Lamentations 1:1–11

The city of Jerusalem is so empty!

It used to be full of people.

But now it’s like a woman whose husband has died.

She used to be great among the nations.

She was like a queen among the kingdoms.

But now she is a slave.

²Jerusalem sobs bitterly at night.

Tears run down her cheeks.

None of her friends comforts her.

All those who were going to help her

have turned against her.

They have become her enemies.

³After Judah’s people had suffered greatly,

they were taken away as prisoners.

Now they live among the nations.

They can’t find any place to rest.

All those who were chasing them have caught up with them.

And they can’t get away.

⁴The roads to Zion are empty.

No one travels to its appointed feasts.

All of the public places near its gates are deserted.

Its priests groan.

Its young women are sad.

And Zion itself sobs bitterly.

⁵Its enemies have become its masters.

They have an easy life.

The Lord has brought suffering to Jerusalem

because its people have committed so many sins.

Its children have been taken away as prisoners.

Their enemies have forced them to leave their homes.

⁶The city of Zion used to be full of glory.

But now its glory has faded away.

Its princes are like deer.

They can’t find anything to eat.

They are almost too weak to get away

from those who hunt them down.

⁷Jerusalem’s people are suffering and wandering.

They remember all of the treasures

they used to have.

But they fell into the hands of their enemies.

And no one was there to help them.

Their enemies looked at them.

They laughed because Jerusalem had been destroyed.

⁸Its people have committed many sins.

They have become polluted.

All those who honored Jerusalem now look down on it.

They look at it as if it were a naked woman.

The city groans and turns away in shame.

⁹Her skirts are dirty.

She didn’t think about how things might turn out.

Her fall from power amazed everyone.

And no one was there to comfort her.

She said, “Lord, please pay attention to how much I’m suffering.

My enemies have won the battle over me.”

¹⁰Jerusalem’s enemies took away

all of its treasures.

Its people saw strangers

enter its temple.

The Lord had commanded them

not to do that.

¹¹All of Jerusalem’s people groan

as they search for bread.

They trade their treasures for food

just to stay alive.

They say, “Lord, look at us.

Think about our condition.

Everyone looks down on us.”