4

The Degradation of Zion

  1How the gold has become dim!
   How changed the fine gold!
   The stones of the sanctuary are scattered
   At the head of every street.
  2The precious sons of Zion,
   Valuable as fine gold,
   How they are regarded as clay pots,
   The work of the hands of the potter!
  3Even the jackals present their breasts
   To nurse their young;
   But the daughter of my people is cruel,
   Like ostriches in the wilderness.
  4The tongue of the infant clings
   To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
   The young children ask for bread,
   But no one breaks it for them.
  5Those who ate delicacies
   Are desolate in the streets;
   Those who were brought up in scarlet
   Embrace ash heaps.
  6The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
   Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom,
   Which was overthrown in a moment,
   With no hand to help her!
  7Her Nazirites were brighter than snow
   And whiter than milk;
   They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
   Like sapphire in their appearance.
  8Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
   They go unrecognized in the streets;
   Their skin clings to their bones,
   It has become as dry as wood.
  9Those slain by the sword are better off
   Than those who die of hunger;
   For these pine away,
   Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.
  10The hands of the compassionate women
   Have cooked their own children;
   They became food for them
   In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
  11The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
   He has poured out His fierce anger.
   He kindled a fire in Zion,
   And it has devoured its foundations.
  12The kings of the earth,
   And all inhabitants of the world,
   Would not have believed
   That the adversary and the enemy
   Could enter the gates of Jerusalem—
  13Because of the sins of her prophets
   And the iniquities of her priests,
   Who shed in her midst
   The blood of the just.
  14They wandered blind in the streets;
   They have defiled themselves with blood,
   So that no one would touch their garments.
  15They cried out to them,
   “Go away, unclean!
   Go away, go away,
   Do not touch us!”
   When they fled and wandered,
   Those among the nations said,
   “They shall no longer dwell here.
  16The face of the Lord scattered them;
   He no longer regards them.
   The people do not respect the priests
   Nor show favor to the elders.
  17Still our eyes failed us,
   Watching vainly for our help;
   In our watching we watched
   For a nation that could not save us.
  18They tracked our steps
   So that we could not walk in our streets.
   Our end was near;
   Our days were over,
   For our end had come.
  19Our pursuers were swifter
   Than the eagles of the heavens.
   They pursued us on the mountains
   And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
  20The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,
   Was caught in their pits,
   Of whom we said, “Under his shadow
   We shall live among the nations.”
  21Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
   You who dwell in the land of Uz!
   The cup shall also pass over to you
   And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
  22The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished,
   O daughter of Zion;
   He will no longer send you into captivity.
   He will punish your iniquity,
   O daughter of Edom;
   He will uncover your sins!