Lamentations 1

1 [ALEPH-BET] How she has sat alone, The city abounding with people! She has been as a widow, The mighty among nations! Princes among provinces, She has become tributary!

2 She weeps severely 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.

3 Removed has Judah because of affliction, And because of the abundance of her service; She has dwelt among nations, She has not found rest, All her pursuers have overtaken her between the straits.

4 The ways of Zion are mourning, Without any coming at the appointed time, All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted—and she has bitterness.

5 Her adversaries have become chief, Her enemies have been at ease, For YHWH has afflicted her, For the abundance of her transgressions, Her infants have gone captive before the adversary.

6 And all her honor goes out from the daughter of Zion, Her princes have been as harts—They have not found pasture, And they go powerless before a pursuer.

7 Jerusalem has remembered [In] the days of her affliction and her mournings, all her desirable things that were from the days of old, In the falling of her people into the hand of an adversary, And she has no helper; Adversaries have seen her, They have laughed at her cessation.

8 A sin has Jerusalem sinned, Therefore she has become impure, All who honored her have esteemed her lightly, For they have seen her nakedness, Indeed, she herself has sighed and turns backward.

9 Her uncleanness [is] in her skirts, She has not remembered her latter end, And she comes down wonderfully, There is no comforter for her. See, O YHWH, my affliction, For an enemy has exerted himself.

10 His hand has spread out an adversary On all her desirable things, For she has seen—Nations have entered her sanctuary, Concerning which You commanded, “They do not come into the assembly to you.”

11 All her people are sighing—seeking bread, They have given their desirable things For food to refresh the body; See, O YHWH, and behold attentively, For I have been lightly esteemed.

12 [Is it] nothing to you, all you passing by the way? Look attentively, and see, If there is any pain like my pain, That He is rolling to me? Whom YHWH has afflicted In the day of the fierceness of His anger.

13 From above He has sent fire into my bone, And it subdues it, He has spread a net for my feet, He has turned me backward, He has made me desolate—all the day sick.

14 Bound has been the yoke of my transgressions by His hand, They are wrapped together, They have gone up on my neck, He has caused my power to stumble, The Lord has given me into hands, I am not able to rise.

15 The Lord has trodden down all my mighty ones in my midst, He proclaimed an appointed time against me, To destroy my young men, The Lord has trodden a winepress, To the virgin daughter of Judah.

16 For these I am weeping, My eye, my eye, is running down with waters, For a comforter has been far from me, Refreshing my soul, My sons have been desolate, For mighty has been an enemy.

17 Zion has spread forth her hands, There is no comforter for her, YHWH has charged concerning Jacob, His neighbors [are] his adversaries, Jerusalem has become impure among them.

18 YHWH is righteous, For I have provoked His mouth. Now hear, all you peoples, and see my pain, My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.

19 I called for my lovers, they have deceived me, My priests and my elderly have expired in the city; When they have sought food for themselves, Then they give back their soul.

20 See, O YHWH, for distress [is] to me, My bowels have been troubled, My heart has been turned in my midst, For I have greatly provoked, From outside the sword has bereaved, In the house [it is] as death.

21 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 You have done [it], You have brought in the day You have called, And they are like to me.

22 All their evil comes in before You, And one is doing to them as You have done to me, For all my transgressions, For many [are] my sighs, and my heart [is] sick!