| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner. | 1How tarnished the gold has become, the finest gold debased! Sacred stones have been scattered at every street corner. |
| 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. | 2Though the precious people of Zion were like fine gold, how they are valued like clay vessels, the handiwork of a potter! |
| 3Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the desert. | 3Even wild animals nurse, suckling their young; but the women of my people are cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness. |
| 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. | 4The nursing child's tongue cleaves to its palate from thirst. Young children beg for bread, but no one gives them any. |
| 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. | 5Those who enjoyed delicacies lie desolate in the streets. Those who were reared wearing purple scavenge in piles of trash. |
| 6The punishment of my people exceeded that of of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her. | 6The guilt of my cherished people surpasses the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, without a hand to help her. |
| 7Her consecrated ones were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies more ruddy than corals, their hair like lapis lazuli. | 7Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk. Their bodies were more ruddy than rubies, their beards like the color of precious stones. |
| 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. | 8Now their faces are blacker than coal; they are unrecognized in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones; it has become dry like a stick. |
| 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. | 9Those who die by the sword are better off than those who die from starvation, who slowly waste away like those pierced through for lack of food from the fields. |
| 10The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed. | 10With their own hands, compassionate women boil their own children— they become their food— when my beloved people were destroyed. |
| 11The LORD fully vented his wrath; he poured out his fierce anger. He started a fire in Zion; it consumed her foundations. | 11The LORD has exhausted his wrath, pouring out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, consuming its foundations. |
| 12Neither the kings of the earth nor the people of the lands ever thought that enemy or foe would enter the gates of Jerusalem. | 12None of the kings of the earth would have believed, nor the world's inhabitants, that the adversary and the enemy could have breached the gates of Jerusalem. |
| 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. | 13Due to the sins committed by her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests who shed in her midst, the blood of the righteous, |
| 14They wander blindly through the streets, defiled by the blood they shed, while no one dares to touch their garments. | 14people stagger around in the streets like the blind, defiled by blood unclean so that no one is able to touch their clothing. |
| 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." | 15"Go away! Unclean!" they shouted at them. "Go away! Go away! Don't touch!" When they fled away and wandered, those among the nations decreed, "They cannot live here!" |
| 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. | 16The LORD himself separated them; he will do nothing more for them. They did not respect their own priests; they did not honor their elders. |
| 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. | 17Our eyes failed, searching in vain for hope; we kept watching and looking for a nation that would not help. |
| 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! | 18Our steps were closely stalked, so we couldn't travel on our own streets. Our end is near, our days are over; indeed, our end has come. |
| 19Those who pursued us were swifter than eagles in the sky. They chased us over the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness. | 19Our pursuers were swifter than soaring eagles; they pursued us over the mountains, lying in wait for us in the wilderness. |
| 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." | 20The LORD's anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. About him we had said, "Under his protection we will survive among the nations." |
| 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. | 21Celebrate and rejoice, you women of Edom, who live in the land of Uz. But to you the cup also will pass— you will become drunk and stripped naked. |
| 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! | 22The punishment for your sin is complete, you women of Zion, and God will no longer exile you. He will punish your iniquity, you women of Edom, and he will expose your sins. |
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