³ Even the jackals feed their young,
    but not my people Israel.
They ignore their children’s cries,
    like ostriches in the desert.

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.

² “Judah wilts;
    commerce at the city gates grinds to a halt.
All the people sit on the ground in mourning,
    and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.
³ The nobles send servants to get water,
    but all the wells are dry.
The servants return with empty pitchers,
    confused and desperate,
    covering their heads in grief.
⁴ The ground is parched
    and cracked for lack of rain.
The farmers are deeply troubled;
    they, too, cover their heads.
⁵ Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn
    because there is no grass in the field.
⁶ The wild donkeys stand on the bare hills
    panting like thirsty jackals.
They strain their eyes looking for grass,
    but there is none to be found.”

²⁰ Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free;
    the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.
²¹ Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household;
    he became ruler over all the king’s possessions.
²² He could instruct^[a] the king’s aides as he pleased
    and teach the king’s advisers.