90 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
90 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 4
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1 How the gold has grown dim,
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how the pure gold is changed!
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The holy stones lie scattered
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at the head of every street.
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2 The precious sons of Zion,
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worth their weight in fine gold,
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how they are regarded as earthen pots,
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the work of a potter's hands!
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3 Even jackals offer the breast;
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they nurse their young;
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but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
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like the ostriches in the wilderness.
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4 The tongue of the nursing infant sticks
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to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
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the children beg for food,
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but no one gives to them.
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5 Those who once feasted on delicacies
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perish in the streets;
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those who were brought up in purple
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embrace ash heaps.
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6 For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater
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than the punishment of Sodom,
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which was overthrown in a moment,
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and no hands were wrung for her.
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7 Her princes were purer than snow,
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whiter than milk;
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their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
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the beauty of their form was like sapphire.
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8 Now their face is blacker than soot;
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they are not recognized in the streets;
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their skin has shriveled on their bones;
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it has become as dry as wood.
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9 Happier were the victims of the sword
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than the victims of hunger,
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who wasted away, pierced
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by lack of the fruits of the field.
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10 The hands of compassionate women
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have boiled their own children;
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they became their food
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during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
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11 The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
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he poured out his hot anger,
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and he kindled a fire in Zion
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that consumed its foundations.
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12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
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nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
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that foe or enemy could enter
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the gates of Jerusalem.
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13 This was for the sins of her prophets
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and the iniquities of her priests,
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who shed in the midst of her
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the blood of the righteous.
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14 They wandered, blind, through the streets;
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they were so defiled with blood
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that no one was able to touch
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their garments.
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15 “Away! Unclean!” people cried at them.
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“Away! Away! Do not touch!”
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So they became fugitives and wanderers;
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people said among the nations,
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“They shall stay with us no longer.”
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16 The Lord himself has scattered them;
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he will regard them no more;
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no honor was shown to the priests,
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no favor to the elders.
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17 Our eyes failed, ever watching
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vainly for help;
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in our watching we watched
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for a nation which could not save.
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18 They dogged our steps
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so that we could not walk in our streets;
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our end drew near; our days were numbered,
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for our end had come.
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19 Our pursuers were swifter
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than the eagles in the heavens;
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they chased us on the mountains;
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they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
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20 The breath of our nostrils, the Lord's anointed,
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was captured in their pits,
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of whom we said, “Under his shadow
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we shall live among the nations.”
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21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
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you who dwell in the land of Uz;
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but to you also the cup shall pass;
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you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
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22 The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
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he will keep you in exile no longer;
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but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
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he will uncover your sins. |