² The precious sons of Zion,
    worth their weight in ^(C)fine gold,
how they are regarded as ^(D)earthen pots,
    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 the ostriches in the wilderness.

⁴ The tongue of the nursing infant ^(E)sticks
    to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
^(F)the children beg for food,
    but no one gives to them.

⁵ Those who once feasted on delicacies
    perish in the streets;
^(G)those who were brought up in purple
    embrace ash heaps.

^6 (H)For the chastisement^[a] of the daughter of my people has been greater
    than the punishment^[b] of Sodom,
^(I)which was overthrown in a moment,
    and no hands were wrung for her.^[c]

⁷ Her princes were purer than snow,
    whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
    the beauty of their form^[d] was like sapphire.^[e]

^8 (J)Now their face is blacker than soot;
    they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
    it has become as dry as wood.

⁹ Happier were the victims of the sword
    than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
    by lack of the fruits of the field.

^10 (K)The hands of ^(L)compassionate women
    ^(M)have boiled their own children;
^(N)they became their food
    during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

^11 (O)The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
    he poured out his hot anger,
and ^(P)he kindled a fire in Zion
    that consumed its foundations.

^12 (Q)The kings of the earth did not believe,
    nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
    the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³ This was for ^(R)the sins of her prophets
    and ^(S)the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
    the blood of the righteous.

^14 (T)They wandered, blind, through the streets;
    they were so defiled with blood
^(U)that no one was able to touch
    their garments.

¹⁵ “Away! ^(V)Unclean!” people cried at them.
    “Away! Away! Do not touch!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
    people said among the nations,
    “They shall stay with us no longer.”

^16 (W)The Lord himself^[f] has scattered them;
    he will regard them no more;
^(X)no honor was shown to the priests,
    ^(Y)no favor to the elders.

^17 (Z)Our eyes failed, ever watching
    ^(AA)vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
    for ^(AB)a nation which could not save.

^18 (AC)They dogged our steps
    so that we could not walk in our streets;
^(AD)our end drew near; our days were numbered,
    for our end had come.

¹⁹ Our pursuers were ^(AE)swifter
    than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
    they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

^20 (AF)The breath of our nostrils, ^(AG)the Lord's anointed,
    was captured ^(AH)in their pits,
of whom we said, ^(AI)“Under his shadow
    we shall live among the nations.”

^21 (AJ)Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
    you who dwell in ^(AK)the land of Uz;
but to you also ^(AL)the cup shall pass;
    you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.

^22 (AM)The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
    he will keep you in exile no longer;^[g]
but ^(AN)your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
    he will uncover your sins.

^4 (D)Let them be ^(E)put to shame and dishonor
    who seek after my life!
Let them be ^(F)turned back and disappointed
    who devise evil against me!
⁵ Let them be like ^(G)chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
⁶ Let their way be dark and ^(H)slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

⁷ For ^(I)without cause ^(J)they hid their net for me;
    without cause they dug ^(K)a pit for my life.^[b]
8 Let ^(L)destruction come upon him ^(M)when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
    let him fall into it—to his destruction!

⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
    ^(N)exulting in his salvation.
¹⁰ All my ^(O)bones shall say,
    “O Lord, ^(P)who is like you,
delivering the poor
    from him who is too strong for him,
    the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

^11 (Q)Malicious^[c] witnesses rise up;
    they ask me of things that I do not know.
^12 (R)They repay me evil for good;
    my soul is bereft.^[d]
13 But I, ^(S)when they were sick—
    I ^(T)wore sackcloth;
    I ^(U)afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed ^(V)with head bowed^[e] on my chest.
¹⁴     I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
    I ^(W)bowed down in mourning.

¹⁵ But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
    they gathered together against me;
^(X)wretches whom I did not know
    tore at me without ceasing;
¹⁶ like profane mockers at a feast,^[f]
    they ^(Y)gnash at me with their teeth.

¹⁷ How long, O Lord, will you ^(Z)look on?
    Rescue me from their destruction,
    ^(AA)my precious life from the lions!
¹⁸ I will thank you in ^(AB)the great congregation;
    in the mighty throng I will praise you.

^19 (AC)Let not those rejoice over me
    who are ^(AD)wrongfully my foes,
and let not those ^(AE)wink the eye
    who ^(AF)hate me ^(AG)without cause.
²⁰ For they do not speak peace,
    but against those who are quiet in the land
    they devise words of deceit.
²¹ They ^(AH)open wide their mouths against me;
    they say, ^(AI)“Aha, Aha!
    Our eyes have seen it!”

^22 (AJ)You have seen, O Lord; ^(AK)be not silent!
    O Lord, ^(AL)be not far from me!
²³ Awake and ^(AM)rouse yourself for ^(AN)my vindication,
    for my cause, my God and my Lord!
^24 (AO)Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
    according to your righteousness,
    and ^(AP)let them not rejoice over me!
²⁵ Let them not say in their hearts,
    ^(AQ)“Aha, our heart's desire!”
Let them not say, ^(AR)“We have swallowed him up.”

²⁶ Let them be ^(AS)put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be ^(AT)clothed with shame and dishonor
    who ^(AU)magnify themselves against me!

²⁷ Let those who delight in my righteousness
    shout for joy and be glad
    ^(AV)and say evermore,
^(AW)“Great is the Lord,
    who ^(AX)delights in the welfare of his servant!”
²⁸ Then my ^(AY)tongue shall tell of your righteousness
    and of your praise all the day long.