Lamentations 4:1-16 ▼

1 How the gold has lost its luster, the noble metal changed; Jewels lie scattered at the corner of every street.

2 And Zion’s precious children, worth their weight in gold— How they are treated like clay jugs, the work of any potter!

3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is as cruel as the ostrich in the wilderness.

4 The tongue of the infant cleaves to the roof of its mouth in thirst; Children beg for bread, but no one gives them a piece.

5 Those who feasted on delicacies are abandoned in the streets; Those who reclined on crimson now embrace dung heaps.

6 The punishment of the daughter of my people surpassed the penalty of Sodom, Which was overthrown in an instant with no hand laid on it.

7 Her princes were brighter than snow, whiter than milk, Their bodies more ruddy than coral, their beauty like the sapphire.

8 Now their appearance is blacker than soot, they go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin has shrunk on their bones, and become dry as wood.

9 Better for those pierced by the sword than for those pierced by hunger, Better for those who bleed from wounds than for those who lack food.

10 The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children! They became their food when the daughter of my people was shattered.

11 The LORD has exhausted his anger, poured out his blazing wrath; He has kindled a fire in Zion that has consumed her foundations.

12 The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the world’s inhabitants, That foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

13 Except for the sins of her prophets and the crimes of her priests, Who poured out in her midst the blood of the just.

14 They staggered blindly in the streets, defiled with blood, So that people could not touch even their garments:

15 “Go away! Unclean!” they cried to them, “Away, away, do not touch!” If they went away and wandered, it would be said among the nations, “They can no longer live here!

16 The presence of the LORD was their portion, but he no longer looks upon them. The priests are shown no regard, the elders, no mercy.