3 Even wild jackals nurture their babies,give them their breasts to suckle.But my people have turned cruel to their babies,like an ostrich in the wilderness.
4 Babies have nothing to drink.Their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths.Little children ask for breadbut no one gives them so much as a crust.
5 People used to the finest cuisineforage for food in the streets.People used to the latest in fashionspick through the trash for something to wear.
6 The evil guilt of my dear peoplewas worse than the sin of Sodom—The city was destroyed in a flash,and no one around to help.
7 The splendid and sacred noblesonce glowed with health.Their bodies were robust and ruddy,their beards like carved stone.
8 But now they are smeared with soot,unrecognizable in the street,Their bones sticking out,their skin dried out like old leather.
9 Better to have been killed in battlethan killed by starvation.Better to have died of battle woundsthan to slowly starve to death.