Terrors of the Besieged City
1 Alef
1 How the gold has become tarnished, the fine gold become dull! The stones of the temple lie scattered at the corner of every street.
Bet
2 Zion's precious people- [once] worth their weight in pure gold- how they are regarded as clay jars, the work of a potter's hands!
Gimel
3 Even jackals offer [their] breasts to nurse their young, but my dear people have become cruel like ostriches in the wilderness.
Dalet
4 The nursing infant's tongue clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst. Little children beg for bread, but no one gives them [any].
He
5 Those who used to eat delicacies are destitute in the streets; those who were reared in purple [garments] huddle in garbage heaps.
Vav
6 The punishment of my dear people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand laid on it.
Zayin
7 Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; [their] bodies were more ruddy than coral, their appearance [like] sapphire.
Khet
8 [Now] they appear darker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become dry like wood.
Tet
9 Those slain by the sword are better off than those slain by hunger, who waste away, pierced [with pain] because the fields lack produce.
Yod
10 The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children; they became their food during the destruction of my dear people.
Kaf
11 The Lord has exhausted His wrath, poured out His burning anger; He has ignited a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.