² The precious people of Zion
    were once worth more than gold.
But now they are treated like something worthless,
    like the cheap clay jars a potter makes.
³ Even a wild dog feeds her babies.
    Even the jackal lets her pups suck at her breast.
But the daughter of my people^[a] is cruel.
    She is like the ostrich in the desert that forgets its eggs in the sand.
⁴ Babies are so thirsty
    their tongues stick to the roof of their mouths.
Young children ask for bread,
    but no one gives them any.

² The precious people of Zion
    were once worth more than gold.
But now they are treated like something worthless,
    like the cheap clay jars a potter makes.
³ Even a wild dog feeds her babies.
    Even the jackal lets her pups suck at her breast.
But the daughter of my people^[a] is cruel.
    She is like the ostrich in the desert that forgets its eggs in the sand.
⁴ Babies are so thirsty
    their tongues stick to the roof of their mouths.
Young children ask for bread,
    but no one gives them any.