1. How the gold has lost its luster!Even the finest gold has become dull.The sacred gemstoneslie scattered in the streets!
2. See how the precious children of Jerusalem,worth their weight in fine gold,are now treated like pots of claymade by a common potter.
3. Even the jackals feed their young,but not my people Israel.They ignore their children’s cries,like ostriches in the desert.
4. The parched tongues of their little onesstick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst.The children cry for bread,but no one has any to give them.
5. The people who once ate the richest foodsnow beg in the streets for anything they can get.Those who once wore the finest clothesnow search the garbage dumps for food.
6. The guilt of my peopleis greater than that of Sodom,where utter disaster struck in a momentand no hand offered help.
7. Our princes once glowed with health—brighter than snow, whiter than milk.Their faces were as ruddy as rubies,their appearance like fine jewels.
8. But now their faces are blacker than soot.No one recognizes them in the streets.Their skin sticks to their bones;it is as dry and hard as wood.