LAMENT OVER JERUSALEM

א Aleph

1 How* she sits alone,a

the cityb once crowded with people!

She who was great among the nations

has become like a widow.c

The princess among the provinces

has been put to forced labor.

ב Beth

2 She weeps bitterly during the night,d

with tears on her cheeks.

There is no one to offer her comfort,

not one from all her lovers.B,e

All her friends have betrayed her;

they have become her enemies.

ג Gimel

3 Judah has gone into exile

followingC affliction and harsh slavery;

she lives among the nations

but finds no place to rest.f

All her pursuers have overtaken her

in narrow places.

ד Daleth

4 The roads to Ziong mourn,

for no one comes to the appointed festivals.h

All her gates are deserted;

her priests groan,

her young women grieve,

and she herself is bitter.

ה He

5 Her adversaries have become her masters;i

her enemies are at ease,j

for the Lord has made her suffer

because of her many transgressions.

Her children have gone away

as captives before the adversary.

ו Waw

6 All the splendork has vanished

from Daughter Zion.l

Her leaders are like stags

that find no pasture;

they stumble away exhausted

before the hunter.m