Lamentations 4:1-12

The Punishment of Zion Accomplished

4¹ How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered At the head of every street. ² The precious sons of Zion, Valuable as fine gold, How they are regarded as clay pots, The work of the hands of the potter! ³ Even the jackals present their breasts To nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, Like ostriches in the wilderness. ⁴ The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth for thirst; The young children ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them. ⁵ Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those who were brought up in scarlet Embrace ash heaps. ⁶ 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, With no hand to help her! ⁷ Her Nazirites were brighter than snow And whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Like sapphire in their appearance. ⁸ Now their appearance is blacker than soot; They go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin clings to their bones, It has become as dry as wood. ⁹ Those slain by the sword are better off Than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field. ¹⁰ The hands of the compassionate women Have cooked their own children; They became food for them In the destruction of the daughter of my people. ¹¹ The Lord has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, And it has devoured its foundations. ¹² The kings of the earth, And all inhabitants of the world, Would not have believed That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem--