GNB

LAMENTATIONS Chapter 4 (GNB)

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4:1 Our glittering gold has grown dull; the stones of the Temple lie scattered in the streets.

4:2 Zion's young people were as precious to us as gold, but now they are treated like common clay pots.

4:3 Even a mother wolf will nurse her cubs, but my people are like ostriches, cruel to their young.

4:4 They let their babies die of hunger and thirst; children are begging for food that no one will give them.

4:5 People who once ate the finest foods die starving in the streets; those raised in luxury are pawing through garbage for food.

4:6 My people have been punished even more than the inhabitants of Sodom, which met a sudden downfall at the hands of God.

4:7 Our princes were undefiled and pure as snow, vigorous and strong, glowing with health.

4:8 Now they lie unknown in the streets, their faces blackened in death; their skin, dry as wood, has shriveled on their bones.

4:9 Those who died in the war were better off than those who died later, who starved slowly to death, with no food to keep them alive.

4:10 The disaster that came to my people brought horror; loving mothers boiled their own children for food.

4:11 The LORD turned loose the full force of his fury; he lit a fire in Zion that burned it to the ground.

4:12 No one anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations, believed that any invader could enter Jerusalem's gates.

4:13 But it happened, because her prophets sinned and her priests were guilty of causing the death of innocent people.

4:14 Her leaders wandered through the streets as though blind, so stained with blood that no one would touch them.

4:15 "Get away!" people shouted. "You're defiled! Don't touch me!" So they wandered from nation to nation, welcomed by no one.

4:16 The LORD had no more concern for them; he scattered them himself. He showed no regard for our priests and leaders.

4:17 For help that never came, we looked until we could look no longer. We kept waiting for help from a nation that had none to give.

4:18 The enemy was watching for us; we could not even walk in the streets. Our days were over; the end had come.

4:19 Swifter than eagles swooping from the sky, they chased us down. They tracked us down in the hills; they took us by surprise in the desert.

4:20 They captured the source of our life, the king the LORD had chosen, the one we had trusted to protect us from every invader.

4:21 Laugh on, people of Edom and Uz; be glad while you can. Your disaster is coming too; you too will stagger naked in shame.

4:22 Zion has paid for her sin; the LORD will not keep us in exile any longer. But Edom, the LORD will punish you; he will expose your guilty acts.

CHAPTER ENDS

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