Lamentations 4

א (Alef)

¹Alas! Gold has lost its luster;pure gold loses value.Jewels are scatteredon every street corner.

ב (Bet)

²The precious sons of Zionwere worth their weight in gold –Alas! – but now they are treated like broken clay pots,made by a potter.

ג (Gimel)

³Even the jackals nurse their youngat their breast,but my people are cruel,like ostriches in the desert.

ד (Dalet)

⁴The infant’s tongue sticksto the roof of its mouth due to thirst;little children beg for bread,but no one gives them even a morsel.

ה (He)

⁵Those who once feasted on delicaciesare now starving to death in the streets.Those who grew up wearing expensive clothesare now dying amid garbage.

ו (Vav)

⁶The punishment of my peopleexceeded that of of Sodom,which was overthrown in a momentwith no one to help her.

ז (Zayin)

⁷Her consecrated ones were brighter than snow,whiter than milk;their bodies more ruddy than corals,their hair like lapis lazuli.

ח (Khet)

⁸Now their appearance is darker than soot;they are not recognized in the streets.Their skin has shriveled on their bones;it is dried up, like tree bark.

ט (Tet)

⁹Those who died by the sword are better offthan those who die of hunger,those who waste away,struck down from lack of food.

י (Yod)

¹⁰The hands of tenderhearted womencooked their own children,who became their food,when my people were destroyed.

כ (Kaf)

¹¹The Lord fully vented his wrath;he poured out his fierce anger.He started a fire in Zion;it consumed her foundations.

ל (Lamed)

¹²Neither the kings of the earthnor the people of the lands ever thoughtthat enemy or foe would enterthe gates of Jerusalem.

מ (Mem)

¹³But it happened due to the sins of her prophetsand the iniquities of her priests,who poured out in her midstthe blood of the righteous.

נ (Nun)

¹⁴They wander blindly through the streets,defiled by the blood they shed,while no one daresto touch their garments.

ס (Samek)

¹⁵People cry to them, “Turn away! You are unclean!Turn away! Turn away! Don’t touch us!”So they have fled and wander about;but the nations say, “They may not stay here any longer.”

פ (Pe)

¹⁶The Lord himself has scattered them;he no longer watches over them.They did not honor the priests;they did not show favor to the elders.

The People of Jerusalem Lament:

ע (Ayin)

¹⁷Our eyes continually failed usas we looked in vain for help.From our watchtowers we watchedfor a nation that could not rescue us.

צ (Tsade)

¹⁸Our enemies hunted us down at every stepso that we could not walk about in our streets.Our end drew near, our days were numbered,for our end had come!

ק (Qof)

¹⁹Those who pursued us were swifterthan eagles in the sky.They chased us over the mountains;they ambushed us in the wilderness.

ר (Resh)

²⁰Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king –was caught in their traps,of whom we thought,“Under his protection we will survive among the nations.”

The Prophet Speaks:

ש (Sin/Shin)

²¹Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom,who reside in the land of Uz.But the cup of judgment will pass to you also;you will get drunk and take off your clothes.

ת (Tav)

²²O people of Zion, your punishment will come to an end;he will not prolong your exile.But, O people of Edom, he will punish your sinand reveal your offenses!