How we cite our quotes: (Chapter:Verse)
Quote #7
Look, O Lord, and consider! To whom have you done this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have borne? (NRSV 2:20)
Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? (KJV 2:20)
Maternal cannibalism is a pretty horrific image and the author uses it for maximum shock value. You can see how the natural order of things is completely upside down in this desolate place.
Quote #8
My eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the young women in my city. (NRSV 3:51)
Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city. (KJV 3:51)
The author doesn't want to say it, but we can probably guess what the fate of young, vulnerable women would be in a city under siege. Actually, we don't have to guess, because we know what often happens in our own day during wartime. Rape is a way of further destroying a culture, by replacing the population with children fathered by the conquerors. It's a powerful weapon of terror.
Quote #9
Even the jackals offer the breast and nurse their young, but my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives them anything. (NRSV 4:3-4)
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. 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. (KJV 4:3-4)
Again, the author tells us to "think of the children!" A starving woman has nothing to offer her nursing baby. Children, because their bodies are growing, are the most vulnerable to famine. And starvation is as effective a weapon as fire in the destruction of a city.