Online Bible

Distress of the Siege Described

How ^adark the gold has become,How the pure gold has changed!The sacred stones are poured outAt the ¹corner of every street.2 The precious sons of Zion,Weighed against fine gold,How they are regarded as ^aearthen jars,The work of a potter’s hands!3 Even ^ajackals offer the breast,They nurse their young;But the daughter of my people has become ^bcruelLike ^costriches in the wilderness.4 The ^atongue of the infant cleavesTo the roof of its mouth because of ^bthirst;The little ones ^cask for bread,But no one breaks it for them.5 Those who ate ^adelicaciesAre desolate in the streets;Those ¹reared in purpleEmbrace ash pits.6 For the ¹iniquity of the daughter of my peopleIs greater than the ²^asin of Sodom,Which was ^boverthrown as in a moment,And no hands were ³turned toward her.7 Her ¹consecrated ones were ^apurer than snow,They were whiter than milk;They were more ruddy in ²body than corals,Their polishing was like ³^blapis lazuli.8 Their appearance is ^ablacker than soot,They are not recognized in the streets;Their ^bskin is shriveled on their bones,It is withered, it has become like wood.9 Better are those ¹^aslain with the swordThan those ²slain with hunger;For they ³^bpine away, being strickenFor lack of the fruits of ⁴the field.10 The hands of compassionate women^aBoiled their own children;They became ^bfood for themBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.11 The LORD has ^aaccomplished His wrath,He has poured out His fierce anger;And He has ^bkindled a fire in ZionWhich has consumed its foundations.12 The kings of the earth did not believe,Nor did any of ^athe inhabitants of the world,That the adversary and the enemyCould ^benter the gates of Jerusalem.13 Because of the sins of her ^aprophetsAnd the iniquities of her priests,Who have shed in her midstThe ^bblood of the righteous;14 They wandered, ^ablind, in the streets;They were defiled with ^bbloodSo that no one could touch their ^cgarments.15 “Depart! ^aUnclean!” ¹they cried of themselves.“Depart, depart, do not touch!”So they ^bfled and wandered;Men among the nations said,“They shall not continue to dwell with us.”16 The presence of the LORD has scattered them,He will not continue to regard them;They did not ¹^ahonor the priests,They did not favor the elders.17 Yet our eyes failed,Looking for ¹help was ^auseless;In our watching we have watchedFor a ^bnation that could not save.18 They ^ahunted our stepsSo that we could not walk in our streets;Our ^bend drew near,Our days were ¹finishedFor our end had come.19 Our pursuers were ^aswifterThan the eagles of the sky;They chased us on the mountains,They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.20 The ^abreath of our nostrils, the ^bLORD’S anointed,Was ^ccaptured in their pits,Of whom we had said, “Under his ^dshadowWe shall live among the nations.”21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of ^aEdom,Who dwells in the land of Uz;But the ^bcup will come around to you as well,You will become drunk and make yourself naked.22 The punishment of your iniquity has been ^acompleted, O daughter of Zion;He will exile you no longer.But He ^bwill punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;He will expose your sins!