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4:1  How dark the gold has become, How the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones are poured out At the corner of every street.
4:2  The precious sons of Zion, Weighed against fine gold, How they are regarded as earthen jars, The work of a potter's hands!
4:3  Even jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness.
4:4  The tongue of the infant cleaves To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them.
4:5  Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those reared in purple Embrace ash pits.
4:6  For the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her.
4:7  Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than corals, Their polishing was like lapis lazuli.
4:8  Their appearance is blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is withered, it has become like wood.
4:9  Better are those slain with the sword Than those slain with hunger; For they pine away, being stricken For lack of the fruits of the field.
4:10  The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
4:11  The LORD has accomplished His wrath, He has poured out His fierce anger; And He has kindled a fire in Zion Which has consumed its foundations.
4:12  The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
4:13  Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous;
4:14  They wandered, blind, in the streets; They were defiled with blood So that no one could touch their garments.
4:15  "Depart! Unclean!" they cried of themselves. "Depart, depart, do not touch!" So they fled and wandered; Men among the nations said, "They shall not continue to dwell with us."
4:16  The presence of the LORD has scattered them, He will not continue to regard them; They did not honor the priests, They did not favor the elders.
4:17  Yet our eyes failed, Looking for help was useless; In our watching we have watched For a nation that could not save.
4:18  They hunted our steps So that we could not walk in our streets; Our end drew near, Our days were finished For our end had come.
4:19  Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles of the sky; They chased us on the mountains, They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.
4:20  The breath of our nostrils, the LORD'S anointed, Was captured in their pits, Of whom we had said, "Under his shadow We shall live among the nations."
4:21  Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, Who dwells in the land of Uz; But the cup will come around to you as well, You will become drunk and make yourself naked.
4:22  The punishment of your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion; He will exile you no longer. But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins!