Lamentations 4

New King James Version

The Degradation of Zion

4 How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are ^[a]scattered
At the head of every street.

²The precious sons of Zion,
^[b]Valuable as fine gold,
How they are ^[c]regarded ^(A)as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!

³Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
^(B)Like ostriches in the wilderness.

⁴The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
^(C)The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.

⁵Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
^(D)Embrace ash heaps.

⁶The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the ^(E)sin of Sodom,
Which was ^(F)overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!

⁷Her ^[d]Nazirites were ^[e]brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their ^[f]appearance.

⁸Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
^(G)Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.

⁹Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these ^(H)pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the ^(I)field.

¹⁰The hands of the ^(J)compassionate women
Have ^[g]cooked their ^(K)own children;
They became ^(L)food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.

¹¹The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
^(M)He has poured out His fierce anger.
^(N)He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.

¹²The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could ^(O)enter the gates of Jerusalem—

¹³^(P)Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
^(Q)Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.

¹⁴They wandered blind in the streets;
^(R)They have defiled themselves with blood,
^(S)So that no one would touch their garments.

¹⁵They cried out to them,
“Go away, ^(T)unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,
“They shall no longer dwell here.”

¹⁶The ^[h]face of the Lord scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
^(U)The people do not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.

¹⁷Still ^(V)our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.

¹⁸^(W)They ^[i]tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
^(X)Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.

¹⁹Our pursuers were ^(Y)swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

²⁰The ^(Z)breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,
^(AA)Was caught in their pits,
Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”

²¹Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of ^(AB)Edom,
You who dwell in the land of Uz!
^(AC)The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.

²²^(AD)The punishment of your iniquity ^[j]is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
^(AE)He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!