א (Alef)
4:1 1 Alas! 2 Gold has lost its luster; 3
pure gold loses value. 4
Jewels 5 are scattered
on every street corner. 6
ב (Bet)
4:2 The precious sons of Zion
were worth their weight in gold –
Alas! – but now they are treated like 7 broken clay pots,
made by a potter. 8
ג (Gimel)
4:3 Even the jackals 9 nurse their young
at their breast, 10
but my people 11 are cruel,
like ostriches 12 in the desert.
ד (Dalet)
4:4 The infant’s tongue sticks
to the roof of its mouth due to thirst;
little children beg for bread, 13
but no one gives them even a morsel. 14
ה (He)
4:5 Those who once feasted on delicacies 15
are now starving to death 16 in the streets.
Those who grew up 17 wearing expensive clothes 18
are now dying 19 amid garbage. 20
ו (Vav)
4:6 The punishment 21 of my people 22
exceeded that of 23 of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment
with no one to help her. 24
ז (Zayin)
4:7 Her consecrated ones 25 were brighter than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies more ruddy than corals,
their hair 26 like lapis lazuli. 27
ח (Khet)
4:8 Now their appearance 28 is darker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets.
Their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it is dried up, like tree bark.
ט (Tet)
4:9 Those who died by the sword 29 are better off
than those who die of hunger, 30
those who 31 waste away, 32
struck down 33 from lack of 34 food. 35
י (Yod)
4:10 The hands of tenderhearted women 36
cooked their own children,
who became their food, 37
when my people 38 were destroyed. 39
כ (Kaf)
4:11 The Lord fully vented 40 his wrath;
he poured out his fierce anger. 41
He started a fire in Zion;
it consumed her foundations. 42
ל (Lamed)
4:12 Neither the kings of the earth
nor the people of the lands 43 ever thought 44
that enemy or foe would enter
the gates 45 of Jerusalem. 46
מ (Mem)
4:13 But it happened 47 due to the sins of her prophets 48
and the iniquities of her priests,
who poured out in her midst
the blood of the righteous.
נ (Nun)
4:14 They 49 wander blindly 50 through the streets,
defiled by the blood they shed, 51
while no one dares 52
to touch their garments.
ס (Samek)
4:15 People cry to them, “Turn away! You are unclean!
Turn away! Turn away! Don’t touch us!”
So they have fled and wander about;
but the nations say, 53 “They may not stay here any longer.”
פ (Pe)
4:16 The Lord himself 54 has scattered them;
he no longer watches over them.
They did not honor the priests; 55
they did not show favor to the elders. 56
ע (Ayin)
4:17 Our eyes continually failed us
as we looked in vain for help. 57
From our watchtowers we watched
for a nation that could not rescue us.
צ (Tsade)
4:18 Our enemies 58 hunted us down at every step 59
so that we could not walk about in our streets.
Our end drew near, our days were numbered, 60
for our end had come!
ק (Qof)
4:19 Those who pursued us were swifter
than eagles 61 in the sky. 62
They chased us over the mountains;
they ambushed us in the wilderness.
ר (Resh)
4:20 Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king 63 –
was caught in their traps, 64
of whom we thought, 65
“Under his protection 66 we will survive among the nations.”
ש (Sin/Shin)
4:21 Rejoice and be glad for now, 67 O people of Edom, 68
who reside in the land of Uz.
But the cup of judgment 69 will pass 70 to you also;
you will get drunk and take off your clothes.
ת (Tav)
4:22 O people of Zion, 71 your punishment 72 will come to an end; 73
he will not prolong your exile. 74
But, O people of Edom, 75 he will punish 76 your sin 77
and reveal 78 your offenses!