Lamentations 4:3-10

3Even the jackals feed their young, but not my people Israel. They ignore their children’s cries, like ostriches in the desert.

4The 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.

5The 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.

6The guilt of my people is greater than that of Sodom, where utter disaster struck in a moment and no hand offered help.

7Our princes once glowed with health— brighter than snow, whiter than milk. Their faces were as ruddy as rubies, their appearance like fine jewels.

8But 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.

9Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away for lack of food from the fields.

10Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege.