Lamentations 4-5

GOD’S WORD Translation

² “Zion’s precious children, who are worth their weight in fine gold,
are now treated like clay pots,
like those made by a potter’s hands.
³ Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young,
but the women of my people are as cruel as wild ostriches.
⁴ The tongues of nursing infants stick to the roofs of their mouths
because of their thirst.
Little children beg for bread,
but no one will break off a piece for them.
⁵ Those who used to eat delicacies are now destitute in the streets.
Those who used to wear expensive clothes now pick through piles of garbage.
⁶ The punishment for my people’s wickedness has been more severe
than the punishment for the sins of Sodom.
Sodom was destroyed instantly, without one human hand touching it.
⁷ Zion’s princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk.
Their bodies were more pink than coral.
Their hair was like sapphires.
⁸ Their faces are ⌞now⌟ blacker than soot.
No one recognizes them on the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones.
It has become as dry as bark.
⁹ Those who were killed with swords are better off
than those who are dying from starvation.
Those who were stabbed bled to death.
The others are dying because there is nothing in the fields to eat.
¹⁰ The hands of loving mothers cooked their own children.
The children were used for food by my people
when they were being destroyed ⌞by a blockade⌟.
¹¹ The Lord’s fury has accomplished his purpose.
He unleashed his burning anger.
He started a fire in Zion that even burned its foundations.
¹² Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe
that enemies or invaders would ever get through the gates of Jerusalem.
¹³ ⌞They got through⌟ because of the sins of Jerusalem’s prophets
and the crimes of its priests,
who spilled the blood of righteous people within it.
¹⁴ My people staggered blindly through the streets.
They were so contaminated with bloodstains
that no one would touch their clothes.
¹⁵ ‘Get away! You’re unclean,’ ^[b] people yelled at them.
‘Get away! Get away! Don’t touch anyone.’
When they fled and wandered around,
the people of the nations said, ‘They can’t stay here any longer.’
¹⁶ The Lord himself has scattered them.
He will no longer look favorably on them.
They no longer respected the priests,
nor did they honor their older leaders.”

² “The land we inherited has been turned over to strangers.
Our homes have been turned over to foreigners.
³ We are orphans without a father.
Our mothers are like widows.
⁴ We have to pay to drink our own water.
We have to pay to chop our own wood.
⁵ ⌞Our enemies⌟ are breathing down our necks.
We are worn out ⌞and⌟ not permitted to rest.
⁶ We had to beg Egypt and Assyria for food.^[c]
7 Our ancestors sinned.
Now they are gone,
⌞but⌟ we have to take the punishment for their wickedness.
⁸ Slaves rule us.
There is no one to rescue us from them.
⁹ To get our food, we have to risk our lives
in the heat of the desert.
¹⁰ Our skin is as hot as an oven from the burning heat of starvation.
¹¹ Women in Zion are raped, so are the girls in the cities of Judah.
¹² ⌞Our⌟ leaders are hung by their hands.
⌞Our⌟ older leaders are shown no respect.
¹³ ⌞Our⌟ young men work at the mill,
and ⌞our⌟ boys stagger under loads of wood.
¹⁴ ⌞Our⌟ older leaders have stopped meeting at the city gate,
and ⌞our⌟ young men no longer play their music.
¹⁵ There is no joy left in our hearts.
Our dancing has turned into mourning.
¹⁶ The crown has fallen from our head.
Because we have sinned, it has been disastrous for us.
¹⁷ This is why we feel sick.
This is why our eyes see less and less.
¹⁸ Foxes roam around on Mount Zion, which lies in ruins.

¹⁹ “But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever,
and your reign continues throughout every generation.
²⁰ Why have you completely forgotten us?

Why have you abandoned us for such a long time?
²¹ O Lord, bring us back to you, and we’ll come back.
Give us back the life we had long ago,
²² unless you have completely rejected us
⌞and⌟ are very angry with us.”