Parallel Bible results for "lamentations 4"

Lamentations 4

English Standard Version ESV

1 How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street.

2 The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter's hands!

3 Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

4 The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them.

5 Those who once feasted on delicacies perish in the streets; those who were brought up in purple embrace ash heaps.

6 For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater than the punishment of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands were wrung for her.

7 Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than coral, the beauty of their form was like sapphire.

8 Now their face is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as wood.

9 Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field.

10 The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

11 The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations.

12 The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

13 This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous.

14 They wandered, blind, through the streets; they were so defiled with blood that no one was able to touch their garments.

15 "Away! Unclean!" people cried at them. "Away! Away! Do not touch!" So they became fugitives and wanderers; people said among the nations, "They shall stay with us no longer."

16 The LORD himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders.

17 Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save.

18 They dogged our steps so that we could not walk in our streets; our end drew near; our days were numbered, for our end had come.

19 Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles in the heavens; they chased us on the mountains; they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

20 The breath of our nostrils, the LORD's anointed, was captured in their pits, of whom we said, "Under his shadow we shall live among the nations."

21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.

22 The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished; he will keep you in exile no longer; but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish; he will uncover your sins.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Oh, oh, oh . . . How gold is treated like dirt, the finest gold thrown out with the garbage, Priceless jewels scattered all over, jewels loose in the gutters.

2 And the people of Zion, once prized, far surpassing their weight in gold, Are now treated like cheap pottery, like everyday pots and bowls mass-produced by a potter.

3 Even wild jackals nurture their babies, give them their breasts to suckle. But my people have turned cruel to their babies, like an ostrich in the wilderness.

4 Babies have nothing to drink. Their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths. Little children ask for bread but no one gives them so much as a crust.

5 People used to the finest cuisine forage for food in the streets. People used to the latest in fashions pick through the trash for something to wear.

6 The evil guilt of my dear people was worse than the sin of Sodom - The city was destroyed in a flash, and no one around to help.

7 The splendid and sacred nobles once glowed with health. Their bodies were robust and ruddy, their beards like carved stone.

8 But now they are smeared with soot, unrecognizable in the street, Their bones sticking out, their skin dried out like old leather.

9 Better to have been killed in battle than killed by starvation. Better to have died of battle wounds than to slowly starve to death.

10 Nice and kindly women boiled their own children for supper. This was the only food in town when my dear people were broken.

11 God let all his anger loose, held nothing back. He poured out his raging wrath. He set a fire in Zion that burned it to the ground.

12 The kings of the earth couldn't believe it. World rulers were in shock, Watching old enemies march in big as you please, right through Jerusalem's gates.

13 Because of the sins of her prophets and the evil of her priests, Who exploited good and trusting people, robbing them of their lives,

14 These prophets and priests blindly grope their way through the streets, grimy and stained from their dirty lives, Wasted by their wasted lives, shuffling from fatigue, dressed in rags.

15 People yell at them, "Get out of here, dirty old men! Get lost, don't touch us, don't infect us!" They have to leave town. They wander off. Nobody wants them to stay here. Everyone knows, wherever they wander, that they've been kicked out of their own hometown.

16 God himself scattered them. No longer does he look out for them. He has nothing to do with the priests; he cares nothing for the elders.

17 We watched and watched, wore our eyes out looking for help. And nothing. We mounted our lookouts and looked for the help that never showed up.

18 They tracked us down, those hunters. It wasn't safe to go out in the street. Our end was near, our days numbered. We were doomed.

19 They came after us faster than eagles in flight, pressed us hard in the mountains, ambushed us in the desert.

20 Our king, our life's breath, the anointed of God, was caught in their traps - Our king under whose protection we always said we'd live.

21 Celebrate while you can, O Edom! Live it up in Uz! For it won't be long before you drink this cup, too. You'll find out what it's like to drink God's wrath, Get drunk on God's wrath and wake up with nothing, stripped naked.

22 And that's it for you, Zion. The punishment's complete. You won't have to go through this exile again. But Edom, your time is coming: He'll punish your evil life, put all your sins on display.