The Degradation of Zion

¹ How the gold has become dim!
How changed the fine gold!
The stones of the sanctuary are scattered
At the head of every street.
² The precious sons of Zion,
Valuable as fine gold,
How they are regarded as clay pots,
The work of the hands of the potter!
³ Even the jackals present their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people is cruel,
Like ostriches in the wilderness.
⁴ The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
⁵ Those who ate delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those who were brought up in scarlet
Embrace ash heaps.
⁶ The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom,
Which was overthrown in a moment,
With no hand to help her!
⁷ Her Nazirites^[a] were brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their appearance.
⁸ Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.
⁹ Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.
¹⁰ The hands of the compassionate women
Have cooked their own children;
They became food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
¹¹ The LORD has fulfilled His fury,
He has poured out His fierce anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion,
And it has devoured its foundations.
¹² The kings of the earth,
And all inhabitants of the world,
Would not have believed
That the adversary and the enemy
Could enter the gates of Jerusalem—
¹³ Because of the sins of her prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
Who shed in her midst
The blood of the just.
¹⁴ They wandered blind in the streets;
They have defiled themselves with blood,
So that no one would touch their garments.
¹⁵ They cried out to them,

“ Go away, unclean!
Go away, go away,
Do not touch us!”
When they fled and wandered,
Those among the nations said,

“ They shall no longer dwell here.”
¹⁶ The face^[b] of the LORD scattered them;
He no longer regards them.
The peopledo not respect the priests
Nor show favor to the elders.
¹⁷ Still our eyes failed us,
Watching vainly for our help;
In our watching we watched
For a nation that could not save us.
¹⁸ They tracked our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near;
Our days were over,
For our end had come.
¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
Than the eagles of the heavens.
They pursued us on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
²⁰ The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD,
Was caught 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!
The cup shall also pass over to you
And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.
²² The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished,
O daughter of Zion;
He will no longer send you into captivity.
He will punish your iniquity,
O daughter of Edom;
He will uncover your sins!