Distress of the Siege Described

How (A)dark the gold has become,
How the pure gold has changed!
The sacred stones are spilled out
At the [a]corner of every street.
The precious sons of Zion,
Weighed against pure gold,
How they are regarded as (B)earthenware jars,
The work of a potter’s hands!
Even (C)jackals offer the breast,
They nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people has proved herself (D)cruel,
Like (E)ostriches in the wilderness.
The (F)tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth because of (G)thirst;
The children (H)ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
Those who used to eat (I)delicacies
Are made to tremble in the streets;
Those who were raised in crimson clothing
Embrace garbage heaps.
For the [b]wrongdoing of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the [c](J)sin of Sodom,
Which was (K)overthrown as in a moment,
[d]And no hands were turned toward her.
Her [e]consecrated ones were (L)purer than snow,
They shined more than milk;
They were more ruddy in [f]body than pearls of coral,
Their form was like [g](M)lapis lazuli.
Their appearance is (N)darker than soot,
They are not recognized in the streets;
Their (O)skin is shriveled on their bones,
It is dry, it has become like wood.
Better off are those (P)killed by the sword
Than those killed by hunger;
For they [h](Q)waste away, [i]stricken
By the lack of the produce of the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women
(R)Boiled their own children;
They became (S)food for them
Due to the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has (T)expended His wrath,
He has poured out His fierce anger;
And He has (U)kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has consumed its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
Nor did any of (V)the inhabitants of the world,
That the adversary and the enemy
Would (W)enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Because of the sins of her (X)prophets
And the wrongdoings of her priests,
Who have shed in her midst
The (Y)blood of the righteous,
14 They wandered, (Z)blind, in the streets;
They were defiled with (AA)blood,
Such that no one could touch their (AB)garments.
15 “Keep away! (AC)Unclean!” [j]they cried out of themselves.
“Keep away, keep away, do not touch!”
For they (AD)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 [k](AE)honor the priests,
They did not favor the elders.
17 Yet our eyes failed,
Looking for [l]help was (AF)useless;
At our observation point we have watched
For a (AG)nation that could not save.
18 They (AH)hunted our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets;
Our (AI)end drew near,
Our days were [m]finished
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were (AJ)swifter
Than the eagles of the sky;
They chased us on the mountains,
They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.
20 The (AK)breath of our nostrils, the (AL)Lords anointed,
Was (AM)captured in their pits,
Of whom we had said, “[n]In his (AN)shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be joyful, daughter of (AO)Edom,
Who lives in the land of Uz;
But the (AP)cup will pass to you as well,
You will become drunk and expose yourself.
22 The punishment of your wrongdoing has been (AQ)completed, daughter of Zion;
He will no longer exile you.
But He (AR)will punish your wrongdoing, daughter of Edom;
He will expose your sins!

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 4:1 Lit head
  2. Lamentations 4:6 Or punishment for wrongdoing
  3. Lamentations 4:6 Or punishment for sin
  4. Lamentations 4:6 I.e., without human intervention
  5. Lamentations 4:7 Or Nazirites
  6. Lamentations 4:7 Lit bones
  7. Lamentations 4:7 Heb sappir
  8. Lamentations 4:9 Lit flow away
  9. Lamentations 4:9 Lit pierced through
  10. Lamentations 4:15 Or they (other people) cried to them
  11. Lamentations 4:16 Lit lift up the faces of
  12. Lamentations 4:17 Lit our help
  13. Lamentations 4:18 Lit full
  14. Lamentations 4:20 I.e., under his protection

God’s Anger Satisfied

How the gold has lost its luster!
    Even the finest gold has become dull.
The sacred gemstones
    lie scattered in the streets!

See how the precious children of Jerusalem,[a]
    worth their weight in fine gold,
are now treated like pots of clay
    made by a common potter.

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

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.

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.

The guilt[b] of my people
    is greater than that of Sodom,
where utter disaster struck in a moment
    and no hand offered help.

Our princes once glowed with health—
    brighter than snow, whiter than milk.
Their faces were as ruddy as rubies,
    their appearance like fine jewels.[c]

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.

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.

11 But now the anger of the Lord is satisfied.
    His fierce anger has been poured out.
He started a fire in Jerusalem[d]
    that burned the city to its foundations.

12 Not a king in all the earth—
    no one in all the world—
would have believed that an enemy
    could march through the gates of Jerusalem.

13 Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets
    and the sins of her priests,
who defiled the city
    by shedding innocent blood.

14 They wandered blindly
    through the streets,
so defiled by blood
    that no one dared touch them.

15 “Get away!” the people shouted at them.
    “You’re defiled! Don’t touch us!”
So they fled to distant lands
    and wandered among foreign nations,
    but none would let them stay.

16 The Lord himself has scattered them,
    and he no longer helps them.
People show no respect for the priests
    and no longer honor the leaders.

17 We looked in vain for our allies
    to come and save us,
but we were looking to nations
    that could not help us.

18 We couldn’t go into the streets
    without danger to our lives.
Our end was near; our days were numbered.
    We were doomed!

19 Our enemies were swifter than eagles in flight.
    If we fled to the mountains, they found us.
If we hid in the wilderness,
    they were waiting for us there.

20 Our king—the Lord’s anointed, the very life of our nation—
    was caught in their snares.
We had thought that his shadow
    would protect us against any nation on earth!

21 Are you rejoicing in the land of Uz,
    O people of Edom?
But you, too, must drink from the cup of the Lord’s anger.
    You, too, will be stripped naked in your drunkenness.

22 O beautiful Jerusalem,[e] your punishment will end;
    you will soon return from exile.
But Edom, your punishment is just beginning;
    soon your many sins will be exposed.

Footnotes

  1. 4:2 Hebrew precious sons of Zion.
  2. 4:6 Or punishment.
  3. 4:7 Hebrew like lapis lazuli.
  4. 4:11 Hebrew in Zion.
  5. 4:22 Hebrew O daughter of Zion.

Waking Up with Nothing

Oh, oh, oh . . . 
How gold is treated like dirt,
    the finest gold thrown out with the garbage,
Priceless jewels scattered all over,
    jewels loose in the gutters.

And the people of Zion, once prized,
    far surpassing their weight in gold,
Are now treated like cheap pottery,
    like everyday pots and bowls mass-produced by a potter.

Even wild jackals nurture their babies,
    give them their breasts to suckle.
But my people have turned cruel to their babies,
    like an ostrich in the wilderness.

Babies have nothing to drink.
    Their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths.
Little children ask for bread
    but no one gives them so much as a crust.

People used to the finest cuisine
    forage for food in the streets.
People used to the latest in fashions
    pick through the trash for something to wear.

The evil guilt of my dear people
    was worse than the sin of Sodom—
The city was destroyed in a flash,
    and no one around to help.

The splendid and sacred nobles
    once glowed with health.
Their bodies were robust and ruddy,
    their beards like carved stone.

But now they are smeared with soot,
    unrecognizable in the street,
Their bones sticking out,
    their skin dried out like old leather.

Better to have been killed in battle
    than killed by starvation.
Better to have died of battle wounds
    than to slowly starve to death.

10 Nice and kindly women
    boiled their own children for supper.
This was the only food in town
    when my dear people were broken.

11 God let all his anger loose, held nothing back.
    He poured out his raging wrath.
He set a fire in Zion
    that burned it to the ground.

12 The kings of the earth couldn’t believe it.
    World rulers were in shock,
Watching old enemies march in big as you please,
    right through Jerusalem’s gates.

13 Because of the sins of her prophets
    and the evil of her priests,
Who exploited good and trusting people,
    robbing them of their lives,

14 These prophets and priests blindly grope their way through the streets,
    grimy and stained from their dirty lives,
Wasted by their wasted lives,
    shuffling from fatigue, dressed in rags.

15 People yell at them, “Get out of here, dirty old men!
    Get lost, don’t touch us, don’t infect us!”
They have to leave town. They wander off.
    Nobody wants them to stay here.
Everyone knows, wherever they wander,
    that they’ve been kicked out of their own hometown.

16 God himself scattered them.
    No longer does he look out for them.
He has nothing to do with the priests;
    he cares nothing for the elders.

17 We watched and watched,
    wore our eyes out looking for help. And nothing.
We mounted our lookouts and looked
    for the help that never showed up.

18 They tracked us down, those hunters.
    It wasn’t safe to go out in the street.
Our end was near, our days numbered.
    We were doomed.

19 They came after us faster than eagles in flight,
    pressed us hard in the mountains, ambushed us in the desert.

20 Our king, our life’s breath, the anointed of God,
    was caught in their traps—
Our king under whose protection
    we always said we’d live.

21 Celebrate while you can, O Edom!
    Live it up in Uz!
For it won’t be long before you drink this cup, too.
    You’ll find out what it’s like to drink God’s wrath,
Get drunk on God’s wrath
    and wake up with nothing, stripped naked.

22 And that’s it for you, Zion. The punishment’s complete.
    You won’t have to go through this exile again.
But Edom, your time is coming:
    He’ll punish your evil life, put all your sins on display.