LAMENTATIONS
1
The Sorrows of Zion
1 How
Alonely sits the city
That was
Bfull of people!
She has become like a
Cwidow
Who was
once Dgreat among the nations!
She who was a princess among the
1provinces
Has become a
Eforced laborer!
2 She
Aweeps bitterly in the night
And her tears are on her cheeks;
She has none to comfort her
All her friends have
Cdealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
3 AJudah has gone into exile
1under affliction
And
1under
2harsh servitude;
She dwells
Bamong the nations,
But she has found no rest;
All
Cher pursuers have overtaken her
In the midst of
3distress.
4 The roads
1of Zion are in mourning
Because
Ano one comes to the appointed feasts.
All her gates are
Bdesolate;
Her priests are groaning,
Her
Cvirgins are afflicted,
And she herself
2is
Dbitter.
5 Her adversaries have become
1her masters,
For the Loʀᴅ has
Acaused her grief
Because of the multitude of her transgressions;
Her little ones have gone away
As captives before the adversary.
Has departed from the daughter of Zion;
Her princes have become like deer
That have found no pasture;
And they have
1Bfled without strength
Before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and homelessness
AJerusalem remembers all her precious things
That were from the days of old,
When her people fell into the hand of the adversary
The adversaries saw her,
They
Cmocked at her
1ruin.
8 Jerusalem sinned
Agreatly,
Therefore
Bshe has become an unclean thing.
All who honored her despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness;
Even
Cshe herself groans and turns away.
9 Her
Auncleanness was in her skirts;
She
1did not consider her
Bfuture.
Therefore she has
2Cfallen astonishingly;
“
ESee, O Loʀᴅ, my affliction,
For the enemy has
Fmagnified himself!”
10 The adversary has stretched out his hand
Over all her precious things,
For she has seen the
Anations enter her sanctuary,
The ones whom You commanded
That they should
Bnot enter into Your congregation.
11 All her people groan
Aseeking bread;
They have given their precious things for food
To
Brestore their
1lives themselves.
“See, O Loʀᴅ, and look,
12 “Is
Ait nothing to all you who pass this way?
Look and see if there is any
1pain like my
1pain
Which was severely dealt out to me,
Which the
BLoʀᴅ inflicted on the day of His
Cfierce anger.
13 “From on high He sent fire into my
Abones,
And it
1prevailed
over them. He has spread a
Bnet for my feet;
He has turned me back;
He has made me
Cdesolate,
14 “The
Ayoke of my transgressions is bound;
By His hand they are knit together.
They have
Bcome upon my neck;
He has made my strength
1fail.
The Lord
Chas given me into the hands
Of those against whom I am not able to stand.
15 “The
ALord has rejected all my strong men
In my midst;
He has called an appointed
1time against me
The Lord has
Ctrodden
as in a wine press
The virgin daughter of Judah.
16 “For these things I
Aweep;
1My eyes run down with water;
Because far from me is a
Bcomforter,
One who restores my soul.
My children are desolate
Because the enemy has prevailed.”
17 Zion
Astretches out her hands;
There is no one to comfort her;
The Loʀᴅ has
Bcommanded concerning Jacob
That the ones round about him should be his adversaries;
CJerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.
18 “The Loʀᴅ is
Arighteous;
For I have
Brebelled against His
1command;
Hear now, all peoples,
DMy virgins and my young men
Have gone into captivity.
19 “I
Acalled to my lovers,
but they deceived me;
My
Bpriests and my elders perished in the city
While they sought food to
Crestore
1their strength themselves.
20 “See, O Loʀᴅ, for I am in distress;
My
1Aspirit is greatly troubled;
My heart is overturned within me,
For I have been very
Brebellious.
In the street the sword
2slays;
In the house it is like death.
21 “They have heard that I
Agroan;
There is no one to comfort me;
All my enemies have heard of my
1calamity;
They are
Bglad that You have done
it. Oh, that You would bring the day which You have proclaimed,
That they may become
Clike me.
22 “Let all their wickedness come before You;
And
Adeal with them as You have dealt with me
For all my transgressions;
For my groans are many and my heart is faint.”