Lamentations 4:1-16

International Children’s Bible

² The precious people of Jerusalem
    were more valuable than gold.
But now they are thought of as clay jars
    made by the hands of a potter.

³ Even wild dogs give their milk
    to feed their young.
But my people are cruel
    like ostriches in the desert.

⁴ The baby is so thirsty
    that his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth.
Children beg for bread.
    But no one breaks off a piece to share with them.

⁵ Those who once ate fine foods
    are now starving in the streets.
The people who grew up wearing nice clothes
    now pick through trash piles.

⁶ My people have been punished
    more than Sodom was.
Sodom was destroyed suddenly.
    No hands reached out to help her.

⁷ Our princes were purer than snow.
    They were whiter than milk.
Their bodies were redder than rubies.
    Their faces shined like sapphires.

⁸ But now they are blacker than coal.
    No one even recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin is stretched over their bones.
    It is as dry as wood.

⁹ Those people who were killed by the sword had it better
    than those killed by hunger.
They starved in pain and died
    because there was no food from the field.

¹⁰ With their own hands kind women
    cooked their own children.
The children became food for their parents.
    This happened when my people were destroyed.

¹¹ The Lord turned loose all of his anger.
    He poured out his strong anger.
He set fire to Jerusalem.
    It burned down to the foundations.

¹² Kings of the earth and people of the world
    could not believe it.
They could not believe that enemies
    could come through the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³ But it happened because her prophets had sinned.
    And her priests had done evil.
They killed in the city
    the people who did what was right.

¹⁴ They wandered in the streets
    like blind men.
They became dirty with blood.
    So no one could touch their clothes.

¹⁵ “Go away! You are unclean,” people shouted at them.
    “Get away! Get away! Do not touch us!”
So they left and wandered around.
    The other nations said, “Don’t stay here.”

¹⁶ The Lord himself scattered them.
    He did not look after them anymore.
He did not respect the priests.
    He showed no mercy to the elders.