Scriptures

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Lamentations 4
⁷ Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than corals, Their polishing was like lapis lazuli.
⁸ Their appearance is blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is withered, it has become like wood.
⁹ Better are those slain with the sword Than those slain with hunger; For they pine away, being stricken For lack of the fruits of the field.
¹⁰ The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
¹¹ The Lord has accomplished His wrath, He has poured out His fierce anger; And He has kindled a fire in Zion Which has consumed its foundations.
¹² The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
¹³ Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous;
¹⁴ They wandered, blind, in the streets; They were defiled with blood So that no one could touch their garments.
¹⁵ "Depart! Unclean!" they cried of themselves. "Depart, depart, do not touch!" So they fled and wandered; Men among the nations said, "They shall not continue to dwell with us."
¹⁶ The presence of the Lord has scattered them, He will not continue to regard them; They did not honor the priests, They did not favor the elders.
¹⁷ Yet our eyes failed, Looking for help was useless; In our watching we have watched For a nation that could not save.