| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. | 1Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner. |
| 2The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands! | 2The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold--Alas!--but now they are treated like broken clay pots, made by a potter. |
| 3Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young; but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. | 3Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the desert. |
| 4The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them. | 4The infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel. |
| 5Those who once feasted on delicacies perish in the streets; those who were brought up in purple embrace ash heaps. | 5Those who once feasted on delicacies are now starving to death in the streets. Those who grew up wearing expensive clothes are now dying amid garbage. |
| 6For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater than the punishment of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands were wrung for her. | 6The punishment of my people exceeded that of of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her. |
| 7Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than coral, the beauty of their form was like sapphire. | 7Her consecrated ones were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies more ruddy than corals, their hair like lapis lazuli. |
| 8Now their face is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as wood. | 8Now their appearance is darker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it is dried up, like tree bark. |
| 9Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field. | 9Those who died by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, those who waste away, struck down from lack of food. |
| 10The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people. | 10The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed. |
| 11The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations. | 11The LORD fully vented his wrath; he poured out his fierce anger. He started a fire in Zion; it consumed her foundations. |
| 12The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem. | 12Neither the kings of the earth nor the people of the lands ever thought that enemy or foe would enter the gates of Jerusalem. |
| 13This 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. | 13But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous. |
| 14They wandered, blind, through the streets; they were so defiled with blood that no one was able to touch their garments. | 14They wander blindly through the streets, defiled by the blood they shed, while no one dares to touch their garments. |
| 15“Away! Unclean!” people cried at them. “Away! Away! Do not touch!” So they became fugitives and wanderers; people said among the nations, “They shall stay with us no longer.” | 15People cry to them, "Turn away! You are unclean! Turn away! Turn away! Don't touch us!" So they have fled and wander about; but the nations say, "They may not stay here any longer." |
| 16The LORD himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders. | 16The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. They did not honor the priests; they did not show favor to the elders. |
| 17Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save. | 17Our eyes continually failed us as we looked in vain for help. From our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not rescue us. |
| 18They 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. | 18Our enemies hunted us down at every step so that we could not walk about in our streets. Our end drew near, our days were numbered, for our end had come! |
| 19Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles in the heavens; they chased us on the mountains; they lay in wait for us in the wilderness. | 19Those who pursued us were swifter than eagles in the sky. They chased us over the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness. |
| 20The breath of our nostrils, the LORD’s anointed, was captured in their pits, of whom we said, “Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.” | 20Our very life breath--the LORD's anointed king--was caught in their traps, of whom we thought, "Under his protection we will survive among the nations." |
| 21Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare. | 21Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom, who reside in the land of Uz. But the cup of judgment will pass to you also; you will get drunk and take off your clothes. |
| 22The 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. | 22O people of Zion, your punishment will come to an end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O people of Edom, he will punish your sin and reveal your offenses! |
|
