Lamentations 2:10-18

English Standard Version

¹⁰The elders of the daughter of Zion
    ^(A)sit on the ground ^(B)in silence;
^(C)they have thrown dust on their heads
    and ^(D)put on sackcloth;
the young women of Jerusalem
    have bowed their heads to the ground.

¹¹^(E)My eyes are spent with weeping;
    ^(F)my stomach churns;
^(G)my bile is poured out to the ground
    ^(H)because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
^(I)because infants and babies ^(J)faint
    in the streets of the city.

¹²They cry to their mothers,
    ^(K)“Where is bread and wine?”
^(L)as they faint like a wounded man
    in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
    on their mothers' bosom.

¹³What can I say for you, ^(M)to what compare you,
    O daughter of Jerusalem?
^(N)What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
    O virgin daughter of Zion?
^(O)For your ruin is vast as the sea;
    who can heal you?

¹⁴^(P)Your prophets have seen for you
    false and deceptive visions;
^(Q)they have not exposed your iniquity
    to ^(R)restore your fortunes,
^(S)but have seen for you ^(T)oracles
    that are false and misleading.

¹⁵All who pass along the way
    clap their hands at you;
^(U)they hiss and wag their heads
    at the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
    ^(V)the perfection of beauty,
    ^(W)the joy of all the earth?”

¹⁶^(X)All your enemies
    rail against you;
they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
    they cry: “We ^(Y)have swallowed her!
Ah, this is the day we longed for;
    now we have it; ^(Z)we see it!”

¹⁷The Lord has done what he purposed;
    he has carried out ^(AA)his word,
which he commanded ^(AB)long ago;
    ^(AC)he has thrown down ^(AD)without pity;
^(AE)he has made the enemy rejoice over you
    and exalted the ^(AF)might of your foes.

¹⁸Their heart cried to the Lord.
    O ^(AG)wall of the daughter of Zion,
^(AH)let tears stream down like a torrent
    ^(AI)day and night!
^(AJ)Give yourself no rest,
    ^(AK)your eyes no respite!