Lamentations 4
1 [Previously our people were like] [MET] pure gold, but now they are worthless. [Like] [MET] the sacred stones in the temple have been scattered, [our young men have been scattered].
¡Cómo se ha empañado el oro! ¡Incluso el oro puro ha perdido su brillo! Las joyas del Templohan sido esparcidas por todas las esquinas.
2 The young men of Jerusalem were as valuable as [MET] large amounts of gold, but now people consider that they are as worthless as [ordinary] clay pots.
¡Mira cómo el precioso pueblo de Sión, que vale su peso en oro, es ahora valorado como jarras de arcilla baratas hechas por un alfarero!
3 Even the [female] jackals/wolves feed their pups, but my people act cruelly [toward their children]; they are like [SIM] ostriches in the desert [that abandon their eggs].
Hasta los chacales amamantan a sus crías en sus pechos, pero las mujeres de mi pueblo se han vuelto crueles, como un avestruz en el desierto.
4 [My people’s] infants’ tongues cling to the roofs/tops of their mouths because they are [extremely] thirsty; the children plead for some food, but no one gives them [any].
Los lactantes tienen tanta sed que la lengua se les pega al paladar. Los niños pequeños piden comida, pero nadie les da nada.
5 People who [previously] ate fine food are [now] starving in the streets; those who previously lived luxuriously [MTY] [now] paw/dig through rubbish heaps [to find some food].
Los que solían comer comida exquisita ahora mueren de hambre en las calles. Los que se vestían con ropas finas en su infancia viven ahora en montones de basura.
6 [The people of] Sodom were struck with a disaster very suddenly, and there was no one to rescue them; but my people have been punished more severely than [the people of] Sodom were punished.
Jerusalén el castigo es peor que el de la pecadora Sodoma, que fue destruida en un breve momento, sin ayuda de manos humanas.
7 Our leaders’ [behavior] was [previously] very pure, whiter [and brighter] than snow and milk; their bodies were redder than [red] coral/stones; they were very strong and healthy [MET].
Sus líderes eran más puros que la nieve, más blancos que la leche; sus cuerpos eran de un rojo más saludable que el coral, y brillaban como el lapislázuli.
8 But now their faces are blacker than soot, and no one recognizes them in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones, and it has become as dry as [SIM] a wooden [stick].
Pero ahora parecen más negros que el hollín; nadie los reconoce en la calle. Su piel se ha encogido hasta los huesos y está seca como la madera.
9 It is better to die in a battle [MTY] than to die of hunger. There was no food to harvest in the fields, so the people slowly starved until they died.
Los muertos por la espada están mejor que los que mueren de hambre, que se consumen lentamente en la agonía porque los campos no producen cosechas.
10 Women who [usually/previously] were very kind have [killed and] cooked their own children; they ate them [when there was no other food], when Jerusalem was surrounded [by enemy soldiers].
Las manos de las mujeres amantes han cocinado a sus propios hijos para alimentarse durante la destrucción de Jerusalén.
11 Yahweh has shown that he was extremely angry; [it is as though] he started/ignited a fire in Jerusalem that burned everything to ashes.
El Señor ha dado plena expresión a su ira. Ha derramado su furia. Ha encendido un fuego en Sión, y ha quemado hasta sus mismos cimientos.
12 None of the kings on the earth or anyone else believed that any of our enemies could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
Ningún rey de la tierra – de hecho, nadie en todo el mundo – pensó que un enemigo o atacante pudiera entrar por las puertas de Jerusalén.
13 [But that is what happened]; it happened because the prophets sinned; and the priests [also] sinned by causing innocent people to be executed [MTY].
Pero esto sucedió por los pecados de sus profetas y la maldad de sus sacerdotes, que derramaron la sangre de los inocentes allí mismo, en la ciudad.
14 The prophets and priests wandered through the streets [as though they were] blind. No one would touch them because their clothes were stained with the blood [of people who had been killed].
Ellos vagaban como ciegos por las calles, impuros por esta sangre, de modo que nadie quería tocar sus ropas.
15 The people [who were alive] shouted, “Stay away [from us] [DOU]! You are defiled/untouchable! Do not touch us!” So the prophets and priests fled [from Israel], and they wandered around from one country to another, because people [in each country] kept saying to them, “You cannot stay here!”
“¡Vete! ¡Eres impuro!”, les gritaba la gente, “¡Váyanse! ¡No nos toquen!” Así que huyeron y vagaron de país en país, pero la gente de allí les decía: “¡No pueden quedarse aquí!”
16 It is Yahweh himself who has scattered them; he no longer is concerned about them. People do not respect [our] priests or leaders.
El Señor mismo los ha dispersado y ya no cuida de ellos. Nadie respeta a los sacerdotes, y nadie admira a los líderes.
17 We [SYN] continued to look for someone to help [us], but it was useless. We continued to watch to see if one of our allies would save us, but none of the nations that we were waiting for could help [us].
Desgastamos nuestros ojos buscando inútilmente ayuda todo el tiempo; vigilamos desde nuestras torres que venga una nación que no pueda salvarnos.
18 [Our] enemies were hunting for us, so we could not [even] walk in our streets [lest they seize us]. We were about to be captured; it was time for us to be killed.
El enemigo rastreó cada uno de nuestros movimientos para que no pudiéramos caminar por nuestras calles. Nuestro fin se acercaba. Nuestro tiempo se acabó porque nuestro fin había llegado.
19 Those who pursued us were faster than eagles [flying] in the sky. Even if we fled to the mountains or hid in the desert, they [went there ahead of us and] waited [to attack] us.
Nuestros perseguidores eran más rápidos que las águilas en el cielo. Nos persiguieron por las montañas y nos emboscaron en el desierto.
20 [Our king, ] whom Yahweh appointed, was the one who enabled us to remain alive [MTY]; he was the one whom we trusted to protect us [IDM] from [the armies of] other nations. But he was [captured] [like animals are] [MET] caught in a pit.
El rey, el ungido del Señor, el “aliento de vida” de nuestra nación, fue atrapado y capturado por ellos. Habíamos dicho de él: “Bajo su protección viviremos entre las naciones”.
21 You people of [IDM] Edom and Uz, [you may] be happy [about what is happening to us now], but [Yahweh] will be punishing [MTY] you [also]. You will become drunk and will be ashamed [because your enemies] will have stripped off your clothes.
Celebren y alégrense mientras puedan, pueblo de Edom, ustedes que viven en la tierra de Uz, porque esta copa se les pasará a ustedes también. Ustedes se embriagarán y se desnudarán.
22 You [people of] [APO] Jerusalem, the time of your being punished will end; Yahweh will not allow you to continue to live in (exile/foreign countries). But [you people of] [APO] Edom, Yahweh will punish [you]; he will reveal the wicked things that you have done.
Pueblo de Sión, tu castigo está llegando a su fin: no continuará tu exilio por mucho tiempo. Pero él va a castigar tus pecados, pueblo de Edom; él revelará tus pecados.
