2 Zion’s precious people —once worth their weight in pure gold —how they are regarded as clay jars,the work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even jackals offer their breaststo nurse their young,but my dear people have become cruellike ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The nursing infant’s tongueclings to the roof of his mouth from thirst. Little children beg for bread,but no one gives them any.
5 Those who used to eat delicaciesare destitute in the streets;those who were reared in purple garments huddle in garbage heaps.
6 The punishment of my dear peopleis greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instantwithout a hand laid on it.
7 Her dignitaries were brighter than snow,whiter than milk;their bodies were more ruddy than coral,their appearance like sapphire.
8 Now they appear darker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets.Their skin has shriveled on their bones;it has become dry like wood.