Parallel Bible results for "lamentations 4"

Lamentations 4

New Living Translation NLT

1 How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull. The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets!

2 See how the precious children of Jerusalem, worth their weight in fine gold, are now treated like pots of clay made 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 ones stick 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 foods now beg in the streets for anything they can get. Those who once wore the finest clothes now search the garbage dumps for food.

6 The guilt of my people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment and 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.

9 Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away for lack of food from the fields.

10 Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege.

11 But now the anger of the LORD is satisfied. His fierce anger has been poured out. He started a fire in Jerusalem that burned the city to its foundations.

12 Not a king in all the earth— no one in all the world— would have believed that an enemy could march through the gates of Jerusalem.

13 Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.

14 They wandered blindly through the streets, so defiled by blood that no one dared touch them.

15 “Get away!” the people shouted at them. “You’re defiled! Don’t touch us!” So they fled to distant lands and wandered among foreign nations, but none would let them stay.

16 The LORD himself has scattered them, and he no longer helps them. People show no respect for the priests and no longer honor the leaders.

17 We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.

18 We couldn’t go into the streets without danger to our lives. Our end was near; our days were numbered. We were doomed!

19 Our enemies were swifter than eagles in flight. If we fled to the mountains, they found us. If we hid in the wilderness, they were waiting for us there.

20 Our king—the LORD ’s anointed, the very life of our nation— was caught in their snares. We had thought that his shadow would protect us against any nation on earth!

21 Are you rejoicing in the land of Uz, O people of Edom? But you, too, must drink from the cup of the LORD ’s anger. You, too, will be stripped naked in your drunkenness.

22 O beautiful Jerusalem, your punishment will end; you will soon return from exile. But Edom, your punishment is just beginning; soon your many sins will be exposed.

Common English Bible CEB

1 Oh, no! Gold is tarnished; even the purest gold is changed. Sacred jewels are scattered on every street corner.

2 Zion's precious children, once valued as pure gold— oh no!—now they are worth no more than clay pots made by a potter.

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

4 The baby's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth, thirsty. Children ask for bread, beg for it—but there is no bread.

5 Those who once ate gourmet food now tremble in the streets. Those who wore the finest purple clothes now cling to piles of garbage.

6 Greater was the punishment of the daughter of my people than Sodom's penalty, which was quickly overthrown without any hand-wringing.

7 Her nazirites were purer than snow; they were more dazzling than milk. Their limbs were redder than coral; their bodies were sapphire.

8 But their appearance grew darker than soot; they weren't recognized in the streets. Their skin shriveled on their bones; it became dry like wood.

9 Things were better for those stabbed by the sword than for those stabbed by famine— those who bled away, pierced, lacking food from the field.

10 The hands of loving women boiled their own children to become their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

11 The LORD let loose his fury; he poured out his fierce anger. He started a fire in Zion; it licked up its foundations.

12 The earth's rulers didn't believe it—neither did any who inhabit the world— that either enemy or adversary could enter Jerusalem's gates.

13 It was because of her prophets' sins, her priests' iniquities, those who shed righteous blood in the middle of the city.

14 People wandered blindly in the streets, polluted with blood. No one would even touch their clothing.

15 "Go away! Unclean!" was shouted at them, "Go away! Away! Don't touch!" So they fled and wandered around. The nations said, "They can't stay here anymore."

16 It was the LORD's presence that scattered them; he no longer notices them. They didn't honor the priests' presence; they didn't favor the elders.

17 Our eyes continually failed, looking for some help, but for nothing. From our watchtower we watched for a nation that doesn't save.

18 Our steps were tracked; we could no longer walk in our streets. Our end had drawn near; our days were done—our end had definitely come.

19 Our hunters were faster than airborne eagles. They chased us up the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness.

20 The LORD's chosen one, the very breath in our lungs, was caught in their traps— the one we used to talk about, saying, Under his protection we will live among the nations."

21 Rejoice and be happy, Daughter Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But this cup will pass over to you too. You will get drunk on it. You will be stripped naked.

22 Your punishment is over, Daughter Zion; God won't expose you anymore. But he will attend to your punishment, Daughter Edom; he will expose your sins.