Lamentations 4 - Easy To Read Version

¹ See how the gold has grown dark.\par See how the good gold is changed.\par There are jewels {\cf2\super [25]} scattered all around.\par They are scattered at every street corner.\par

² The people of Zion {\cf2\super [26]} were worth a lot.\par They were worth their weight in gold.\par But now the enemy treats those people\par like old clay jars.\par The enemy treats them\par like clay jars made by a potter.\par

³ Even a wild dog feeds her babies.\par Even the jackal lets her pups suck\par at her breast.\par But the daughter of my people {\cf2\super [27]} is cruel.\par She is like the ostrich\par that lives in the desert.\par

⁴ The little baby’s tongue sticks\par to the roof of its mouth from thirst.\par Young children ask for bread.\par But no one gives any bread to them.\par

⁵ The people that at one time ate rich food\par now are dying in the streets.\par The people that grew up\par wearing nice red clothes\par now pick through garbage piles.\par

⁶ The sin of the daughter of my people {\cf2\super [28]} \par was very great.\par Their sin was greater than the sins\par of Sodom and Gomorrah. {\cf2\super [29]} \par Sodom and Gomorrah\par were destroyed suddenly.\par No human hand caused that destruction. {\cf2\super [30]} \par

⁷ Some of the men of Judah\par were dedicated to God in a special way.\par Those men were very pure.\par They were whiter than snow.\par They were whiter than milk.\par Their bodies were red like coral.\par Their beards were sapphire stones.\par

⁸ But now their faces are blacker than soot.\par No one even recognizes them in the streets.\par Their skin is wrinkled over their bones.\par Their skin is like wood.\par

⁹ The people that were killed by the sword\par had it better than\par the people that were killed by famine.\par The starving people were very sad.\par They were hurt.\par They died because they got no food\par from the field.\par

¹⁰ At that time, even very nice women\par cooked their own children.\par Those children became food\par for their mothers.\par This happened when my people\par were destroyed.\par

¹¹ The Lord used all of his anger.\par He poured out all his anger.\par He made a fire in Zion. {\cf2\super [31]} \par That fire burned down Zion\par to its foundations.\par

¹² The kings of the earth could not believe\par what had happened.\par The people of the world could not believe\par what had happened.\par They could not believe\par that enemies would be able to come\par through the city gates of Jerusalem.\par

¹³ This happened because the prophets\par of Jerusalem sinned.\par This happened because the priests\par of Jerusalem did evil things.\par Those people were shedding blood\par in the city of Jerusalem.\par They were shedding the blood\par of good people.\par

¹⁴ The prophets and priests walked around\par like blind men in the streets.\par They had become dirty with blood.\par No one could even touch their clothes\par because they were dirty.\par

¹⁵ People shouted,\par “Go away!\par Go away!\par Don’t touch us.”\par Those people wandered around\par and had no home.\par People in other nations said,\par “We don’t want them to live with us.”\par

¹⁶ The Lord himself destroyed those people.\par He didn’t look after them anymore.\par He didn’t respect the priests.\par He was not friendly to the elders of Judah.\par

¹⁷ We have worn out our eyes\par looking for help.\par But no help comes.\par We kept on looking for a nation to save us.\par We kept watch from our watchtower,\par But no nation came to us.\par

¹⁸ Our enemies hunted us all the time.\par We could not even go out into the streets.\par Our end came near. Our time was up.\par Our end came!\par

¹⁹ The men that chased us\par were faster than eagles in the sky.\par Those men chased us into the mountains.\par They hid in the desert to catch us.\par

²⁰ The king was very important to us.\par He was like the breath we breathe.\par But the king was trapped by them.\par The king was chosen by the Lord himself.\par We had said about the king,\par “We will live in his shadow.\par He protects us from the nations.”\par

²¹ Be happy, people of Edom.\par Be happy, you people that live\par in the land of Uz.\par But remember, the cup of the Lord’s anger\par will come around to you, too.\par When you drink from that cup (punishment),\par you will get drunk\par and will make yourselves naked.\par

²² Your punishment is complete, Zion. {\cf2\super [32]} \par You will not go into captivity again.\par But the Lord will punish your sins,\par people of Edom.\par He will uncover your sins.\par