Lamentations

¹ the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street.

² once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!

³ to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert.

⁴ sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them.

⁵ are destitute in the streets. Those nurtured in purple now lie on ash heaps.

⁶ is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her.

⁷ and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.

⁸ they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.

⁹ than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.

¹⁰ have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.

¹¹ he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.

¹² nor did any of the world’s people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³ and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.

¹⁴ like men who are blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments.

¹⁵ “Away! Away! Don’t touch us!” When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, “They can stay here no longer.”

¹⁶ he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.

¹⁷ looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.

¹⁸ so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.

¹⁹ than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert.

²⁰ was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations.

²¹ you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked.

²² he will not prolong your exile. But, O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin and expose your wickedness.