Gold, Sanctuary Stones, and Children Devalued

Gold dims, and sanctuary stones lie in the street

How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. The fourth acrostic measures catastrophe by what was treated as precious.

The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter. Children are persons, not symbols of institutional decline.

Precious children are treated as clay, and bread does not come

Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. Sea monsters likely represents jackals or another wild creature; the comparison concerns collapsed nurture under famine, not a verdict that mothers became naturally cruel.

The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets. The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. Sodom here compares sudden overthrow with Zion's prolonged, humanly mediated suffering; it is not a code for a modern group.