1 How the gold has grown dim! How the fine gold {kethem: premium metal}, the best, is changed! The stones of holiness {avnei-kodesh: temple foundation stones} are poured out at the head of every street.
2 How the precious sons of Zion, once esteemed as pure gold {paz: refined gold}, are now regarded as clay vessels, the work of a potter {yotzer: craftsman shaping clay}’s hands.
3 Even jackals draw out the breast and nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel {achzar: ruthless}, like ostriches in the wilderness {midbar: arid land}.
4 The tongue of the nursing child clings to the roof of his mouth for thirst {batsama: extreme thirst}, and the children ask for bread, but no one breaks {poresh: one who breaks or gives out} it for them.
5 Those who ate delicacies{maadanim: luxurious treats} have become desolate in the streets; those who were nurtured on scarlet have embraced ash heaps{ashpattot: refuse mounds}.
6 The punishment for the iniquity {avon: grievous guilt} of the daughter {bat-ammi: personified Jerusalem} of my people was greater than that for the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands were wrung in anguish for her.
7 Her Nazirites {nezireha: specially consecrated} were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their body {etsem: bone strength} was more ruddy than jewels, and their appearance was like sapphire.
8 Their appearance has become darker than blackness{mishchor: profound darkness}; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled upon their bones{atzmam: skeletal framework}; it has dried up and become like a tree.
9 Better were those slain by the sword than those slain by famine, who wasted away {yazuvu: slow perishing} and were pierced {medukkarim: deep stricken} for lack of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of merciful women boiled their children; the children became food for them during the destruction {shever: catastrophic collapse} of the daughter {bat-ami: national community} of my people.
11 The LORD {YHWH, Covenant Keeper} has completed His wrath; He poured out His fierce anger and kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations {yesodoteiha: structural support}.
12 The kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world did not believe that an adversary {tsar: hostile force} and an enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem {Yerushalayim: city of peace}.
13 Because of the sin of her prophets and the iniquities {avonot: repeated moral rebellion} of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous {tsaddikim: morally upright ones} in her midst.
14 They wandered like the blind in the streets; they were defiled {negoalu: ritually contaminated} with blood so that no one could touch their garments {bilvusheihem: outer garments}.
15 “Turn aside! Unclean {tame: ritually defiled},” they called to them. “Turn aside, turn aside, do not touch!” Because they have fled, they have also wandered. They said among the nations, “They will no longer sojourn {lagur: to dwell as a foreigner} there.”
16 The face of the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} has scattered them, and He will no longer regard them. Priests {penei kohanim: honor due} had no honor, and elders received no favor.
17 While we still looked, our eyes failed for help {ezratenu: rescue} in vain; in our watching we watched for a nation {goy: foreign people} that could not save us.
18 They hunted our steps {tze’adenu: movements} so that we could not walk in our streets; our end {kitzeinu: final destiny} drew near, our days were fulfilled, for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers {rodefeinu: those who relentlessly pursue} were swifter than the eagles of the heavens; upon the mountains they chased us, in the wilderness {bamidbar: arid uncultivated land} they lay in wait for us.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed one of the LORD {YHWH, Chosen King}, was captured in their pits; we had said, “In his shadow {tzel: protective covering} we will live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, who dwell in the land of Uz; also to you the cup {kos: symbol of wrath} shall pass—you will become drunk and expose yourself {tit'ari: become disgraced}.
22 The punishment for your iniquity {avonekh: legal guilt} has reached its end, daughter of Zion; He will no longer send you into exile. He has visited your iniquity, daughter of Edom; He has uncovered your sins {chatotayikh: moral failings}.