Lamentations 4
Revised Standard Version
The Punishment of Zion
4 How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in fine gold,
how they are reckoned as earthen pots,
the work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even the jackals give the breast
and suckle their young,
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursling cleaves
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
5 Those who feasted on dainties
perish in the streets;
those who were brought up in purple
lie on ash heaps.
6 For the chastisement[a] of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment[b] of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment,
no hand being laid on it.[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 Now their visage is blacker than soot,
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled upon their bones,
it has become as dry as wood.
9 Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who pined away, stricken
by want of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women
have boiled their own children;
they became their food
in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord gave full vent to his wrath,
he poured out his hot anger;
and he kindled a fire in Zion,
which consumed its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
or any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
13 This was for the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.
14 They wandered, blind, through the streets,
so defiled with blood
that none could touch
their garments.
15 “Away! Unclean!” men cried at them;
“Away! Away! Touch not!”
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
men said among the nations,
“They shall stay with us no longer.”
16 The Lord himself has scattered them,
he will regard them no more;
no honor was shown to the priests,
no favor to the elders.
17 Our eyes failed, ever watching
vainly for help;
in our watching[f] we watched
for a nation which could not save.
18 Men dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
our end drew near; our days were numbered;
for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than the vultures in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains,
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the Lord’s anointed,
was taken in their pits,
he of whom we said, “Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
dweller in the land of Uz;
but to you also the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22 The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished,
he will keep you in exile no longer;
but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish,
he will uncover your sins.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:6 Or iniquity
- Lamentations 4:6 Or sin
- Lamentations 4:6 Heb uncertain
- Lamentations 4:7 Heb uncertain
- Lamentations 4:7 Heb lapis lazuli
- Lamentations 4:17 Heb uncertain
Lamentations 4
Easy-to-Read Version
The Horrors of the Attack on Jerusalem
4 See how the gold has grown dark,
how the pure gold has changed.
There are jewels[a] scattered all around
at every street corner.
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[b] 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.
5 Those who ate rich food
are now dying in the streets.
Those who grew up wearing nice red clothes
now pick through garbage piles.
6 The sin of the daughter of my people was very great.
Their sin was greater than the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed suddenly.
No human hand caused their destruction.[c]
7 Some of the men of Judah were dedicated to God in a special way.
They were very pure.
They were whiter than snow,
and whiter than milk.
Their bodies were red like coral
and their beards like sapphire stones.
8 But now their faces are blacker than soot.
No one even recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin is wrinkled over their bones.
Their skin is like wood.
9 It was better for those who were killed by the sword
than for those who died of hunger.
Those starving people were sad and hurt.
They died because they got no food from the field.
10 Then even nice women
cooked their own children.
The children were food for their mothers.
This happened when my people were destroyed.
11 The Lord used all of his anger.
He poured out all his anger.
He made a fire in Zion
that burned it down to the foundations.
12 The kings of the earth could not believe what had happened.
The people of the world could not believe what had happened.
They could not believe that enemies
would be able to come through the city gates of Jerusalem.
13 This happened because the prophets
of Jerusalem sinned.
This happened because the priests
of Jerusalem did evil things.
They were shedding the blood of good people
in the city of Jerusalem.
14 The prophets and priests walked around
like blind men in the streets.
They had become dirty with blood.
No one could even touch their clothes because they were dirty.
15 People shouted, “Go away!
Go away! Don’t touch us.”
They wandered around and had no home.
People in other nations said,
“We don’t want them to live with us.”
16 The Lord himself destroyed them.
He didn’t look after them anymore.
He didn’t respect the priests.
He was not friendly to the elders of Judah.
17 We have worn out our eyes looking for help,
but no help comes.
We kept on looking for a nation to save us.
We kept watch from our watchtower,
but no nation came to us.
18 Our enemies hunted us all the time.
We could not even go out into the streets.
Our end came near. Our time was up.
Our end came!
19 The men who chased us
were faster than eagles in the sky.
They chased us into the mountains.
They hid in the desert to catch us.
20 The king was very important to us.
He was like the breath we breathe,
but he was trapped by them.
The Lord himself chose the king,
and we said this about the king,
“We will live in his shadow.
He protects us from the nations.”
21 Be happy, people of Edom.
Be happy, you who live in the land of Uz.
But remember, the cup of the Lord’s anger will come around to you too.
When you drink from that cup,
you will get drunk and strip off all your clothes.
22 Your punishment is complete, Zion.
You will not go into captivity again.
But the Lord will punish your sins, people of Edom.
He will uncover your sins.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 4:1 jewels The meaning of the Hebrew word here is uncertain.
- Lamentations 4:3 daughter of my people Another name for Jerusalem. Also in verse 6.
- Lamentations 4:6 No human hand … destruction The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International