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4:1  See how the gold has lost its shine, how the pure gold has dulled! The stones of the Temple are scattered at every street corner.
4:2  The precious people of Jerusalem were more valuable than gold, but now they are thought of as clay jars made by the hands of a potter.
4:3  Even wild dogs give their milk to feed their young, but my people are cruel like ostriches in the desert.
4:4  The babies are so thirsty their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths. Children beg for bread, but no one gives them any.
4:5  Those who once ate fine foods are now starving in the streets. People who grew up wearing nice clothes now pick through trash piles.
4:6  My people have been punished more than Sodom was. Sodom was destroyed suddenly, and no hands reached out to help her.
4:7  Our princes were purer than snow, and whiter than milk. Their bodies were redder than rubies; they looked like sapphires.
4:8  But now they are blacker than coal, and no one recognizes them in the streets. Their skin hangs on their bones; it is as dry as wood.
4:9  Those who were killed in the war were better off than those killed by hunger. They starve in pain and die, because there is no food from the field.
4:10  With their own hands kind women cook their own children. They became food when my people were destroyed.
4:11  The Lord turned loose all of his anger; he poured out his strong anger. He set fire to Jerusalem, burning it down to the foundations.
4:12  Kings of the earth and people of the world could not believe that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
4:13  It happened because her prophets sinned and her priests did evil. They killed in the city those who did what was right.
4:14  They wandered in the streets as if they were blind. They were dirty with blood, so no one would touch their clothes.
4:15  “Go away! You are unclean,” people shouted at them. “Get away! Get away! Don’t touch us!” So they ran away and wandered. Even the other nations said, “Don’t stay here.”
4:16  The Lord himself scattered them and did not look after them anymore. No one respects the priests or honors the elders.
4:17  Also, our eyes grew tired, looking for help that never came. We kept watch from our towers for a nation to save us.
4:18  Our enemies hunted us, so we could not even walk in the streets. Our end is near. Our time is up. Our end has come.
4:19  Those who chased us were faster than eagles in the sky. They ran us into the mountains and ambushed us in the desert.
4:20  The Lord’s appointed king, who was our very breath, was caught in their traps. We had said about him, “We will be protected by him among the nations.”
4:21  Be happy and glad, people of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. The cup of God’s anger will come to you; then you will get drunk and go naked.
4:22  Your punishment is complete, Jerusalem. He will not send you into captivity again. But the Lord will punish the sins of Edom; he will uncover your evil.