1. How the gold has become dim!How the most fine gold has changed!The stones of the sanctuary lie scatteredat the head of every street.
2. The precious sons of Zion,comparable to fine gold,how they are esteemed as earthen pots,the work of a potter’s hands!
3. Even the jackals offer the breast;they nurse their young,yet the daughter of my people has become cruel,like ostriches in the wilderness.
4. The tongue of the infant cleavesto the roof of his mouth for thirst;the children beg for bread,but no one divides it for them.
5. Those who once ate delicaciesare desolate in the streets;those who were brought up in scarletembrace ash heaps.
6. For the iniquity of the daughter of my peopleis greater than the sin of Sodom,which was overthrown in a moment,and no hands were wrung for her.
7. Her princes were purer than snow,whiter than milk;their bodies were more ruddy than rubies,their appearance like sapphire.
8. Their form is blacker than coal;they are not recognized in the streets;their skin cleaves to their bones,it has become as dry as wood.
9. Those killed by the swordare better off than those who die of hunger,for they pine away,stricken for want of the fruits of the field.