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.
Our skin is hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine.
For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.
My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with heat.
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!
Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale.
How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter's hands!
As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out.
The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest. With great force my garment is disfigured; it binds me about like the collar of my tunic. God has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.
And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven.
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.