Beginning

³⁷ No one can say something and make it happen,
    unless the Lord orders it.
³⁸ God Most High commands
    both good and bad things to happen.
³⁹ No one alive can complain
    when he punishes them for their sins.
⁴⁰ Let us check and see what we have done.
    Then let us turn back to the Lord.

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.”

5 Remember, Lord, what happened to us.
    Look and see our shame.
² Our land has been turned over to strangers.
    Our houses have been given to foreigners.
³ We have become orphans.
    We have no father.
    Our mothers have become like widows.
⁴ We have to buy the water that we drink.
    We have to pay for the wood that we use.
⁵ We are forced to wear a yoke on our necks.
    We get tired, and we have no rest.
⁶ We made an agreement with Egypt.
    We also made an agreement with Assyria to get enough bread.
⁷ Our ancestors sinned against you, and now they are dead.
    And we are suffering because of their sins.
⁸ Slaves have become our rulers.
    No one can save us from them.
⁹ We risk our lives to get food.
    There are men in the desert with swords.
¹⁰ Our skin is hot like an oven.
    We have a high fever because of our hunger.
¹¹ The enemy raped the women of Zion.
    They raped the women in the cities of Judah.
¹² The enemy hanged our princes.
    They didn’t honor our elders.
¹³ The enemy made our young men grind grain at the mill.
    Our young men stumbled under loads of wood.
¹⁴ The elders no longer sit at the gates of the city.
    The young men no longer make music.
¹⁵ We have no more joy in our hearts.
    Our dancing has changed to crying for the dead.
¹⁶ The crown has fallen from our head.
    Things have gone bad for us because we sinned.
¹⁷ For this reason, our hearts have become sick,
    and our eyes cannot see clearly.
¹⁸ Mount Zion is a wasteland.
    Foxes run around on Mount Zion.
¹⁹ But you rule forever, Lord.
    Your kingly chair lasts forever and ever.
²⁰ You seem to have forgotten us forever.
    You seem to have left us alone for such a long time.
²¹ Bring us back to you, Lord.
    We will gladly come back to you.
    Make our lives as they were before.
²² You were very angry with us.
    Have you completely rejected us?