² How the precious children of Zion,^(A)
    once worth their weight in gold,
are now considered as pots of clay,
    the work of a potter’s hands!

⁷ Their princes were brighter than snow
    and whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than rubies,
    their appearance like lapis lazuli.

⁸ But now they are blacker^(A) than soot;
    they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;^(B)
    it has become as dry as a stick.