“Arise, cry aloud in the night
At the beginning of the night watches;
Pour out your heart like water
Before the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to Him
For the life of your little ones
Who are faint because of hunger
At the head of every street.”

Waters flowed over my head;
I said, “I am cut off!”

You have heard my voice,
“Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,
From my cry for help.”

They hunted our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets;
Our end drew near,
Our days were finished
For our end had come.

The breath of our nostrils, the Lord’s anointed,
Was captured in their pits,
Of whom we had said, “Under his shadow
We shall live among the nations.”

Our skin has become as hot as an oven,
Because of the burning heat of famine.

The crown has fallen from our head;
Woe to us, for we have sinned!