4:1  How dark the gold has become, {How} the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones are poured out At the corner of every street.

4:2  The precious sons of Zion, Weighed against fine gold, How they are regarded as earthen jars, The work of a potter's hands!

4:3  Even jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; {But} the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness.

4:4  The tongue of the infant cleaves To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for bread, {But} no one breaks {it} for them.

4:5  Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those reared in purple Embrace ash pits.

4:6  For the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her.

4:7  Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy {in} body than corals, Their polishing {was like} lapis lazuli.

4:8  Their appearance is blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is withered, it has become like wood.

4:9  Better are those slain with the sword Than those slain with hunger; For they pine away, being stricken For lack of the fruits of the field.

4:10  The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

4:11  The LORD has accomplished His wrath, He has poured out His fierce anger; And He has kindled a fire in Zion Which has consumed its foundations.

4:12  The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor {did} any of the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

4:13  Because of the sins of her prophets {And} the iniquities of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous;

4:14  They wandered, blind, in the streets; They were defiled with blood So that no one could touch their garments.

4:15  "Depart! Unclean! they cried of themselves. "Depart, depart, do not touch!" So they fled and wandered; {Men} among the nations said, "They shall not continue to dwell {with us.}""

4:16  The presence of the LORD has scattered them, He will not continue to regard them; They did not honor the priests, They did not favor the elders.

4:17  Yet our eyes failed, {Looking} for help was useless; In our watching we have watched For a nation that could not save.

4:18  They hunted our steps So that we could not walk in our streets; Our end drew near, Our days were finished For our end had come.

4:19  Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles of the sky; They chased us on the mountains, They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.

4:20  The breath of our nostrils, the LORD'S anointed, Was captured in their pits, Of whom we had said, "Under his shadow We shall live among the nations."

4:21  Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, Who dwells in the land of Uz; {But} the cup will come around to you as well, You will become drunk and make yourself naked.

4:22  {The punishment} of your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion; He will exile you no longer. {But} He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins!