Lamentations 4:17-22

International Standard Version

¹⁷ Our eyes failed,
    searching in vain for hope;
we kept watching and looking
    for a nation that would not help.

¹⁸ Our steps were closely stalked,
    so we couldn’t travel on our own streets.
Our end is near,
    our days are over;
        indeed, our end has come.

¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
    than soaring eagles;^[a]
they pursued us over the mountains,
    lying in wait for us in the wilderness.

²⁰ The Lord’s anointed,
    the breath of our life,
        was captured in their pits.
About him we had said,
    “Under his protection we will survive
        among the nations.”

²¹ Celebrate and rejoice, you women^[b] of Edom,
    who live in the land of Uz.
But to you the cup also will pass—
    you will become drunk and stripped naked.

²² The punishment for your sin is complete, you women^[c] of Zion,
    and God^[d] will no longer exile you.
He will punish your iniquity, you women^[e] of Edom,
    and he will expose your sins.