^1. HOW dark the gold has become, How the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones are poured out At the [1] corner of every street.

^2. The precious sons of Zion, Weighed against fine gold, How they are regarded as earthen jars, The work of a potter's hands!

^3. Even jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness.

^4. The tongue of the infant cleaves To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them.

^5. Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those [2] reared in purple Embrace ash pits.

^6. For the [5] iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the [4] sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were [3] turned toward her.

^7. Her [8] consecrated ones were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in [7] body than corals, Their polishing was like [6] lapis lazuli.

^8. Their appearance is blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is withered, it has become like wood.

^9. Better are those [12] slain with the sword Than those [11] slain with hunger; For they [10] pine away, being stricken For lack of the fruits of [9] the field.

^10. The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

^11. The LORD has accomplished His wrath, He has poured out His fierce anger; And He has kindled a fire in Zion Which has consumed its foundations.

^12. The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

^13. Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous;

^14. They wandered, blind, in the streets; They were defiled with blood So that no one could touch their garments.

^15. «Depart! Unclean!» [13] they cried of themselves. «Depart, depart, do not touch!» So they fled and wandered; Men among the nations said, «They shall not continue to dwell with us.»

^16. The presence of the LORD has scattered them, He will not continue to regard them; They did not [14] honor the priests, They did not favor the elders.

^17. Yet our eyes failed, Looking for [15] help was useless; In our watching we have watched For a nation that could not save.

^18. They hunted our steps So that we could not walk in our streets; Our end drew near, Our days were [16] finished For our end had come.

^19. Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles of the sky; They chased us on the mountains, They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.

^20. The breath of our nostrils, the LORD'S anointed, Was captured in their pits, Of whom we had said, «Under his shadow We shall live among the nations.»

^21. Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, Who dwells in the land of Uz; But the cup will come around to you as well, You will become drunk and make yourself naked.

^22. The punishment of your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion; He will exile you no longer. But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins!