1Look at how the gold has lost its brightness!
See how dull the fine gold has become!
The sacred jewels are scattered
at every street corner.
2The priceless children of Zion
were worth their weight in gold.
But now they are thought of as clay pots
made by the hands of a potter.
3Even wild dogs
nurse their young pups.
But my people are as mean
as ostriches in the desert.
4When the babies get thirsty,
their tongues stick to the roofs of their mouths.
When the children beg for bread,
no one gives them any.
5Those who once ate fine food
are dying in the streets.
Those who wore royal clothes
are now lying on piles of trash.
6My people have been punished
more than Sodom was.
It was destroyed in a moment.
No one offered it a helping hand.
7Jerusalem’s princes were brighter than snow.
They were whiter than milk.
Their bodies were redder than rubies.
They looked like lapis lazuli.
8But now they are blacker than coal.
No one even recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin is wrinkled on their bones.
It has become as dry as a stick.
9Those killed by swords are better off
than those who die of hunger.
Those who are hungry waste away to nothing.
They don’t have any food from the fields.
10With their own hands, loving mothers
have had to cook even their own children.
They ate their children
when my people were destroyed.
11The Lord has become very angry.
He has poured out his burning anger.
He started a fire in Zion.
It burned its foundations.
12The kings of the earth couldn’t believe what was happening.
Neither could any of the peoples of the world.
Enemies actually attacked and entered
the gates of Jerusalem.
13It happened because Jerusalem’s prophets had sinned.
Her priests had done evil things.
All of them spilled the blood
of those who did what was right.
14Now those prophets and priests
have to feel their way along the streets
as if they were blind.
The blood of those they killed has made them “unclean.”
So no one dares to touch their clothes.
15“Go away! You are ‘unclean’!”
people cry out to them.
“Go away! Get out of here!
Don’t touch us!”
So they run away and wander around.
Then people among the nations say,
“They can’t stay here anymore.”
16The Lord himself has scattered them.
He doesn’t watch over them anymore.
No one shows the priests any respect.
No one honors the elders.
17And that’s not all. Our eyes grew tired.
We looked for help that never came.
We watched from our towers.
We kept looking for a nation that couldn’t save us.
18People hunted us down no matter where we went.
We couldn’t even walk in our streets.
Our end was near, so we only had a few days to live.
Our end had come.
19Those who were hunting us down were faster
than eagles in the sky.
They chased us over the mountains.
They hid and waited for us in the desert.
20Zedekiah, the Lord’s anointed king, was our last hope.
But he was caught in their traps.
We thought he would keep us safe.
We expected to continue living among the nations.
21People of Edom, be joyful.
You who live in the land of Uz, be glad.
But the cup of the Lord’s anger will also be passed to you.
Then you will become drunk.
Your clothes will be stripped off.
22People of Zion, the time for you to be punished
will come to an end.
The Lord won’t keep you away from your land any longer.
But he will punish your sin, people of Edom.
He will show everyone the evil things you have done.
淪陷的耶路撒冷
1黃金竟失去光澤，
純金竟變色，
寶石竟被棄之街頭。
2錫安的寶貝子民本來貴如黃金，
現在竟被視為陶匠製作的瓦器！
3豺狼尚且哺養自己的幼兒，
我的子民卻像荒野的鴕鳥一樣殘忍無情。
4嬰兒乾渴難忍，舌頭緊貼上膛；
孩童乞求食物，卻無人給予。
5昔日錦衣玉食、生活奢侈的，
如今卻流落街頭，
躺臥在糞堆中。
6雖然無人攻擊，所多瑪卻在頃刻之間傾覆。
我子民比所多瑪受到的懲罰更重。
7錫安的首領曾比雪純淨，
比奶更白，
身體比紅寶石更紅潤，
相貌美如藍寶石。
8現在，他們的面目比煤炭還黑，
走在街上無人認得。
他們骨瘦如柴，乾如枯木。
9死於刀下的勝過死於饑餓的，
後者因田間缺糧而活活餓死。
10我的百姓遭毀滅時，
慈母親手煮自己的兒女充饑。
11耶和華大發烈怒，
傾倒祂的怒氣，
在錫安燃起大火，
焚毀城的根基。
12世上的君王和居民都不相信敵人能闖進耶路撒冷的城門。
13這都是因為她的先知和祭司的罪行。
他們在城中殺害義人。
14他們如盲人在街上遊蕩，
沾滿血污，
無人敢碰他們的衣服。
15人們向他們喊道：
「走開！你們是不潔的！
走開！走開！不要靠近我們。」
於是他們逃亡、流蕩，
列國的人說：
「他們不可住在我們這裡。」
16耶和華親自驅散他們，
不再眷顧他們；
人們不再尊重祭司，
也不再敬重長老。
17我們望眼欲穿，
盼望援軍的到來，
盼來的國家卻無力拯救我們。
18敵人步步緊逼，
使我們不敢上自己的街。
我們的結局近了，
我們的日子到頭了，
我們的末日來了！
19追趕我們的人比飛鷹更快，
他們在山上追捕我們，
在曠野伏擊我們。
20耶和華膏立的王——我們的生命之氣落入他們的陷阱。
我們原希望藉他的蔭庇立足於列國中。
21烏斯地區的以東人啊，
只管歡喜作樂吧！
因為盛滿耶和華憤怒的杯也要傳到你們那裡。
你們必喝醉，以致赤身露體。
22錫安城啊！你已經受到了應得的刑罰，
耶和華必不再使你流亡。
以東啊，耶和華要懲罰你，
揭露你的罪惡！
