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—
13. Because of the sins of her prophetsAnd the iniquities of her priests,Who shed in her midstThe blood of the just.
14. They wandered blind in the streets;They have defiled themselves with blood,So that no one would touch their garments.
15. They 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.”