Lamentations 4:1-10 ▼

1 How dark and dim the gold has become, How the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones [of the temple] are poured out and scattered At the head of every street.

2 The [noble and] precious sons of Zion, [Once] worth their weight in fine gold, How they are regarded [merely] as earthen jars, The work of a potter’s hands!

3 Even the jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness [that desert their young].

4 The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for food, But no one gives it to them.

5 Those who feasted on delicacies Are perishing in the streets; Those reared in purple [as nobles] Embrace ash heaps.

6 For the [punishment of the] wickedness of the daughter of my people [Jerusalem] Is greater than the [punishment for the] sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her [to offer help].

7 Her princes were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk [in appearance]; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Their polishing was like lapis lazuli (sapphire).

8 Their appearance is [now] blacker than soot [because of the prolonged famine]; They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin clings to their bones; It is withered, and it has become [dry] like wood.

9 Those killed with the sword Are more fortunate than those killed with hunger; For the hungry pine and ebb away, For the lack of the fruits of the field.

10 The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people [Judah].