Lamentations 4 GNT/NIV - Online Parallel Bible

Good News Translation (GNT) New International Version (NIV)
1 Our glittering gold has grown dull; the stones of the Temple lie scattered in the streets. 1 How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street.
2 Zion's young people were as precious to us as gold, but now they are treated like common clay pots. 2 How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands!
3 Even a mother wolf will nurse her cubs, but my people are like ostriches, cruel to their young. 3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert.
4 They let their babies die of hunger and thirst; children are begging for food that no one will give them. 4 Because of thirst the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them.
5 People who once ate the finest foods die starving in the streets; those raised in luxury are pawing through garbage for food. 5 Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those nurtured in purple now lie on ash heaps.
6 My people have been punished even more than the inhabitants of Sodom, which met a sudden downfall at the hands of God. 6 The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her.
7 Our princes were undefiled and pure as snow, vigorous and strong, glowing with health. 7 Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.
8 Now they lie unknown in the streets, their faces blackened in death; their skin, dry as wood, has shriveled on their bones. 8 But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.
9 Those who died in the war were better off than those who died later, who starved slowly to death, with no food to keep them alive. 9 Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.
10 The disaster that came to my people brought horror; loving mothers boiled their own children for food. 10 With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.
11 The Lord turned loose the full force of his fury; he lit a fire in Zion that burned it to the ground. 11 The LORD has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.
12 No one anywhere, not even rulers of foreign nations, believed that any invader could enter Jerusalem's gates. 12 The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 But it happened, because her prophets sinned and her priests were guilty of causing the death of innocent people. 13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.
14 Her leaders wandered through the streets as though blind, so stained with blood that no one would touch them. 14 Now they grope through the streets like men who are blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments.
16 The Lord had no more concern for them; he scattered them himself. He showed no regard for our priests and leaders. 16 The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.
17 For help that never came, we looked until we could look no longer. We kept waiting for help from a nation that had none to give. 17 Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 The enemy was watching for us; we could not even walk in the streets. Our days were over; the end had come. 18 Men stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.
19 Swifter than eagles swooping from the sky, they chased us down. They tracked us down in the hills; they took us by surprise in the desert. 19 Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert.
20 They captured the source of our life, the king the Lord had chosen, the one we had trusted to protect us from every invader. 20 The LORD's anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations.
21 Laugh on, people of Edom and Uz; be glad while you can. Your disaster is coming too; you too will stagger naked in shame. 21 Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked.