1
q[Isa. 1:22; Jer. 6:30] How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
rch. 2:19 at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight insPs. 19:10 fine gold,
how they are regarded astSee Jer. 19:11 earthen pots,
the work of a potter's hands!
3 Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young,
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursing infantuPs. 22:15 sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
v[ch. 2:11] the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
w[2 Sam. 1:24] those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.
6 xMatt. 10:15; Luke 10:12 For the chastisement1Or iniquity of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment2Or sin of Sodom,
yGen. 19:25; 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 7 which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.
7 Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form was like sapphire.
8 zch. 5:10; Job 30:30; [Ps. 119:83] Now 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.
9 Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.
10 aSee Jer. 19:9 The hands ofb[1 Kgs. 3:26; Isa. 49:15] compassionate women
c[2 Kgs. 6:29] have boiled their own children;
dDeut. 28:57 they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 eEzek. 5:13 The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
andfSee Jer. 17:27 he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
12 g[Isa. 52:15; 53:1] The 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.
13 This was forh[ch. 2:20]; See Jer. 5:31; 23:21 the sins of her prophets
andh[ch. 2:20]; See Jer. 5:31; 23:21 the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.
14 i[Isa. 59:10] They wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
j[Num. 19:16] that no one was able to touch
their garments.
15 “Away!k[Lev. 13:45] 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. ”
16 lch. 2:17 The Lord himself has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
m[Isa. 24:2] no honor was shown to the priests,
nch. 5:12 no favor to the elders.
17 oPs. 119:82, 123; [Jer. 3:23] Our eyes failed, ever watching
oPs. 119:82, 123; [Jer. 3:23] vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
forpJer. 37:7, 8 a nation which could not save.
18 qch. 3:52 They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
rEzek. 7:2, 3, 6; Amos 8:2 our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers weresJer. 4:13; [2 Sam. 1:23; Hab. 1:8] swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 t[Gen. 2:7] The breath of our nostrils,u[ch. 2:9; 2 Kgs. 25:5, 6] the Lord 's anointed,
was capturedv[Ezek. 12:13; 17:20; 19:4, 8] in their pits,
of whom we said,w[Judg. 9:15; Ezek. 31:6, 17] “Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations. ”
21 x[ch. 1:21] Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell inyJob 1:1; Jer. 25:20 the land of Uz;
but to you alsozSee Jer. 25:15, 16 the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22 a[Isa. 40:2] The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;1Or he will not exile you again
butbObad. 10 your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.