How sat the city alone being many in people she was as a widow: being many among the nations, being a leader in the provinces, she became for tribute.

She weepeth sore in the night, And her tear is on her cheeks, There is no comforter for her out of all her lovers, All her friends dealt treacherously by her, They have been to her for enemies.

Judah has been taken away as a prisoner because of trouble and hard work; her living-place is among the nations, there is no rest for her: all her attackers have overtaken her in a narrow place.

The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn assembly: all her gates are desolate; her priests sigh, her virgins are in grief; and as for her, she is in bitterness.

Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.

And all her glory has gone from the daughter of Zion: her rulers have become like harts with no place for food, and they have gone in flight without strength before the attacker.

{Zayin} Now doth Jerusalem remember the time of her misery and disobedience, yea the joy and pleasure that she hath had in times past: seeing her people is brought down through the power of their enemy, and there is no man for to help her. Her enemies stand looking at her, and laughing her Sabbath days to scorn.

A sin hath Jerusalem sinned, Therefore impure she hath become, All who honoured her have esteemed her lightly, For they have seen her nakedness, Yea, she herself hath sighed and turneth backward.

Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself.

The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy congregation.

All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile.

{Lamed} O ye all that go fore by, behold and see, if there be any sorrow like unto mine. wherewith the LORD hath troubled me in the day of his fearful wrath.

From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day.

He rejected all the valiant men the LORD, in my midst. He set a time to meet with me to crush my young warriors. The LORD has trampled, as in a winepress, the fair virgin that is Judah.

For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.

Spread forth hath Zion her hands, There is no comforter for her, Jehovah hath charged concerning Jacob, His neighbours are his adversaries, Jerusalem hath become impure among them.

The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.

I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls.

Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death.

They have heard that I have sighed, There is no comforter for me, All my enemies have heard of my calamity, They have rejoiced that Thou hast done it, Thou hast brought in the day Thou hast called, And they are like to me.

Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is faint.

{Aleph} Alas, how hath the LORD darkened the daughter of Zion so sore in his wrath? As for the honour of Israel, he hath casten it down from heaven: How happeneth it, that he remembered not his own foot stool when he was angry?

The Lord swallowed up without pity all of Jacob's habitations. In his wrath he tore down the strongholds of fair Judah. He cast to the ground in dishonor both her kingdom and its rulers.

He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.

He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire.

(Tet) Her city gates have fallen to the ground; he smashed to bits the bars that lock her gates. Her king and princes were taken into exile; there is no more guidance available. As for her prophets, they no longer receive a vision from the Lord.

Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.

{Lamed} Even when they spake to their mothers, "Where is meat and drink?" For while they so said, they fell down in the streets of the city, like as they had been wounded, and some died in their mothers' bosom.

What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?

Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.

They clap hands over you, all who pass along the way; they hiss and they shake their head, at the daughter of Jerusalem. Is this the city of which it is said, "A perfection of beauty, a joy for all the earth?"

All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it.

Cry out from your heart to the Lord, wall of fair Zion! Let your tears run down like a river day and night. Allow yourself no rest, and don't stop crying.

Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.

See, O Lord, and look!
With whom have You dealt this way?
Should women eat their offspring,
The little ones who were born healthy and beautiful?
Should priest and prophet be killed
In the sanctuary of the Lord?

You have summoned my horror from all around, as if for a feast day; no one on the day of Yahweh's anger [is] a fugitive and a survivor; whoever I have cared for and reared, my enemy has destroyed.

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

Yea, when I cry, and call for help, he shutteth out my prayer.

He hath stopped up my ways with four square stones, and made my paths crooked.

He is like a bear waiting for me, like a lion in secret places.

He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

I have become a laughingstock for all the people, their mocking song all day long.

And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.

I thought in myself, "I am undone; there is no hope for me in the LORD."

Yea, thou shalt remember them, for my soul melteth away in me.

I will turn this back to my heart; for this I shall hope.

The kindnesses of Jehovah! For we have not been consumed, For not ended have His mercies.

New things for the mornings! Abundant is thy faithfulness:

My portion is Jehovah, hath my soul said, Therefore I hope for Him.

The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

He sitteth alone, and is silent, For He hath laid it upon him.

For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

As for us, we have sinned and rebelled; but you have not pardoned us.

You have made us like waste and that for which there is no use, among the peoples.

Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.

Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

My tears pour down ceaselessly; I am far from relief

Mine eye will glean for my soul for all the daughters of my city.

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

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

Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.

O Lord, you have pleaded for {my cause}, you have redeemed my life.

You examined their plans for vengeance, all of their plots against me.

The precious sons of Zion being lifted up with fine gold, how they were reckoned for earthen vessels, the work of the hands of the potter.

The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.

{He} They that were wont to fair delicately, perish in the streets; they that afore were brought up in purple, make now much of dung.

For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.

They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.

The hands of merciful women have boiled their own children, They have been for food to them, In the destruction of the daughter of my people.

The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.

For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,

They wandered, blind, in the streets;
They were defiled with blood
So that no one could touch their garments.

Turn aside -- unclean,' they called to them, 'Turn aside, turn aside, touch not,' For they fled -- yea, they have wandered, They have said among nations: 'They do not add to sojourn.'

The face of the Lord has sent them in all directions; he will no longer take care of them: they had no respect for the priests, they gave no honour to the old men.

As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.

They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.

Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

(Sin/Shin) Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom, who reside in the land of Uz. But the cup of judgment will pass to you also; you will get drunk and take off your clothes.

The punishment for your sin is complete, you women of Zion, and God will no longer exile you. He will punish your iniquity, you women of Edom, and he will expose your sins.

We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.

For our neck we have been pursued, We have laboured -- there hath been no rest for us.

We made a deal with the Egyptians and the Assyrians for the price of food.

Servants are ruling over us, and there is no one to make us free from their hands.

{We risk our life for food} because of the sword of the desert.

Our skin is as it had been burnt in an oven, for very sore hunger.

The crown is fallen from our head: Woe unto us! for we have sinned.

For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.

For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: The foxes walk upon it.

Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.

Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?

For hast Thou utterly rejected us? Thou hast been wroth against us -- exceedingly?