Lamentations 4:6-8

Contemporary English Version

^6 (A) My nation was punished worse
    than the people of Sodom,
whose city was destroyed
in a flash without the help
    of human hands.^[a]
7 The leaders of Jerusalem
were purer than snow
    and whiter than milk;
their bodies were healthy
    and glowed like jewels.^[b]
8 Now they are blacker than tar,
    and no one recognizes them;
their skin clings to their bones
    and is drier than firewood.