Lamentations 4:3-12

3Even the jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness [that desert their young].

4The tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for food, But no one gives it to them.

5Those who feasted on delicacies Are perishing in the streets; Those reared in purple [as nobles] Embrace ash heaps.

6For the [punishment of the] wickedness of the daughter of my people [Jerusalem] Is greater than the [punishment for the] sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her [to offer help].

7Her princes were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk [in appearance]; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Their polishing was like lapis lazuli (sapphire).

8Their appearance is [now] blacker than soot [because of the prolonged famine]; They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin clings to their bones; It is withered, and it has become [dry] like wood.

9Those killed with the sword Are more fortunate than those killed with hunger; For the hungry pine and ebb away, For the lack of the fruits of the field.

10The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people [Judah].

11The Lord has fulfilled His wrath; He has poured out His fierce anger And has kindled a fire in Zion That has consumed her foundations.

12The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of the inhabitants of the earth, That the adversary (oppressor) and enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.