Lamentations 1:1-12

Contemporary English Version

³ The people of Judah are slaves,
suffering in a foreign land,
    with no rest from sorrow.
Their enemies captured them
    and were terribly cruel.^[b]
4 The roads to Zion mourn
because no one travels there
    to celebrate the festivals.
The city gates are deserted;
    priests are weeping.
Young women are raped;^[c]
    Zion is in sorrow!
⁵ Enemies now rule the city
    and live as they please.
The Lord has punished Jerusalem
    because of her awful sins;
he has let her people
    be dragged away.

⁶ Zion's glory has disappeared.
Her leaders are like deer
    that cannot find pasture;
they are hunted down
    till their strength is gone.
⁷ Her people recall the good life
    that once was theirs;
now they suffer
    and are scattered.
No one was there to protect them
from their enemies who sneered
    when their city was taken.

⁸ Jerusalem's horrible sins
    have made the city a joke.
Those who once admired her
    now hate her instead—
she has been disgraced;
    she groans and turns away.

⁹ Her sins had made her filthy,
but she wasn't worried
    about what could happen.
And when Jerusalem fell,
    it was so tragic.
No one gave her comfort
    when she cried out,
“Help! I'm in trouble, Lord!
    The enemy has won.”

¹⁰ Zion's treasures were stolen.
Jerusalem saw foreigners
    enter her place of worship,
though the Lord
had forbidden them
    to belong to his people.^[d]
11 Everyone in the city groans
    while searching for food;
they trade their valuables
for barely enough scraps
    to stay alive.