ט TetHer uncleanness stains her skirts.
She never considered her end.
Her downfall was astonishing;
there was no one to comfort her.
Lord, look on my affliction,
for the enemy triumphs!

ל LamedIs this nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see!
Is there any pain like mine,
which was dealt out to me,
which the Lord made me suffer
on the day of His burning anger?

מ MemHe sent fire from heaven into my bones;
He made it descend.
He spread a net for my feet
and turned me back.
He made me desolate,
sick all day long.

נ NunMy transgressions have been formed into a yoke,
fastened together by His hand;
they have been placed on my neck,
and the Lord has broken my strength.
He has handed me over
to those I cannot withstand.

ס SamekThe Lord has rejected
all the mighty men within me.
He has summoned an army against me
to crush my young warriors.
The Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah
like grapes in a winepress.

ע AyinI weep because of these things;
my eyes flow with tears.
For there is no one nearby to comfort me,
no one to keep me alive.
My children are desolate
because the enemy has prevailed.

צ TsadeThe Lord is just,
for I have rebelled against His command.
Listen, all you people;
look at my pain.
My young men and women
have gone into captivity.

ק QofI called to my lovers,
but they betrayed me.
My priests and elders
perished in the city
while searching for food
to keep themselves alive.

ר ReshLord, see how I am in distress.
I am churning within;
my heart is broken,
for I have been very rebellious.
Outside, the sword takes the children;
inside, there is death.

שׁ ShinPeople have heard me groaning,
but there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my misfortune;
they are glad that You have caused it.
Bring on the day You have announced,
so that they may become like me.

ת TavLet all their wickedness come before You,
and deal with them
as You have dealt with me
because of all my transgressions.
For my groans are many,
and I am sick at heart.

כ KafMy eyes are worn out from weeping;
I am churning within.
My heart is poured out in grief
because of the destruction of my dear people,
because children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.

מ MemWhat can I say on your behalf?
What can I compare you to, Daughter Jerusalem?
What can I liken you to,
so that I may console you, Virgin Daughter Zion?
For your ruin is as vast as the sea.
Who can heal you?

שׁ ShinBoth young and old
are lying on the ground in the streets.
My young men and women
have fallen by the sword.
You have killed them in the day of Your anger,
slaughtering without compassion.

ת TavYou summoned my attackers on every side,
as if for an appointed festival day;
on the day of the Lord’s anger
no one escaped or survived.
My enemy has destroyed
those I nurtured and reared.

He has driven me away and forced me to walk
in darkness instead of light.

Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand
against me all day long.

ב BetHe has worn away my flesh and skin;
He has shattered my bones.

He has laid siege against me,
encircling me with bitterness and hardship.

He has made me dwell in darkness
like those who have been dead for ages.

ג GimelHe has walled me in so I cannot escape;
He has weighed me down with chains.

Even when I cry out and plead for help,
He rejects my prayer.

He has walled in my ways with cut stones;
He has made my paths crooked.

He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;
He left me desolate.

He strung His bow
and set me as the target for His arrow.

ה HeHe pierced my kidneys
with His arrows.

I am a laughingstock to all my people,
mocked by their songs all day long.

He filled me with bitterness,
satiated me with wormwood.

ו VavHe ground my teeth on gravel
and made me cower in the dust.

My soul has been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is.

Then I thought: My future is lost,
as well as my hope from the Lord.

ז ZayinRemember my affliction and my homelessness,
the wormwood and the poison.

I say: The Lord is my portion,
therefore I will put my hope in Him.

My eyes flow with streams of tears
because of the destruction of my dear people.

ע AyinMy eyes overflow unceasingly,
without end,

My eyes bring me grief
because of the fate of all the women in my city.

צ TsadeFor no apparent reason, my enemies
hunted me like a bird.

They dropped me alive into a pit
and threw stones at me.

Water flooded over my head,
and I thought: I’m going to die!

You hear my plea:
Do not ignore my cry for relief.

ר ReshYou defend my cause, Lord;
You redeem my life.

Lord, You see the wrong done to me;
judge my case.

You see all their malice,
all their plots against me.

שׂ Sin/ שׁ ShinLord, You hear their insults,
all their plots against me.

The slander and murmuring of my opponents
attack me all day long.

You will give them a heart filled with anguish.
May Your curse be on them!

ג GimelEven jackals offer their breasts
to nurse their young,
but my dear people have become cruel
like ostriches in the wilderness.

ו VavThe punishment of my dear people
is greater than that of Sodom,
which was overthrown in an instant
without a hand laid on it.

י YodThe hands of compassionate women
have cooked their own children;
they became their food
during the destruction of my dear people.

Lord, restore us to Yourself, so we may return;
renew our days as in former times,