\NormalFont\ShortTitle{LAMENTATIONS}

{\MT Lamentations



\par }\ChapOne{1}{\SH The Prophet Speaks Out: No One Offers Comfort
\par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}\FTNT{*}{{\FR 1:1 }{\FT{Chapter 1 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.}}}“Look how deserted Jerusalem is!

\par }{\Q Once the city was crowded with people.

\par }{\Q Once it was important among the nations.

\par }{\Q Now it is a widow.

\par }{\Q Once it was a princess among the provinces.

\par }{\Q Now it does forced labor.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}Jerusalem cries bitterly at night with tears running down its cheeks.

\par }{\Q Out of all those who love the city, no one offers it comfort.

\par }{\Q All of Jerusalem’s friends have betrayed it and become its enemies.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{3}“Judah has been exiled after
{\ADD{⌞much⌟}} suffering and harsh treatment.

\par }{\Q Its
{\ADD{⌞people⌟}} live among the nations; they find no rest.

\par }{\Q Those who chased them caught up with them

\par }{\Q in places where there was no way out.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{4}“The roads to Zion are deserted.\FTNT{†}{{\FR 1:4 }{\FT{Or
}}{\FQA{“are in mourning.”}}}

\par }{\Q No one comes to the annual festivals.

\par }{\Q No one passes through any of its gates.\FTNT{‡}{{\FR 1:4 }{\FT{Or
}}{\FQA{“All its gates are in despair.”}}}

\par }{\Q Its priests are groaning.

\par }{\Q Its young women are made to suffer.

\par }{\Q Zion is bitter.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Its opponents are now in control.

\par }{\Q Its enemies have no worries.

\par }{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} made Zion suffer for its many rebellious acts.

\par }{\Q Its children go ahead of their opponents into captivity.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}All splendor has abandoned the people of Zion.

\par }{\Q Its influential people were like deer that couldn’t find any pasture.

\par }{\Q They ran without any strength ahead of the hunters.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{7}“Now, during its suffering and oppression,

\par }{\Q Jerusalem remembers all the treasures it had from ancient times,

\par }{\Q when its people fell into the power of their enemies

\par }{\Q with no one to help them.

\par }{\Q Their opponents looked on, and they laughed at Jerusalem’s downfall.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Jerusalem has sinned so much that it has become a filthy thing.

\par }{\Q Everyone who used to honor it now despises it.

\par }{\Q They’ve seen it naked.

\par }{\Q Jerusalem groans and turns away.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Jerusalem’s own filth
{\ADD{⌞covers⌟}} its clothes.

\par }{\Q It gave no thought to its future.

\par }{\Q Its downfall was shocking.

\par }{\Q No one offers it comfort.

\par }{\Q ‘O
{\ND{Lord}}, look at my suffering,

\par }{\Q because my enemies have triumphed.’


\par }{\Q \VS{10}The enemies laid their hands on all of the city’s treasures.

\par }{\Q Jerusalem has seen the nations enter the holy place.

\par }{\Q ‘O Lord, they are the same people

\par }{\Q you have forbidden to enter your congregation.’


\par }{\Q \VS{11}All the people are groaning as they beg for bread.

\par }{\Q They trade their treasures for food to keep themselves alive.

\par }{\Q ‘O
{\ND{Lord}}, look and see how despised I am!’ ”


\par }{\SH Zion Speaks Out: No One Offers Comfort
\par }
{\Q \VS{12}“Doesn’t this affect all of you who pass by?

\par }{\Q Look and see if there’s any pain

\par }{\Q like the pain that the
{\ND{Lord}} has caused me,

\par }{\Q like the pain that he has made me suffer on the day of his fierce anger.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}He sent fire from above.

\par }{\Q He made it go deep into my bones.

\par }{\Q He spread a net for my feet.

\par }{\Q He made me turn back.

\par }{\Q He has left me devastated.

\par }{\Q He has made me sick all day long.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}My rebellious acts are a heavy burden for me.

\par }{\Q They were tied together by God’s own hands.

\par }{\Q They were tied around my neck.

\par }{\Q He has weakened me
{\ADD{⌞with them⌟}}.

\par }{\Q The Lord has handed me over to people I cannot oppose.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}The Lord has treated all the warriors inside my
{\ADD{⌞walls⌟}} with contempt.

\par }{\Q He called an army to defeat my young men.

\par }{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} trampled the people of Judah in a winepress.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}I’m crying because of
{\ADD{⌞all⌟}} these things.

\par }{\Q My eyes—my eyes flow with tears.

\par }{\Q No one can give me the comfort I need to keep me alive.

\par }{\Q Everyone is too far away from me.

\par }{\Q My children are devastated because my enemies have won.”


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{17}Zion holds out its hands.

\par }{\Q No one offers it comfort.

\par }{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} has given this order about Jacob:

\par }{\Q His own neighbors will become his opponents.

\par }{\Q Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{18}“The
{\ND{Lord}} is right in what he did,

\par }{\Q because I rebelled against his word.

\par }{\Q Please listen, all you people, and look at my pain.

\par }{\Q My young women and young men have gone into captivity.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}I called for those who love me, but they betrayed me.

\par }{\Q My priests and leaders breathed their last breath in the city,

\par }{\Q looking for food to keep themselves alive.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{20}“O
{\ND{Lord}}, see the distress I’m in!

\par }{\Q My stomach is churning.

\par }{\Q My heart is pounding because I’ve been very bitter.

\par }{\Q In the streets swords kill my children.

\par }{\Q Inside the houses it’s like death.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{21}“All my enemies have heard that I am groaning.

\par }{\Q No one offers me comfort.

\par }{\Q All my enemies have heard about my disaster.

\par }{\Q They are happy that you did it.

\par }{\Q You have allowed the day to come, the one that you had announced.

\par }{\Q Let my enemies be like me now.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}Recall all of their wickedness.

\par }{\Q Then deal with them as you have dealt with me

\par }{\Q because of all my rebellious acts.

\par }{\Q I groan so much and feel so sick at heart.”




\par }\Chap{2}{\SH The Prophet Speaks Out: the
{\ND{LORD}} Destroyed Zion
\par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}\FTNT{*}{{\FR 2:1 }{\FT{Chapter 2 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.}}}“Look how the Lord has covered the people of Zion

\par }{\Q with the cloud of his anger!

\par }{\Q He has thrown down Israel’s beauty from heaven to earth.

\par }{\Q He didn’t
{\ADD{⌞even⌟}} remember his footstool on the day of his anger.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}The Lord swallowed up all of Jacob’s pastures without any pity.

\par }{\Q He tore down the fortified cities of Judah in his fury.

\par }{\Q He brought the kingdom
{\ADD{⌞of Judah⌟}} and its leaders

\par }{\Q down to the ground in dishonor.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}In his burning anger he cut off all of Israel’s strength.

\par }{\Q He withdrew his right hand when they faced their enemy.

\par }{\Q He burned like a raging fire in
{\ADD{⌞the land of⌟}} Jacob,

\par }{\Q destroying everything around him.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Like an enemy he bent his bow.

\par }{\Q Like an opponent his right hand held the arrow steady.

\par }{\Q He killed all the beautiful people.

\par }{\Q He poured out his fury like fire on the tent of Zion’s people.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}The Lord became an enemy.

\par }{\Q He swallowed up Israel.

\par }{\Q He swallowed up all of its palaces.

\par }{\Q He destroyed its strongholds.

\par }{\Q He made the people of Judah mourn and moan.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}He stripped his own booth as if it were a garden

\par }{\Q and destroyed his own festivals.

\par }{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} wiped out the memory of festivals and days of rest—holy days—in Zion.

\par }{\Q He expelled kings and priests because of his fierce anger.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}The Lord rejected his altar and disowned his holy place.

\par }{\Q He handed the walls of Zion’s palaces over to its enemies.

\par }{\Q The enemies made noise in the
{\ND{Lord}}’s temple

\par }{\Q as though it were a festival day.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}The
{\ND{Lord}} planned to destroy the wall of Zion’s people.

\par }{\Q He marked it off with a line.

\par }{\Q He didn’t take his hand away until he had swallowed it up.

\par }{\Q He made the towers and walls mourn.

\par }{\Q They are completely dejected.


\par }{\SH The Prophet Describes Jerusalem’s Destruction
\par }
{\Q \VS{9}“{\ADD{⌞Zion’s⌟}} gates have sunk into the ground.

\par }{\Q {\ADD{⌞The
{\ND{Lord}}⌟}} destroyed and shattered the bars across its
{\ADD{⌞gates⌟}}.

\par }{\Q Its king and influential people are
{\ADD{⌞scattered⌟}} among the nations.

\par }{\Q There is no longer any instruction
{\ADD{⌞from Moses’ Teachings⌟}}.

\par }{\Q Its prophets can find no visions from the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}The respected leaders of Zion’s people sit silently on the ground.

\par }{\Q They throw dirt on their heads and put on sackcloth.

\par }{\Q The young women of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}My eyes are worn out with tears.

\par }{\Q My stomach is churning.

\par }{\Q My heart is poured out on the ground

\par }{\Q because of the destruction of my people.

\par }{\Q Little children and infants faint in the city streets.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}They’re asking their mothers for some bread and wine

\par }{\Q as they faint like wounded people in the city streets.

\par }{\Q Their lives dwindle away in their mothers’ arms.


\par }{\SH The Prophet Speaks Out: the
{\ND{LORD}} Destroyed You
\par }
{\Q \VS{13}“What example can I give you?

\par }{\Q What parallel can I show you, people of Jerusalem?

\par }{\Q What comparison can I make that will comfort you, beloved people of Zion?

\par }{\Q Your wounds are as deep as the sea.

\par }{\Q Who can heal you?


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Your prophets saw misleading visions about you.

\par }{\Q They painted a good picture of you.

\par }{\Q They didn’t expose your guilt in order to make things better again.

\par }{\Q They gave you false prophecies that misled you.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Everyone who walks along the road shakes a fist at you.

\par }{\Q They hiss and shake their heads at Jerusalem’s people:

\par }{\Q ‘Is this the city they used to call absolutely beautiful,

\par }{\Q the joy of the whole world?’


\par }{\Q \VS{16}All your enemies gawk at you.

\par }{\Q They hiss and grit their teeth.

\par }{\Q They say, ‘We’ve swallowed it up.

\par }{\Q Yes, this is the day we’ve been waiting for.

\par }{\Q At last we have seen it!’


\par }{\Q \VS{17}The
{\ND{Lord}} has accomplished what he had planned to do.

\par }{\Q He carried out the threat he announced long ago.

\par }{\Q He tore you down without any pity,
{\ADD{⌞Jerusalem⌟}}.

\par }{\Q He made your enemies gloat over you.

\par }{\Q He raised the weapons of your opponents.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}The hearts of Jerusalem’s people

\par }{\Q cried out to the
{\ND{Lord}}, the wall of Zion’s people.

\par }{\Q Let your tears run down like a river day and night.

\par }{\Q Don’t let them stop.

\par }{\Q Don’t let your eyes rest.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Get up! Cry out at night, every hour on the hour.

\par }{\Q Pour your heart out like water in the presence of the
{\ND{Lord}}.

\par }{\Q Lift up your hands to him
{\ADD{⌞in prayer⌟}}

\par }{\Q for the life of your little children

\par }{\Q who faint from hunger at every street corner.”


\par }{\SH Zion Speaks Out: the
{\ND{LORD}} Destroyed Me
\par }
{\Q \VS{20}“O
{\ND{Lord}}, look and consider:

\par }{\Q Have you ever treated anyone like this?

\par }{\Q Should women eat their own children,

\par }{\Q the children they have nursed?

\par }{\Q Should priests and prophets be killed in the Lord’s holy place?


\par }{\Q \VS{21}Young and old lie on the ground in the streets.

\par }{\Q My young women and men are cut down by swords.

\par }{\Q You killed them on the day of your anger.

\par }{\Q You slaughtered them without any pity.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}You have invited those who terrorize me on every side,

\par }{\Q as though they were invited to a festival.

\par }{\Q No one escaped or survived on the day of the
{\ND{Lord}}’s anger.

\par }{\Q My enemy has murdered the children I nursed and raised.”




\par }\Chap{3}{\SH The Prophet—a Man of Despair
\par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}\FTNT{*}{{\FR 3:1 }{\FT{Chapter 3 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.}}}“I am the man who has experienced suffering under the rod of God’s fury.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}God has driven me away

\par }{\Q and made me walk in darkness instead of light.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}He beat me again and again all day long.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}He has made my flesh and my skin waste away.

\par }{\Q He has broken my bones.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}He has attacked me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}He has made me live in darkness,

\par }{\Q like those who died a long time ago.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}He has blocked me so that I can’t get out.

\par }{\Q He has put heavy chains on me.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Even when I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}He has blocked my way with cut stones and made my paths crooked.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}He is like a bear waiting to ambush me, like a lion in hiding.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}He has forced me off the road I was taking, torn me to pieces,

\par }{\Q and left me with nothing.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}He has shot the arrows from his quiver into my heart.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}I have become a laughingstock to all my people.

\par }{\Q All day long
{\ADD{⌞they make fun of me⌟}} with their songs.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}He has filled me with bitterness.

\par }{\Q He has made me drink wormwood.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}He has ground my teeth with gravel.

\par }{\Q He has trampled me into the dust.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{17}“My soul has been kept from enjoying peace.

\par }{\Q I have forgotten what happiness is.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}I said, ‘I’ve lost my strength
{\ADD{⌞to live⌟}} and my hope in the
{\ND{Lord}}.’


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Remember my suffering and my
{\ADD{⌞aimless⌟}} wandering,

\par }{\Q the wormwood and poison.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}My soul continues to remember
{\ADD{⌞these things⌟}} and is so discouraged.


\par }{\SH The Prophet—a Man of Hope
\par }
{\Q \VS{21}“The reason I can
{\ADD{⌞still⌟}} find hope is that I keep this one thing in mind:


\par }{\Q \VS{22}the
{\ND{Lord}}’s mercy.

\par }{\Q We were not completely wiped out.

\par }{\Q His compassion is never limited.


\par }{\Q \VS{23}It is new every morning.

\par }{\Q His faithfulness is great.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}My soul can say, ‘The
{\ND{Lord}} is my lot
{\ADD{⌞in life⌟}}.

\par }{\Q That is why I find hope in him.’


\par }{\Q \VS{25}The
{\ND{Lord}} is good to those who wait for him,

\par }{\Q to anyone who seeks help from him.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{26}“It is good to continue to hope and wait silently

\par }{\Q for the
{\ND{Lord}} to save us.


\par }{\Q \VS{27}It is good for people to endure burdens when they’re young.


\par }{\Q \VS{28}They should sit alone and remain silent

\par }{\Q because the
{\ND{Lord}} has laid these burdens on them.


\par }{\Q \VS{29}They should put their mouths in the dust.

\par }{\Q Maybe a reason to hope exists.


\par }{\Q \VS{30}They should turn their cheeks to the one who strikes them

\par }{\Q and take their fill of insults.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{31}“The Lord will not reject
{\ADD{⌞such⌟}} people forever.


\par }{\Q \VS{32}Even if he makes us suffer,

\par }{\Q he will have compassion

\par }{\Q in keeping with the richness of his mercy.


\par }{\Q \VS{33}He does not willingly bring suffering or grief to anyone,


\par }{\Q \VS{34}crush any prisoner on earth underfoot,


\par }{\Q \VS{35}deny people their rights in the presence of the Most High God,


\par }{\Q \VS{36}or deprive people of justice in court.

\par }{\Q The Lord isn’t happy to see
{\ADD{⌞these things⌟}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{37}Who was it who spoke and it came into being?

\par }{\Q It was the Lord who gave the order.


\par }{\Q \VS{38}Both good and bad come from the mouth of the Most High God.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{39}“Why should any living mortal (any person)

\par }{\Q complain about being punished for sin?


\par }{\Q \VS{40}Let us look closely at our ways and examine them

\par }{\Q and then return to the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{41}Let us raise our hearts and hands to God in heaven.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{42}“We have been disobedient and rebellious.

\par }{\Q You haven’t forgiven us.


\par }{\Q \VS{43}You covered yourself with anger and pursued us.

\par }{\Q You killed without pity.


\par }{\Q \VS{44}You covered yourself with a cloud

\par }{\Q so that no prayer could get through it.


\par }{\Q \VS{45}You made us the scum and trash of the nations.


\par }{\Q \VS{46}All our enemies gawk at us.


\par }{\Q \VS{47}Panic and pitfalls have found us, so have devastation and destruction.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{48}“Streams of tears run down from my eyes

\par }{\Q over the ruin of my dear people.


\par }{\Q \VS{49}My eyes will keep flowing without stopping for a moment


\par }{\Q \VS{50}until the
{\ND{Lord}} looks down from heaven and sees.


\par }{\Q \VS{51}What I see with my eyes disturbs me deeply

\par }{\Q because of all the young women in my city.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{52}“Those who were my enemies for no reason hunted me like a bird.


\par }{\Q \VS{53}They threw me alive into a pit and threw rocks at me.


\par }{\Q \VS{54}Water flowed over my head. I thought I was finished.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{55}“I call your name from the deepest pit, O
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{56}Listen to my cry
{\ADD{⌞for help⌟}}.

\par }{\Q Don’t close your ears when I cry out for relief.


\par }{\Q \VS{57}Be close at hand when I call to you. You told me not to be afraid.


\par }{\Q \VS{58}Plead my case for me, O
{\ND{Lord}}. Reclaim my life.


\par }{\Q \VS{59}Look at the wrong that has been done to me, O
{\ND{Lord}}.

\par }{\Q Give me a fair verdict.


\par }{\Q \VS{60}Look at all their malice, all their plots against me.


\par }{\Q \VS{61}Listen to their insults, all their plots against me.


\par }{\Q \VS{62}The words and thoughts of those who attack me

\par }{\Q are directed against me all day long.


\par }{\Q \VS{63}Look at them! Whether they are sitting or standing,

\par }{\Q they make fun of me in their songs.


\par }{\Q \VS{64}Pay them back, O
{\ND{Lord}}, for what they deserve,

\par }{\Q for what their own hands have done.


\par }{\Q \VS{65}Make them stubborn. Let your curse be on them.


\par }{\Q \VS{66}Pursue them in anger, and wipe them out from under the
{\ND{Lord}}’s heaven.”




\par }\Chap{4}{\SH The Prophet Speaks Out: Zion’s Suffering Was Worse Than Sodom’s
\par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}\FTNT{*}{{\FR 4:1 }{\FT{Chapter 4 is a poem in Hebrew alphabetical order.}}}“Look how the gold has become tarnished!

\par }{\Q The fine gold has changed!

\par }{\Q The sacred stones are scattered at every street corner.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{2}“Zion’s precious children, who are worth their weight in fine gold,

\par }{\Q are now treated like clay pots,

\par }{\Q like those made by a potter’s hands.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young,

\par }{\Q but the women of my people are as cruel as wild ostriches.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}The tongues of nursing infants stick to the roofs of their mouths

\par }{\Q because of their thirst.

\par }{\Q Little children beg for bread,

\par }{\Q but no one will break off a piece for them.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Those who used to eat delicacies are now destitute in the streets.

\par }{\Q Those who used to wear expensive clothes now pick through piles of garbage.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}The punishment for my people’s wickedness has been more severe

\par }{\Q than the punishment for the sins of Sodom.

\par }{\Q Sodom was destroyed instantly, without one human hand touching it.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Zion’s princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk.

\par }{\Q Their bodies were more pink than coral.

\par }{\Q Their hair was like sapphires.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Their faces are
{\ADD{⌞now⌟}} blacker than soot.

\par }{\Q No one recognizes them on the streets.

\par }{\Q Their skin has shriveled on their bones.

\par }{\Q It has become as dry as bark.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Those who were killed with swords are better off

\par }{\Q than those who are dying from starvation.

\par }{\Q Those who were stabbed bled to death.

\par }{\Q The others are dying because there is nothing in the fields to eat.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}The hands of loving mothers cooked their own children.

\par }{\Q The children were used for food by my people

\par }{\Q when they were being destroyed
{\ADD{⌞by a blockade⌟}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}The
{\ND{Lord}}’s fury has accomplished his purpose.

\par }{\Q He unleashed his burning anger.

\par }{\Q He started a fire in Zion that even burned its foundations.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}Neither the kings of the earth nor anyone living on earth could believe

\par }{\Q that enemies or invaders would ever get through the gates of Jerusalem.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}{\ADD{⌞They got through⌟}} because of the sins of Jerusalem’s prophets

\par }{\Q and the crimes of its priests,

\par }{\Q who spilled the blood of righteous people within it.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}My people staggered blindly through the streets.

\par }{\Q They were so contaminated with bloodstains

\par }{\Q that no one would touch their clothes.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}‘Get away! You’re unclean,’ \FTNT{†}{{\FR 4:15 }{\FT{“}}{\FK{Unclean}}{\FT{” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.}}} people yelled at them.

\par }{\Q ‘Get away! Get away! Don’t touch anyone.’

\par }{\Q When they fled and wandered around,

\par }{\Q the people of the nations said, ‘They can’t stay here any longer.’


\par }{\Q \VS{16}The
{\ND{Lord}} himself has scattered them.

\par }{\Q He will no longer look favorably on them.

\par }{\Q They no longer respected the priests,

\par }{\Q nor did they honor their older leaders.”


\par }{\SH The People of Zion Speak Out
\par }
{\Q \VS{17}“We are still straining our eyes, trying in vain to find help.

\par }{\Q We waited and waited for a nation that didn’t save us.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}{\ADD{⌞The enemy⌟}} kept tracking us down,

\par }{\Q so we couldn’t even go out into the streets.

\par }{\Q Our end was near.

\par }{\Q Our time was up.

\par }{\Q Our end had come.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Those who were hunting us were faster than eagles in the sky.

\par }{\Q They chased us in the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}The person the
{\ND{Lord}} anointed
{\ADD{⌞as king⌟}}, who is the breath of our life,

\par }{\Q was caught in their pits.

\par }{\Q We had thought that we would live

\par }{\Q in our king’s shadow among the nations.”


\par }{\SH The Prophet Speaks Out: Be Warned about Edom’s Impending Doom
\par }
{\Q \VS{21}“Rejoice and be glad, people of Edom, inhabitants of the country of Uz.

\par }{\Q The cup
{\ADD{⌞of the
{\ND{Lord}}’s fury⌟}} will be passed to you next.

\par }{\Q You’ll get drunk and take off all your clothes.


\par }{\Q \VS{22}People of Zion, the punishment for your wickedness will end.

\par }{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} will not let you remain in exile.

\par }{\Q People of Edom, he will punish you for your wickedness.

\par }{\Q He will expose your sins.”




\par }\Chap{5}{\SH A Prayer of the Prophet
\par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}“Remember, O
{\ND{Lord}}, what has happened to us.

\par }{\Q Take a look at our disgrace!


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{2}“The land we inherited has been turned over to strangers.

\par }{\Q Our homes have been turned over to foreigners.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}We are orphans without a father.

\par }{\Q Our mothers are like widows.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}We have to pay to drink our own water.

\par }{\Q We have to pay to chop our own wood.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}{\ADD{⌞Our enemies⌟}} are breathing down our necks.

\par }{\Q We are worn out
{\ADD{⌞and⌟}} not permitted to rest.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}We had to beg Egypt and Assyria for food.\FTNT{*}{{\FR 5:6 }{\FT{Or
}}{\FQA{“We made a pledge to Egypt and Assyria in order to get enough food.”}}}


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Our ancestors sinned.

\par }{\Q Now they are gone,

\par }{\Q {\ADD{⌞but⌟}} we have to take the punishment for their wickedness.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Slaves rule us.

\par }{\Q There is no one to rescue us from them.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}To get our food, we have to risk our lives

\par }{\Q in the heat of the desert.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}Our skin is as hot as an oven from the burning heat of starvation.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Women in Zion are raped, so are the girls in the cities of Judah.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}{\ADD{⌞Our⌟}} leaders are hung by their hands.

\par }{\Q {\ADD{⌞Our⌟}} older leaders are shown no respect.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}{\ADD{⌞Our⌟}} young men work at the mill,

\par }{\Q and
{\ADD{⌞our⌟}} boys stagger under loads of wood.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}{\ADD{⌞Our⌟}} older leaders have stopped meeting at the city gate,

\par }{\Q and
{\ADD{⌞our⌟}} young men no longer play their music.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}There is no joy left in our hearts.

\par }{\Q Our dancing has turned into mourning.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}The crown has fallen from our head.

\par }{\Q Because we have sinned, it has been disastrous for us.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}This is why we feel sick.

\par }{\Q This is why our eyes see less and less.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}Foxes roam around on Mount Zion, which lies in ruins.


\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q \VS{19}“But you, O
{\ND{Lord}}, sit enthroned forever,

\par }{\Q and your reign continues throughout every generation.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}Why have you completely forgotten us?

\par }{\BB \par }
{\Q Why have you abandoned us for such a long time?


\par }{\Q \VS{21}O
{\ND{Lord}}, bring us back to you, and we’ll come back.

\par }{\Q Give us back the life we had long ago,


\par }{\Q \VS{22}unless you have completely rejected us

\par }{\Q {\ADD{⌞and⌟}} are very angry with us.”

\par }