Read the Bible

Distress of the Siege Described

¹ How ^(C1)dark and dim the gold has become,
How the pure gold has changed!
The sacred stones of the temple are poured out and scattered
At the head of every street.

² The noble and precious sons of Zion,
Once worth their weight in fine gold,
How they are regarded merely as ^(C1)earthen jars,
The work of a potter's hands! ^(VR1)

³ Even the ^(C1)jackals offer the breast,
They nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people has become ^(C2)cruel
Like ^(C3)ostriches in the wilderness that desert their young.

⁴ The ^(C1)tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth because of ^(C2)thirst;
The little ones ^(C3)ask for food,
But no one gives it to them.

⁵ Those who feasted on ^(C1)delicacies
Are perishing in the streets;
Those reared in purple as nobles
Embrace ash heaps.

⁶ For the punishment of the wickedness of the daughter of my people Jerusalem
Is greater than the punishment for the ^(C1)sin of Sodom,
Which was ^(C2)overthrown in a moment,
And no hands were turned toward her to offer help. ^(VR1)

⁷ Her princes were ^(C1)purer than snow,
They were whiter than milk in appearance;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Their polishing was like ^(C2)lapis lazuli (sapphire).

⁸ Their appearance is now ^(C1)blacker than soot because of the prolonged famine;
They are not recognized in the streets;
Their ^(C2)skin clings to their bones;
It is withered, and it has become dry like wood.

⁹ Those ^(C1)killed with the sword
Are more fortunate than those killed with hunger;
For the hungry ^(C2)pine and ebb away,
For the lack of the fruits of the field.

¹⁰ The hands of compassionate women
^(C1)Boiled their own children;
They became ^(C2)food for them
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people Judah.

¹¹ The LORD has ^(C1)fulfilled His wrath;
He has poured out His fierce anger
And has ^(C2)kindled a fire in Zion
That has consumed her foundations.

¹² The kings of the earth did not believe,
Nor did any of ^(C1)the inhabitants of the earth,
That the adversary (oppressor) and enemy
Could ^(C2)enter the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³ Because of the sins of her counterfeit ^(C1)prophets
And the wickedness of her unfaithful priests,
Who have shed in her midst
The ^(C2)blood of the just and righteous;

¹⁴ They wandered, ^(C1)blind, in the streets;
They were defiled with ^(C2)blood
So that no one could touch their ^(C3)garments.

¹⁵ People cried to them, "Go away! ^(C1)Unclean!
Depart! Depart! Do not touch!"
So they ^(C2)fled, then they wandered as fugitives;
People among the nations said,
"They shall not stay here any longer with us."

¹⁶ The presence of the LORD scattered them among the nations;
He will not continue to look after them.
They did not ^(C1)honor the priests;
They did not favor the elders.

¹⁷ And as for us, yet our eyes failed,
Looking in vain for ^(C1)help.
Watching from the towers we watched
For a ^(C2)nation that could not save. ^(VR1)

¹⁸ The enemy ^(C1)hunted our steps,
So that we could not walk in our streets;
Our ^(C2)end drew near,
Our days were finished
For our end had come.

¹⁹ Our pursuers were ^(C1)swifter
Than the eagles of the sky;
They pursued us on the mountains,
They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.

²⁰ The ^(C1)breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the ^(C2)LORD our king,
Was ^(C3)captured in their snares,
He of whom we had said, "Under his ^(C4)shadow
We shall live among the nations."

²¹ Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of ^(C1)Edom,
Who lives in the land of Uz.
But the ^(C2)cup of the wine of God's wrath will pass to you as well;
You will become drunk and make yourself naked. ^(VR1)

²² The punishment of your sin has been ^(C1)completed, O Daughter of Zion;
The LORD will no longer send you into exile.
But He ^(C2)will punish your sin, O Daughter of Edom;
He will expose your sins. ^(VR1)