Her princes were purer than snow,
    whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
    the beauty of their form[a] was like sapphire.[b]

(A)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.

Happier were the victims of the sword
    than the victims of hunger,
who wasted away, pierced
    by lack of the fruits of the field.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 4:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  2. Lamentations 4:7 Hebrew lapis lazuli

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