Judah has gone into exile under affliction
And under harsh servitude;
She dwells among the [pagan] nations,
But she has found no rest;
All her pursuers have overtaken her
In the midst of [her] distress.

(Resh) Look, O Lord! I am distressed; my stomach is in knots! My heart is pounding inside me. Yes, I was terribly rebellious! Out in the street the sword bereaves a mother of her children; Inside the house death is present.

(Tsade) Cry out from your heart to the Lord, O wall of Daughter Zion! Make your tears flow like a river all day and all night long! Do not rest; do not let your tears stop!

(Resh) Look, O Lord! Consider! Whom have you ever afflicted like this? Should women eat their offspring, their healthy infants? Should priest and prophet be killed in the Lord's sanctuary?

He hath put my soul out of rest; I forget all good things.

My eyes are streaming without stopping, they have no rest,

(Resh) O Lord, you championed my cause, you redeemed my life.

(Resh) Our very life breath -- the Lord's anointed king -- was caught in their traps, of whom we thought, "Under his protection we will survive among the nations."

We are pursued -- they are breathing down our necks; we are weary and have no rest.