How the gold has become dim!
How the most pure gold has changed!
The stones of the sanctuary lie poured out
At the head of every street.

The precious sons of Zion,
Comparable to fine gold,
How they are esteemed as earthen pitchers,
The work of the hands of a potter.

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

The tongue of the sucking child cleaves
To the roof of his mouth for thirst;
The little ones ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.

Those who fed on delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
Embrace dung heaps.

And the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater
Than the sin of Sodom,
Which was overthrown as in a moment;
And no hands were laid on her.

Her nobles were purer than snow;
They were whiter than milk;
They were redder in body than corals;
Their figure was like sapphire.

Their visage is darker than black coal;
They are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled up on their bones;
It has dried up; it has become like wood.

Those who were slain by the sword are better
Than those slain by famine;
For these pine away stricken through,
Because of the lack of the produce of the field.

The hands of compassionate women
Have boiled their own children;
They have become their food
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Jehovah has accomplished His wrath;
He has poured out His burning anger.
And He has kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has consumed its foundations.

The kings of the earth did not believe,
Neither did any of the inhabitants of the world,
That the adversary and the enemy would enter
Into the gates of Jerusalem.

It is because of the sins of her prophets,
And the iniquities of her priests,
Who have shed the blood of the righteous
In her midst.

They have wandered about blind in the streets;
They are polluted with blood;
So that men cannot touch
Their garments.

They cried out to them, Depart! Unclean!
Depart, depart; do not touch!
When they fled away and wandered about, men said among the nations,
They will no longer sojourn there.

The anger of Jehovah has scattered them;
He will no longer regard them.
They did not honor the priests,
Nor did they favor the elders.

Our eyes do yet fail,
Looking in vain for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save.

They hunted our steps,
So that we cannot walk in our streets;
Our end drew near; our days were fulfilled;
For our end had come.

Our pursuers were swifter
Than the eagles of heaven;
They hotly pursued us on the mountains;
They lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah,
Has been captured in their pits,
Of whom we said, Under his shadow
We will live among the nations.

Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
Who dwells in the land of Uz.
Yet the cup will pass through to you also;
You will become drunk and make yourself naked.

The punishment for your iniquity has been accomplished, O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer take you into exile.
But He will  ¹punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins.

Remember, O Jehovah, what has come upon us;
Look and see our reproach.

Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
Our houses to foreigners.

We are orphans without father;
Our mothers are like widows.

We have drunk our water for money;
Our wood comes to us at a price.

On our necks are our pursuers;
We are weary; we have no rest.

We have given our hand to Egypt
And to Assyria, so as to be satisfied with bread.

Our fathers sinned and they are not,
And we ourselves bear their iniquities.

Slaves rule over us;
There is no one to deliver us from their hand.

We get our bread at the risk of our lives
Because of the sword from the wilderness.

Our skin is black like an oven
Because of the burning heat of famine.

They have ravished the women in Zion,
The virgins in the cities of Judah.

Princes were hanged by them.
The faces of the elders were not honored.

The young men bore the mill,
And the young boys stumbled under the wood.

The old men have ceased from the gate,
The young men from their music.

The joy of our heart has ceased;
Our dance has been turned into mourning.

The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us! For we have sinned.

Because of this our heart is faint;
Because of these things our eyes are dim;

Because of Mount Zion, which is desolate —
Foxes rove in it.

You, O Jehovah,  ¹abide forever;
Your throne is from generation to generation.

 ¹Why do You forget us forever
And forsake us for so long a time?

 ¹Turn us back to You, O Jehovah, and we will be turned;
Renew our days as before.

Or have You  ¹utterly rejected us?
Are You  ¹exceedingly angry with us?