Lamentations 4:1-10 ▼

1 How dark the gold has become, How the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones are spilled out At the corner of every street.

2 The precious sons of Zion, Weighed against pure gold, How they are regarded as earthenware jars, The work of a potter’s hands!

3 Even jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has proved herself cruel, Like ostriches in the wilderness.

4 The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The children ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them.

5 Those who used to eat delicacies Are made to tremble in the streets; Those who were raised in crimson clothing Embrace garbage heaps.

6 For the wrongdoing of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her.

7 Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They shined more than milk; They were more ruddy in body than pearls of coral, Their form was like lapis lazuli.

8 Their appearance is darker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is dry, it has become like wood.

9 Better off are those killed by the sword Than those killed by hunger; For they waste away, stricken By the lack of the produce of the field.

10 The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Due to the destruction of the daughter of my people.