Parallel Bible results for "lamentations 4"

Lamentations 4

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 "Look how the gold has become tarnished! The fine gold has changed! The sacred stones are scattered at every street corner.

2 "Zion's precious children, who are worth their weight in fine gold, are now treated like clay pots, like those made by a potter's hands.

3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but the women of my people are as cruel as wild ostriches.

4 The tongues of nursing infants stick to the roofs of their mouths because of their thirst. Little children beg for bread, but no one will break off a piece for them.

5 Those who used to eat delicacies are now destitute in the streets. Those who used to wear expensive clothes now pick through piles of garbage.

6 The punishment for my people's wickedness has been more severe than the punishment for the sins of Sodom. Sodom was destroyed instantly, without one human hand touching it.

7 Zion's princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk. Their bodies were more pink than coral. Their hair was like sapphires.

8 Their faces are [now] blacker than soot. No one recognizes them on the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones. It has become as dry as bark.

9 Those who were killed with swords are better off than those who are dying from starvation. Those who were stabbed bled to death. The others are dying because there is nothing in the fields to eat.

10 The hands of loving mothers cooked their own children. The children were used for food by my people when they were being destroyed [by a blockade].

11 The LORD's fury has accomplished his purpose. He unleashed his burning anger. He started a fire in Zion that even burned its foundations.

12 Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe that enemies or invaders would ever get through the gates of Jerusalem.

13 [They got through] because of the sins of Jerusalem's prophets and the crimes of its priests, who spilled the blood of righteous people within it.

14 My people staggered blindly through the streets. They were so contaminated with bloodstains that no one would touch their clothes.

15 'Get away! You're unclean,' people yelled at them. 'Get away! Get away! Don't touch anyone.' When they fled and wandered around, the people of the nations said, 'They can't stay here any longer.'

16 The LORD himself has scattered them. He will no longer look favorably on them. They no longer respected the priests, nor did they honor their older leaders."

17 "We are still straining our eyes, trying in vain to find help. We waited and waited for a nation that didn't save us.

18 [The enemy] kept tracking us down, so we couldn't even go out into the streets. Our end was near. Our time was up. Our end had come.

19 Those who were hunting us were faster than eagles in the sky. They chased us in the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.

20 The person the LORD anointed [as king], who is the breath of our life, was caught in their pits. We had thought that we would live in our king's shadow among the nations."

21 "Rejoice and be glad, people of Edom, inhabitants of the country of Uz. The cup [of the LORD's fury] will be passed to you next. You'll get drunk and take off all your clothes.

22 People of Zion, the punishment for your wickedness will end. The LORD will not let you remain in exile. People of Edom, he will punish you for your wickedness. He will expose your sins."

New International Version NIV

1 How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner.

2 How the precious children of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!

3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert.

4 Because of thirst the infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them.

5 Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those brought up in royal purple now lie on ash heaps.

6 The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her.

7 Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like lapis lazuli.

8 But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.

9 Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.

10 With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.

11 The LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.

12 The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the peoples of the world, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.

14 Now they grope through the streets as if they were blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments.

15 “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them. “Away! Away! Don’t touch us!” When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, “They can stay here no longer.”

16 The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.

17 Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.

18 People stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.

19 Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert.

20 The LORD’s anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations.

21 Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked.

22 Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion; he will not prolong your exile. But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom, and expose your wickedness.