1. How dulled is the gold, how tarnished the fine gold. The sacred gems are poured out at the corner of every street.
2. The precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in gold— alas! now they are treated like clay jars, the work of a potter’s hands!
3. Even jackals offer their breast to nurse their young. The daughter of my people has become cruel, like ostriches in the desert.
4. The nursing infant’s tongue clings to the roof of his mouth for thirst. Little children ask for bread, but no one gives it t0 them.
5. Those who used to eat delicacies are desolate in the streets. Those who were brought up in purple embrace trash heaps.
6. For the iniquities of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, yet no hands turned to her.
7. Purer than snow were her princes, whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphire.
8. Their form has become darker than soot! They are not recognized in the street. Their skin has shriveled on their bones, withered like a tree.
9. Better are those slain by the sword than those struck down by famine— they waste away, racked with pain, for lack of fruits of the field.
10. The hands of compassionate women boiled their own children. They became their food when the daughter of my people were destroyed.
11. Adonai has vented His fury. He has poured out His burning anger. Yes, He kindled a fire in Zion that devoured her foundations.