Lamentations 4

God’s Anger Satisfied

4How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull. The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets!H2091H6004H2896H3800H8132H68H6944H8210H7218H23512See how the precious children of Jerusalem

, worth their weight in fine gold, are now treated like pots of clay made by a common potter.H3368H1121H6726H5537H6337H2803H2789H5035H4639H3027H33353Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people Israel. They ignore their children’s cries, like ostriches in the desert.H8577H2502H7699H3243H1482H1323H5971H393H3283H40574The 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.H3956H3243H1692H2441H6772H5768H7592H3899H65665The 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.H398H4574H8074H2351H539H8438H2263H8306The guilt

of my people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment and no hand offered help.H5771H1323H5971H1431H2403H5467H2015H7281H3027H23427Our princes once glowed with health—brighter than snow, whiter than milk. Their faces were as ruddy as rubies, their appearance like fine jewels

.H5139H2141H7950H6705H2461H119H6106H6443H1508H56018But 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.H8389H2821H7815H5234H2351H5785H6821H6106H3001H60869Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away for lack of food from the fields.H2491H2719H2896H2491H7458H1992H2100H1856H8570H770410Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege.H3027H7362H802H1310H3206H1262H7667H1323H597111But 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.H3068H3615H2534H8210H2740H639H3341H784H6726H398H324712Not 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.H4428H776H3427H8398H539H6862H341H935H8179H338913Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.H2403H5030H5771H3548H8210H1818H6662H713014They wandered blindly through the streets, so defiled by blood that no one dared touch them.H5128H5787H2351H1351H1818H3201H3808H5060H383015“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.H7121H5493H2931H5493H5493H5060H5132H5128H559H1471H3254H148116The Lord himself has scattered them, and he no longer helps them. People show no respect for the priests and no longer honor the leaders.H6440H3068H2505H3254H5027H5375H6440H3548H2603H220517We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.H5869H3615H1892H5833H6836H6822H1471H346718We couldn’t go into the streets without danger to our lives. Our end was near; our days were numbered. We were doomed!H6679H6806H3212H7339H7093H7126H3117H4390H7093H93519Our 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.H7291H7031H5404H8064H1814H2022H693H405720Our 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!H7307H639H4899H3068H3920H7825H559H6738H2421H147121Are 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.H7797H8055H1323H123H3427H776H5780H3563H5674H7937H616822O 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.H5771H8552H1323H6726H3254H1540H6485H5771H1323H123H1540H2403