1 “Look how the gold has become tarnished!
2 “Zion’s precious children, who are worth their weight in fine gold,
3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young,
4 The tongues of nursing infants stick to the roofs of their mouths
5 Those who used to eat delicacies are now destitute in the streets.
6 The punishment for my people’s wickedness has been more severe
7 Zion’s princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk.
8 Their faces are ⌞now⌟ blacker than soot.
9 Those who were killed with swords are better off
10 The hands of loving mothers cooked their own children.
11 The Lord’s fury has accomplished his purpose.
12 Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe
13 ⌞They got through⌟ because of the sins of Jerusalem’s prophets
14 My people staggered blindly through the streets.
15 ‘Get away! You’re unclean,’ people yelled at them.
16 The Lord himself has scattered them.
17 “We are still straining our eyes, trying in vain to find help.
18 ⌞The enemy⌟ kept tracking us down,
19 Those who were hunting us were faster than eagles in the sky.
20 The person the Lord anointed ⌞as king⌟, who is the breath of our life,
21 “Rejoice and be glad, people of Edom, inhabitants of the country of Uz.
22 People of Zion, the punishment for your wickedness will end.