The Holy Stones Lie Scattered
1 [Isa. 1:22;Jer. 6:30] How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The holy stones lie scattered
ch. 2:19at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
worth their weight in Ps. 19:10fine gold,
how they are regarded as See Jer. 19:11earthen pots,
the work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young;
but the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the nursing infant Ps. 22:15sticks
to the roof of its mouth for thirst;
[ch. 2:11]the children beg for food,
but no one gives to them.
5 Those who once feasted on delicacies
perish in the streets;
[2 Sam. 1:24]those who were brought up in purple
embrace ash heaps.
6 Matt. 10:15;Luke 10:12For the chastisement4:6 Or iniquity of the daughter of my people has been greater
than the punishment4:6 Or sin of Sodom,
Gen. 19:25;2 Pet. 2:6;Jude 7which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
7 Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
the beauty of their form4:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain was like sapphire.4:7 Hebrew lapis lazuli
8 ch. 5:10;Job 30:30;[Ps. 119:83]Now their face is blacker than soot;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin has shriveled on their bones;
it has become as dry as wood.
9 Happier were the victims of the sword
than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
by lack of the fruits of the field.
10 See Jer. 19:9The hands of [1 Kgs. 3:26;Isa. 49:15] compassionate women
[2 Kgs. 6:29] have boiled their own children;
Deut. 28:57they became their food
during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 Ezek. 5:13The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;
he poured out his hot anger,
and See Jer. 17:27he kindled a fire in Zion
that consumed its foundations.
12 [Isa. 52:15;53:1]The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor any of the inhabitants of the world,
that foe or enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
13 This was for [ch. 2:20]; See Jer. 5:31; 23:21the sins of her prophets
and [ch. 2:20]; See Jer. 5:31; 23:21the iniquities of her priests,
who shed in the midst of her
the blood of the righteous.
14 [Isa. 59:10] They wandered, blind, through the streets;
they were so defiled with blood
[Num. 19:16]that no one was able to touch
their garments.
15 "Away! [Lev. 13:45]Unclean!" people cried at them.
"Away! Away! Do not touch!"
So they became fugitives and wanderers;
people said among the nations,
"They shall stay with us no longer."
16 ch. 2:17The Lord himself4:16 Hebrew The face of the Lord has scattered them;
he will regard them no more;
[Isa. 24:2] no honor was shown to the priests,
ch. 5:12no favor to the elders.
17 Ps. 119:82,123;[Jer. 3:23] Our eyes failed, ever watching
Ps. 119:82,123;[Jer. 3:23] vainly for help;
in our watching we watched
for Jer. 37:7,8a nation which could not save.
18 ch. 3:52They dogged our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets;
Ezek. 7:2,3,6;Amos 8:2our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were Jer. 4:13;[2 Sam. 1:23;Hab. 1:8]swifter
than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 [Gen. 2:7] The breath of our nostrils, [ch. 2:9;2 Kgs. 25:5,6] the Lord’s anointed,
was captured [Ezek. 12:13;17:20;19:4,8] in their pits,
of whom we said, [Judg. 9:15;Ezek. 31:6,17]"Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations."
21 [ch. 1:21] Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in Job 1:1;Jer. 25:20the land of Uz;
but to you also See Jer. 25:15,16the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22 [Isa. 40:2] The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
he will keep you in exile no longer;4:22 Or he will not exile you again
but Obad. 10your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;
he will uncover your sins.
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