New King James Version

Lamentations 4:5-12 New King James Version (NKJV)

5. Those who ate delicaciesAre desolate in the streets;Those who were brought up in scarletEmbrace ash heaps.

6. The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my peopleIs greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom,Which was overthrown in a moment,With no hand to help her!

7. Her Nazirites were brighter than snowAnd whiter than milk;They were more ruddy in body than rubies,Like sapphire in their appearance.

8. Now 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.

9. Those slain by the sword are better offThan those who die of hunger;For these pine away,Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.

10. The hands of the compassionate womenHave cooked their own children;They became food for themIn the destruction of the daughter of my people.

11. The Lord has fulfilled His fury,He has poured out His fierce anger.He kindled a fire in Zion,And it has devoured its foundations.

12. The kings of the earth,And all inhabitants of the world,Would not have believedThat the adversary and the enemyCould enter the gates of Jerusalem—