Through My Bible Yr 2 – May 9

Lamentations 4

^1[a] How the gold has lost its luster,
the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
at the head of every street.

² How the precious sons of Zion,
once worth their weight in gold,
are now considered as pots of clay,
the work of a potter’s hands!

³ Even jackals offer their breasts
to nurse their young,
but my people have become heartless
like ostriches in the desert.

⁴ Because of thirst the infant’s tongue
sticks to the roof of its mouth;
the children beg for bread,
but no one gives it to them.

⁵ Those who once ate delicacies
are destitute in the streets.
Those nurtured in purple
now lie on ash heaps.

⁶ The punishment of my people
is greater than that of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment
without a hand turned to help her.

⁷ Their princes were brighter than snow
and whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than rubies,
their appearance like sapphires. ^[b]

⁸ But now they are blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as a stick.

⁹ Those killed by the sword are better off
than those who die of famine;
racked with hunger, they waste away
for lack of food from the field.

¹⁰ With their own hands compassionate women
have cooked their own children,
who became their food
when my people were destroyed.

¹¹ The LORD has given full vent to his wrath;
he has poured out his fierce anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed her foundations.

¹² The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor did any of the world’s people,
that enemies and foes could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³ But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
the blood of the righteous.

¹⁴ Now they grope through the streets
like men who are blind.
They are so defiled with blood
that no one dares to touch their garments.

¹⁵ “Go away! You are unclean!” men cry to them.
“Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
When they flee and wander about,
people among the nations say,
“They can stay here no longer.”

¹⁶ The LORD himself has scattered them;
he no longer watches over them.
The priests are shown no honor,
the elders no favor.

¹⁷ Moreover, our eyes failed,
looking in vain for help;
from our towers we watched
for a nation that could not save us.

¹⁸ Men stalked us at every step,
so we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near, our days were numbered,
for our end had come.

¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
than eagles in the sky;
they chased us over the mountains
and lay in wait for us in the desert.

²⁰ The LORD’s anointed, our very life breath,
was caught in their traps.
We thought that under his shadow
we would live among the nations.

²¹ Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom,
you who live in the land of Uz.
But to you also the cup will be passed;
you will be drunk and stripped naked.

²² O Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end;
he will not prolong your exile.
But, O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin
and expose your wickedness.

Footnotes:

1. Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
2. Lamentations 4:7 Or lapis lazuli

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.