1 א (Alef) Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner. 2 ב (Bet) The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold—Alas!—but now they are treated like broken clay pots, made by a potter. 3 ג (Gimel) Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness. 4 ד (Dalet) The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel. 5 ה (He) Those who once feasted on delicacies are now starving to death in the streets. Those who grew up wearing expensive clothes are now dying amid garbage.

1 (Alph) How gold will grow dim; the good silver will be altered! Consecrated stones were poured out at the beginning of all exits. 2 (Beth) The precious sons of Sion who were lifted up with gold — how they were reckoned as earthen pots, works of a potter’s hands. 3 (Gimel) Indeed, dragons bared their breasts; their whelps sucked; the daughters of my people are incorrigible, like an ostrich in the wilderness. 4 (Daleth) The tongue of the suckling stuck to its throat with thirst; babes begged for food; there was no one to break it up for them. 5 (Hey) Those who eat delicacies were put away in the exits; those nursed in scarlet wrapped themselves in dung.