Lamentations 4:11-22

New American Standard Bible

¹¹ The Lord has ^(A)expended His wrath,
He has poured out His fierce anger;
And He has ^(B)kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has consumed its foundations.
¹² The kings of the earth did not believe,
Nor did any of ^(C)the inhabitants of the world,
That the adversary and the enemy
Would ^(D)enter the gates of Jerusalem.
¹³ Because of the sins of her ^(E)prophets
And the wrongdoings of her priests,
Who have shed in her midst
The ^(F)blood of the righteous,
¹⁴ They wandered, ^(G)blind, in the streets;
They were defiled with ^(H)blood,
Such that no one could touch their ^(I)garments.
¹⁵ “Keep away! ^(J)Unclean!” ^[a]they cried out of themselves.
“Keep away, keep away, do not touch!”
For they ^(K)distanced themselves as well as wandered;
People among the nations said,
“They shall not continue to reside with us.”
¹⁶ The presence of the Lord has scattered them,
He will not continue to look at them;
They did not ^[b](L)honor the priests,
They did not favor the elders.
¹⁷ Yet our eyes failed,
Looking for ^[c]help was ^(M)useless;
At our observation point we have watched
For a ^(N)nation that could not save.
¹⁸ They ^(O)hunted our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets;
Our ^(P)end drew near,
Our days were ^[d]finished
For our end had come.
¹⁹ Our pursuers were ^(Q)swifter
Than the eagles of the sky;
They chased us on the mountains,
They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.
²⁰ The ^(R)breath of our nostrils, the ^(S)Lord’s anointed,
Was ^(T)captured in their pits,
Of whom we had said, “^[e]In his ^(U)shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
²¹ Rejoice and be joyful, daughter of ^(V)Edom,
Who lives in the land of Uz;
But the ^(W)cup will pass to you as well,
You will become drunk and expose yourself.
²² The punishment of your wrongdoing has been ^(X)completed, daughter of Zion;
He will no longer exile you.
But He ^(Y)will punish your wrongdoing, daughter of Edom;
He will expose your sins!