¹ How dark the gold has become,
How the pure gold has changed!
The sacred stones are poured out
At the corner of every street. ² The precious sons of Zion,
Weighed against fine gold,
How they are regarded as earthen 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 become cruel
Like ostriches in the wilderness. ⁴ The tongue of the infant cleaves
To the roof of its mouth because of thirst;
The little ones ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them. ⁵ Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those reared in purple
Embrace ash pits. ⁶ For the iniquity 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 were whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than corals,
Their polishing was like lapis lazuli. ⁸ Their appearance is blacker than soot,
They are not recognized in the streets;
Their skin is shriveled on their bones,
It is withered, it has become like wood. ⁹ Better are those slain with the sword
Than those slain with hunger;
For they pine away, being stricken
For 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. ¹¹ The LORD has accomplished His wrath,
He has poured out His fierce anger;
And He has kindled a fire in Zion
Which has consumed its foundations. ¹² The kings of the earth did not believe,
Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world,
That the adversary and the enemy
Could enter the gates of Jerusalem. ¹³ Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
Who have shed in her midst
The blood of the righteous; ¹⁴ They wandered, blind, in the streets;
They were defiled with blood
So that no one could touch their garments. ¹⁵ “Depart! Unclean!” they cried of themselves.
“Depart, depart, do not touch!”
So they fled and wandered;
Men among the nations said,
“They shall not continue to dwell with us.” ¹⁶ The presence of the LORD has scattered them,
He will not continue to regard them;
They did not honor the priests,
They did not favor the elders. ¹⁷ Yet our eyes failed,
Looking for help was useless;
In our watching we have watched
For a nation that could not save. ¹⁸ They hunted our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets;
Our end drew near,
Our days were finished
For our end had come. ¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
Than the eagles of the sky;
They chased us on the mountains,
They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness. ²⁰ The breath of our nostrils, the LORD’S anointed,
Was captured in their pits,
Of whom we had said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.” ²¹ Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
Who dwells in the land of Uz;
But the cup will come around to you as well,
You will become drunk and make yourself naked. ²² The punishment of your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion;
He will exile you no longer.
But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;
He will expose your sins!