.
Sodom was destroyed in a moment.
No hand was lifted to help her. ⁷Her princes were brighter than snow.
They were whiter than milk.
Their bodies were redder than rubies.
They looked like sapphires. ⁸But now they look blacker than soot.
No one knows them in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones.
It has become as dry as a stick. ⁹Those killed by the sword are better off
than those who die of hunger.
The hungry waste away in pain
because the fields grow no food. ¹⁰Women who were once kind
have cooked their own children with their hands.
The children became their food
when my people were destroyed. ¹¹The LORD has used up all his anger.
He has poured out his fierce anger.
He has started a fire in Zion.
It has burned up her foundations. ¹²The kings of the earth did not believe it.
No one in the world believed it.
They did not think an enemy could ever
come in through the gates of Jerusalem. ¹³But it happened because of the sins of her prophets.
It happened because of the guilt of her priests.
They spilled the blood of people who did what was right in the city. ¹⁴Now they wander through the streets like blind men.
They are so stained with blood
that no one dares to touch their clothes. ¹⁵"Go away! You are unclean!" people shouted at them.
"Go away! Go away! Don't touch us!"
So they ran away and wandered.
Among the nations people said,
"They can't stay here anymore." ¹⁶The LORD himself has scattered them.
He no longer watches over them.
The priests are not honored.
The leaders are shown no kindness. ¹⁷All this time our eyes grew tired
looking for help that never came.
From our towers we watched for a nation
that could not save us. ¹⁸Our enemies followed every step we took.
We could not walk in our own streets.
Our end was near.
Our time was up.
Our end had come! ¹⁹Those who chased us
were faster than eagles in the sky.
They chased us over the mountains.
They hid and waited for us in the wilderness. ²⁰The LORD's chosen king was caught in their pits.
He was the very breath of our life.
We had said about him,
"We will live under his shadow among the nations."a ²¹So be happy and glad, Daughter of Edom,
you who live in the land of Uz.
But the cup will be passed to you too.
You will get drunk and strip yourself naked. ²²Daughter of Zion, your punishment is over.
He will not keep you in exile any longer.
But, Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin.
He will uncover your sins.