Lamentations 4:17-19

Revised Standard Version

¹⁷ Our eyes failed, ever watching
    vainly for help;
in our watching^[a] we watched
    for a nation which could not save.

¹⁸ Men dogged our steps
    so that we could not walk in our streets;
our end drew near; our days were numbered;
    for our end had come.

¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter
    than the vultures in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains,
    they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.