1 H ow the gold has become dim! How the most pure gold has changed! The hallowed stones are poured out at the head of every street.

2 T he noble and precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold—how they are esteemed as earthen pots or pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!

3 E ven the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones, but the daughter of my people has become cruel like ostriches in the wilderness.

4 T he tongue of the nursing babe cleaves to the roof of its mouth because of thirst; the young children beg for food, but no one gives it to them.

5 T hose who feasted on dainties are perishing in the streets; those who were brought up in purple lie cleaving to refuse and ash heaps.

6 F or the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands had come against her or been laid on her.

7 h er princes were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; they were more ruddy in body than rubies or corals, their shapely figures sapphire.

8 t hem look blacker than soot and darkness; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones; it is withered and it has become like a stick.

9 T hose who are slain with the sword are more fortunate than those who are the victims of hunger; for they pine and ebb away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.

10 T he hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they were their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

11 T he Lord has fulfilled His wrath; He has poured out His fierce anger and has kindled a fire in Zion that has consumed her foundations.

12 T he kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the inhabitants of the earth, that the oppressor and enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

13 b ecause of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed the blood of the just and righteous in the midst of her.

14 w andered in the streets as if blind; they had so polluted themselves with blood it was not for men to touch their garments.

15 c ried to them, Go away! Unclean! Depart! Depart! Touch not! When they fled away, then they wandered; men said among the nations, They shall not stay here any longer.

16 T he anger of the Lord has scattered; He will no longer look after them. They did not respect the persons of the priests; they did not favor the elders.

17 A s for us, our eyes yet failed and wasted away in looking for our worthless help. In our watching we have watched and waited expectantly for a nation that could not save us.

18 d og our steps, so that we cannot go into our streets; our end is near, our days are fulfilled—yes, our end has come.

19 O ur pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the sky; they pursued us on the mountains, they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

20 T he breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their snares—he of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.

21 R ejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. But the cup also shall pass to you; you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.

22 T he punishment of your iniquity will be accomplished and completed, O Daughter of Zion; will no more carry you away or keep you in exile. But He will inspect and punish your iniquity and guilt, O Daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins.