Lamentations 1

How deserted^a lies the city,

once so full of people!^b

How like a widow^c is she,

who once was great^d among the nations!

She who was queen among the provinces

has now become a slave.^e

Bitterly she weeps^f at night,

tears are on her cheeks.

Among all her lovers^g

there is none to comfort her.

All her friends have betrayed^h her;

they have become her enemies.ⁱ

After affliction and harsh labor,

Judah has gone into exile.^j

She dwells among the nations;

she finds no resting place.^k

All who pursue her have overtaken her^l

in the midst of her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn,^m

for no one comes to her appointed festivals.

All her gateways are desolate,ⁿ

her priests groan,

her young women grieve,

and she is in bitter anguish.^o

Her foes have become her masters;

her enemies are at ease.

The Lord has brought her grief^p

because of her many sins.^q

Her children have gone into exile,^r

captive before the foe.^s

All the splendor has departed

from Daughter Zion.^t

Her princes are like deer

that find no pasture;

in weakness they have fled^u

before the pursuer.

In the days of her affliction and wandering

Jerusalem remembers all the treasures

that were hers in days of old.

When her people fell into enemy hands,

there was no one to help her.^v

Her enemies looked at her

and laughed^w at her destruction.

Jerusalem has sinned^x greatly

and so has become unclean.^y

All who honored her despise her,

for they have seen her nakedness;^z

she herself groans^a

and turns away.

Her filthiness clung to her skirts;

she did not consider her future.^b

Her fall^c was astounding;

there was none to comfort^d her.

“Look, Lord, on my affliction,^e

for the enemy has triumphed.”

The enemy laid hands

on all her treasures;^f

she saw pagan nations

enter her sanctuary^g—

those you had forbidden^h

to enter your assembly.

All her people groanⁱ

as they search for bread;^j

they barter their treasures for food

to keep themselves alive.

“Look, Lord, and consider,

for I am despised.”

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?^k

Look around and see.

Is any suffering like my suffering^l

that was inflicted on me,

that the Lord brought on me

in the day of his fierce anger?^m

“From on high he sent fire,

sent it down into my bones.ⁿ

He spread a net^o for my feet

and turned me back.

He made me desolate,^p

faint^q all the day long.

“My sins have been bound into a yoke;^r

by his hands they were woven together.

They have been hung on my neck,

and the Lord has sapped my strength.

He has given me into the hands^s

of those I cannot withstand.

“The Lord has rejected

all the warriors in my midst;^t

he has summoned an army^u against me

to crush my young men.^v

In his winepress^w the Lord has trampled^x

Virgin Daughter^y Judah.

“This is why I weep

and my eyes overflow with tears.^z

No one is near to comfort^a me,

no one to restore my spirit.

My children are destitute

because the enemy has prevailed.”^b

Zion stretches out her hands,^c

but there is no one to comfort her.

The Lord has decreed for Jacob

that his neighbors become his foes;^d

Jerusalem has become

an unclean^e thing^f among them.

“The Lord is righteous,^g

yet I rebelled^h against his command.

Listen, all you peoples;

look on my suffering.ⁱ

My young men and young women

have gone into exile.^j

“I called to my allies^k

but they betrayed me.

My priests and my elders

perished^l in the city

while they searched for food

to keep themselves alive.

“See, Lord, how distressed^m I am!

I am in tormentⁿ within,

and in my heart I am disturbed,^o

for I have been most rebellious.^p

Outside, the sword bereaves;

inside, there is only death.^q

“People have heard my groaning,^r

but there is no one to comfort me.^s

All my enemies have heard of my distress;

they rejoice^t at what you have done.

May you bring the day^u you have announced

so they may become like me.

“Let all their wickedness come before you;

deal with them

as you have dealt with me

because of all my sins.^v

My groans^w are many

and my heart is faint.”