1. See how the gold has grown dark, how the pure gold has changed. There are jewels scattered all around at every street corner.
2. The precious people of Zion were once worth more than gold. But now they are treated like something worthless, like the cheap clay jars a potter makes.
3. Even a wild dog feeds her babies. Even the jackal lets her pups suck at her breast. But the daughter of my people is cruel. She is like the ostrich in the desert that forgets its eggs in the sand.
4. Babies are so thirsty their tongues stick to the roof of their mouths. Young children ask for bread, but no one gives them any.
5. Those who ate rich food are now dying in the streets. Those who grew up wearing nice red clothes now pick through garbage piles.
6. The sin of the daughter of my people was very great. Their sin was greater than the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed suddenly. No human hand caused their destruction.
7. Some of the men of Judah were dedicated to God in a special way. They were very pure. They were whiter than snow, and whiter than milk. Their bodies were red like coral and their beards like sapphire stones.
8. But now their faces are blacker than soot. No one even recognizes them in the streets. Their skin is wrinkled over their bones. Their skin is like wood.
9. It was better for those who were killed by the sword than for those who died of hunger. Those starving people were sad and hurt. They died because they got no food from the field.
10. Then even nice women cooked their own children. The children were food for their mothers. This happened when my people were destroyed.
11. The Lord used all of his anger. He poured out all his anger. He made a fire in Zion that burned it down to the foundations.