1 a How deserteda lies the city,

once so full of people!b

How like a widowc is she,

who once was greatd among the nations!

She who was queen among the provinces

has now become a slave.e

2 Bitterly she weepsf at night,

tears are on her cheeks.

Among all her loversg

there is no one to comfort her.

All her friends have betrayedh her;

they have become her enemies.i

3 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 herl

in the midst of her distress.

4 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

5 Her foes have become her masters;

her enemies are at ease.

The Lord has brought her griefp

because of her many sins.q

Her children have gone into exile,r

captive before the foe.s

6 All the splendor has departed

from Daughter Zion.t

Her princes are like deer

that find no pasture;

in weakness they have fledu

before the pursuer.

7 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 laughedw at her destruction.

8 Jerusalem has sinnedx greatly

and so has become unclean.y

All who honored her despise her,

for they have all seen her naked;z

she herself groansa

and turns away.

9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts;

she did not consider her future.b

Her fallc was astounding;

there was none to comfortd her.

“Look, Lord, on my affliction,e

for the enemy has triumphed.”

10 The enemy laid hands

on all her treasures;f

she saw pagan nations

enter her sanctuaryg—

those you had forbiddenh

to enter your assembly.

11 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.”

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

Look around and see.

Is any suffering like my sufferingl

that was inflicted on me,

that the Lord brought on me

in the day of his fierce anger?m

13 “From on high he sent fire,

sent it down into my bones.n

He spread a neto for my feet

and turned me back.

He made me desolate,p

faintq all the day long.

14 “My sins have been bound into a yokeb;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 handss

of those I cannot withstand.

15 “The Lord has rejected

all the warriors in my midst;t

he has summoned an armyu against me

toc crush my young men.v

In his winepressw the Lord has trampledx

Virgin Daughtery Judah.

16 “This is why I weep

and my eyes overflow with tears.z

No one is near to comforta me,

no one to restore my spirit.

My children are destitute

because the enemy has prevailed.”b

17 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 uncleane thingf among them.

18 “The Lord is righteous,g

yet I rebelledh against his command.

Listen, all you peoples;

look on my suffering.i

My young men and young women

have gone into exile.j

19 “I called to my alliesk

but they betrayed me.

My priests and my elders

perishedl in the city

while they searched for food

to keep themselves alive.

20 “See, Lord, how distressedm 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

21 “People have heard my groaning,r

but there is no one to comfort me.s

All my enemies have heard of my distress;

they rejoicet at what you have done.

May you bring the dayu you have announced

so they may become like me.

22 “Let all their wickedness come before you;

deal with them

as you have dealt with me

because of all my sins.v

My groansw are many

and my heart is faint.”