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New International Version |   | |
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| | Lam 4:1 | How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street.
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| | Lam 4:2 | How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands!
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| | Lam 4:3 | Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert.
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| | Lam 4:4 | Because of thirst the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them.
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| | Lam 4:5 | Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those nurtured in purple now lie on ash heaps.
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| | Lam 4:6 | The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her.
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| | Lam 4:7 | Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.
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| | Lam 4:8 | But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.
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| | Lam 4:9 | Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.
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| | Lam 4:10 | With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.
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| | Lam 4:11 | The LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.
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| | Lam 4:12 | The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
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| | Lam 4:13 | But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.
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| | Lam 4:14 | Now they grope through the streets like men who are blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments.
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| | Lam 4:15 | "Go away! You are unclean!" men cry to them. "Away! Away! Don't touch us!" When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, "They can stay here no longer."
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| | Lam 4:16 | The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.
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| | Lam 4:17 | Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.
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| | Lam 4:18 | Men stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.
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| | Lam 4:19 | Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert.
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| | Lam 4:20 | The LORD's anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations.
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| | Lam 4:21 | Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked.
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| | Lam 4:22 | O Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin and expose your wickedness.
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