⁴ The parched tongues of their little ones
    stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst.
The children cry for bread,
    but no one has any to give them.

⁵ The people who once ate the richest foods
    now beg in the streets for anything they can get.
Those who once wore the finest clothes
    now search the garbage dumps for food.

⁶ The guilt^[a] of my people
    is greater than that of Sodom,
where utter disaster struck in a moment
    and no hand offered help.

⁷ Our princes once glowed with health—
    brighter than snow, whiter than milk.
Their faces were as ruddy as rubies,
    their appearance like fine jewels.^[b]

⁸ But now their faces are blacker than soot.
    No one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin sticks to their bones;
    it is as dry and hard as wood.

⁹ Those killed by the sword are better off
    than those who die of hunger.
Starving, they waste away
    for lack of food from the fields.

¹⁰ Tenderhearted women
    have cooked their own children.
They have eaten them
    to survive the siege.