9. Those slain by the sword are better offthan those slain by hunger,who waste away, pierced with painbecause the fields lack produce.
10. The hands of compassionate womenhave cooked their own children; they became their foodduring the destruction of my dear people.
11. The Lord has exhausted His wrath,poured out His burning anger;He has ignited a fire in Zion,and it has consumed her foundations.
12. The kings of the earthand all the world’s inhabitants did not believethat an enemy or adversarycould enter Jerusalem’s gates.
13. Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophetsand the guilt of her priests,who shed the blood of the righteouswithin her.
14. Blind, they stumbled in the streets, defiled by this blood, so that no one daredto touch their garments.
15. “Stay away! Unclean! ” people shouted at them.“Away, away! Don’t touch us! ” So they wandered aimlessly. It was said among the nations,“They can stay here no longer.”
16. The Lord Himself has scattered them;He regards them no more.The priests are not respected;the elders find no favor.
17. All the while our eyes were failingas we looked in vain for assistance; we watched from our towersfor a nation that refused to help.
18. Our steps were closely followedso that we could not walk in our streets.Our end drew near; our time ran out.Our end had come!
19. Those who chased us were swifterthan eagles in the sky; they relentlessly pursued us over the mountainsand ambushed us in the wilderness.