Parallel Bible results for "lamentations 4"

Lamentations 4

Revised Standard Version RSV

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 reckoned as earthen pots, the work of a potter's hands!

3 Even the jackals give the breast and suckle their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

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

5 Those who feasted on dainties perish in the streets; those who were brought up in purple lie on 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, no hand being laid on it.

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 visage is blacker than soot, they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has shriveled upon their bones, it has become as dry as wood.

9 Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who pined away, stricken by want of the fruits of the field.

10 The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food in 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, which consumed its foundations.

12 The kings of the earth did not believe, or 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, so defiled with blood that none could touch their garments.

15 "Away! Unclean!" men cried at them; "Away! Away! Touch not!" So they became fugitives and wanderers; men 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 Men 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 vultures 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 taken in their pits, he of whom we said, "Under his shadow we shall live among the nations."

21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, dweller 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.

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."