| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner. | 1How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull. The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets! |
| 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. | 2See how the precious children of Jerusalem, worth their weight in fine gold, are now treated like pots of clay made by a common potter. |
| 3Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the desert. | 3Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people Israel. They ignore their children’s cries, like ostriches in the desert. |
| 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 parched tongues of their little ones stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst. The children cry for bread, but no one has any to give them. |
| 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. | 5The people who once ate the richest foods now beg in the streets for anything they can get. Those who once wore the finest clothes now search the garbage dumps for food. |
| 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 people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment and no hand offered help. |
| 7Her consecrated ones were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies more ruddy than corals, their hair like lapis lazuli. | 7Our princes once glowed with health— brighter than snow, whiter than milk. Their faces were as ruddy as rubies, their appearance like fine jewels. |
| 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. | 8But now their faces are blacker than soot. No one recognizes them in the streets. Their skin sticks to their bones; it is as dry and hard as wood. |
| 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 killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away 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. | 10Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege. |
| 11The LORD fully vented his wrath; he poured out his fierce anger. He started a fire in Zion; it consumed her foundations. | 11But now the anger of the LORD is satisfied. His fierce anger has been poured out. He started a fire in Jerusalem that burned the city to 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. | 12Not a king in all the earth— no one in all the world— would have believed that an enemy could march through 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. | 13Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood. |
| 14They wander blindly through the streets, defiled by the blood they shed, while no one dares to touch their garments. | 14They wandered blindly through the streets, so defiled by blood that no one dared touch them. |
| 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“Get away!” the people shouted at them. “You’re defiled! Don’t touch us!” So they fled to distant lands and wandered among foreign nations, but none would let them stay. |
| 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 has scattered them, and he no longer helps them. People show no respect for the priests and no longer honor the leaders. |
| 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. | 17We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us. |
| 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! | 18We couldn’t go into the streets without danger to our lives. Our end was near; our days were numbered. We were doomed! |
| 19Those who pursued us were swifter than eagles in the sky. They chased us over the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness. | 19Our enemies were swifter than eagles in flight. If we fled to the mountains, they found us. If we hid in the wilderness, they were waiting for us there. |
| 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." | 20Our king—the LORD’s anointed, the very life of our nation— was caught in their snares. We had thought that his shadow would protect us against any nation on earth! |
| 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. | 21Are you rejoicing in the land of Uz, O people of Edom? But you, too, must drink from the cup of the LORD’s anger. You, too, will be stripped naked in your drunkenness. |
| 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! | 22O beautiful Jerusalem, your punishment will end; you will soon return from exile. But Edom, your punishment is just beginning; soon your many sins will be exposed. |
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