| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1How the gold has become dim! How changed the fine gold! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered At the head of every street. | 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, Valuable as fine gold, How they are regarded as clay pots, The work of the hands of the 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 present their breasts To nurse their young; But the daughter of my people is cruel, Like ostriches in the wilderness. | 3Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people Israel. They ignore their children’s cries, like ostriches in the desert. |
| 4The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth for thirst; The young children ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them. | 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 ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those who were brought up in scarlet Embrace ash heaps. | 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 the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, With no hand 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 Nazirites were brighter than snow And whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Like sapphire in their appearance. | 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 blacker than soot; They go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin clings to their bones, It has become as dry as wood. | 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 slain by the sword are better off Than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field. | 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 the compassionate women Have cooked their own children; They became food for them In the destruction of the daughter of my people. | 10Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege. |
| 11The LORD has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, And it has devoured its 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. |
| 12The kings of the earth, And all inhabitants of the world, Would not have believed That the adversary and the enemy Could 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. |
| 13Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who shed in her midst The blood of the just. | 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 wandered blind in the streets; They have defiled themselves with blood, So that no one would touch their garments. | 14They wandered blindly through the streets, so defiled by blood that no one dared touch them. |
| 15They cried out to them, “Go away, unclean! Go away, go away, Do not touch us!” When they fled and wandered, Those among the nations said, “They shall no longer dwell here.” | 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 face of the LORD scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not respect the priests Nor 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. |
| 17Still our eyes failed us, Watching vainly for our help; In our watching we watched For a nation that could not save us. | 17We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us. |
| 18They tracked our steps So that we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near; Our days were over, 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! |
| 19Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles of the heavens. They pursued us on the mountains And lay in wait for 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. |
| 20The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, Was caught in their pits, Of whom we said, “Under his shadow We shall live 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, O daughter of Edom, You who dwell in the land of Uz! The cup shall also pass over to you And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked. | 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. |
| 22The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; He will no longer send you into captivity. He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will uncover your sins! | 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. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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