Home Prior Books Index
←Prev   Lamentations 4 as rendered by/in  Next→ 

Did you notice?
 You can SEARCH IslamAwakened: 

4:1  How the gold has lost its luster, the noble metal changed; Jewels lie scattered at the corner of every street.
4:2  And Zion’s precious children, worth their weight in gold— How they are treated like clay jugs, the work of any potter!
4:3  Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is as cruel as the ostrich in the wilderness.
4:4  The tongue of the infant cleaves to the roof of its mouth in thirst; Children beg for bread, but no one gives them a piece.
4:5  Those who feasted on delicacies are abandoned in the streets; Those who reclined on crimson now embrace dung heaps.
4:6  The punishment of the daughter of my people surpassed the penalty of Sodom, Which was overthrown in an instant with no hand laid on it.
4:7  Her princes were brighter than snow, whiter than milk, Their bodies more ruddy than coral, their beauty like the sapphire.
4:8  Now their appearance is blacker than soot, they go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin has shrunk on their bones, and become dry as wood.
4:9  Better for those pierced by the sword than for those pierced by hunger, Better for those who bleed from wounds than for those who lack food.
4:10  The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children! They became their food when the daughter of my people was shattered.
4:11  The Lord has exhausted his anger, poured out his blazing wrath; He has kindled a fire in Zion that has consumed her foundations.
4:12  The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the world’s inhabitants, That foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
4:13  Except for the sins of her prophets and the crimes of her priests, Who poured out in her midst the blood of the just.
4:14  They staggered blindly in the streets, defiled with blood, So that people could not touch even their garments:
4:15  “Go away! Unclean!” they cried to them, “Away, away, do not touch!” If they went away and wandered, it would be said among the nations, “They can no longer live here!
4:16  The presence of the Lord was their portion, but he no longer looks upon them. The priests are shown no regard, the elders, no mercy.
4:17  Even now our eyes are worn out, searching in vain for help; From our watchtower we have watched for a nation unable to save.
4:18  They dogged our every step, we could not walk in our squares; Our end drew near, our time was up; yes, our end had come.
4:19  Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky, In the mountains they were hot on our trail, they ambushed us in the wilderness.
4:20  The Lord’s anointed—our very lifebreath!— was caught in their snares, He in whose shade we thought to live among the nations.
4:21  Rejoice and gloat, daughter Edom, dwelling in the land of Uz, The cup will pass to you as well; you shall become drunk and strip yourself naked!
4:22  Your punishment is completed, daughter Zion, the Lord will not prolong your exile; The Lord will punish your iniquity, daughter Edom, will lay bare your sins.