Lamentations 1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 1
The Desolation of Jerusalem[a]
1 How solitary sits the city,
once filled with people.
She who was great among the nations
is now like a widow.
Once a princess among the provinces,
now a toiling slave.
2 She weeps incessantly in the night,
her cheeks damp with tears.
She has no one to comfort her
from all her lovers;[b]
Her friends have all betrayed her,
and become her enemies.(A)
3 Judah has gone into exile,
after oppression and harsh labor;
She dwells among the nations,
yet finds no rest:(B)
All her pursuers overtake her
in the narrow straits.
4 The roads to Zion mourn,
empty of pilgrims to her feasts.
All her gateways are desolate,
her priests groan,
Her young women grieve;
her lot is bitter.(C)
5 Her foes have come out on top,
her enemies are secure;
Because the Lord has afflicted her
for her many rebellions.
Her children have gone away,
captive before the foe.
6 From daughter Zion has gone
all her glory:
Her princes have become like rams
that find no pasture.
They have gone off exhausted
before their pursuers.
7 Jerusalem remembers
in days of wretched homelessness,
All the precious things she once had
in days gone by.
But when her people fell into the hands of the foe,
and she had no help,
Her foes looked on and laughed
at her collapse.
8 Jerusalem has sinned grievously,
therefore she has become a mockery;
Those who honored her now demean her,
for they saw her nakedness;
She herself groans out loud,
and turns away.(D)
9 Her uncleanness is on her skirt;
she has no thought of her future.
Her downfall is astonishing,
with no one to comfort her.
“Look, O Lord, at my misery;
how the enemy triumphs!”[c]
10 The foe stretched out his hands
to all her precious things;
She has seen the nations
enter her sanctuary,
Those you forbade to come
into your assembly.(E)
11 All her people groan,
searching for bread;
They give their precious things for food,
to retain the breath of life.
“Look, O Lord, and pay attention
to how I have been demeaned!
12 Come, all who pass by the way,
pay attention and see:
Is there any pain like my pain,
which has been ruthlessly inflicted upon me,
With which the Lord has tormented me
on the day of his blazing wrath?
13 From on high he hurled fire down
into my very bones;
He spread out a net for my feet,
and turned me back.
He has left me desolate,
in misery all day long.(F)
14 The yoke of my rebellions is bound together,
fastened by his hand.
His yoke is upon my neck;
he has made my strength fail.
The Lord has delivered me into the grip
of those I cannot resist.
15 All my valiant warriors
my Lord has cast away;
He proclaimed a feast against me
to crush my young men;
My Lord has trodden in the wine press
virgin daughter Judah.
16 For these things I weep—My eyes! My eyes!
They stream with tears!
How far from me is anyone to comfort,
anyone to restore my life.
My children are desolate;
the enemy has prevailed.”(G)
17 Zion stretches out her hands,
with no one to comfort her;
The Lord has ordered against Jacob
his foes all around;
Jerusalem has become in their midst
a thing unclean.
18 “The Lord is in the right;
I had defied his command.
Listen, all you peoples,
and see my pain:
My young women and young men
have gone into captivity.(H)
19 I cried out to my lovers,
but they failed me.(I)
My priests and my elders
perished in the city;
How desperately they searched for food,
to save their lives!
20 Look, O Lord, at the anguish I suffer!
My stomach churns,
And my heart recoils within me:
How bitter I am!
Outside the sword bereaves—
indoors, there is death.(J)
21 Hear how I am groaning;
there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies hear of my misery and rejoice
over what you have done.
Bring on the day you proclaimed,
and let them become like me!
22 Let all their evil come before you
and deal with them
As you have so ruthlessly dealt with me
for all my rebellions.
My groans are many,
my heart is sick.”(K)
Footnotes
- 1:1–22 In this poem the poet first takes on the persona of an observer describing Jerusalem’s abject state after the destruction wrought by the Babylonian army (vv. 1–11a); but the detached tone gives way to a more impassioned appeal when the city itself—personified as the grieving widow and mother Zion—abruptly intrudes upon this description (vv. 9c, 11c–16, 18–22) to demand that God look squarely at her misery.
- 1:2 Lovers: language of love was typically used to describe the relationship between treaty partners, thus here it connotes Judah’s allies (see v. 19).
- 1:9 Zion breaks in on the poet’s description in v. 9c, albeit briefly, to demand that the Lord face squarely her misery. She takes up the lament in a more sustained fashion in v. 11c.
耶利米哀歌 1
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
哀歎錫安的遭遇
1 從前人煙稠密的城中，現在怎麼竟然孤獨地坐在那裡。
從前在列國中為大的，現在怎麼竟然像個寡婦。
從前在眾省份中為王后的，現在怎麼竟然成了奴隸。
2 她在夜間痛哭，淚流滿面。
在她所有親愛的人中，沒有一個安慰她的。
她所有的朋友都以詭詐待她，都成了她的仇敵。
3 猶大受盡痛苦，飽經勞役，更遭流徙異地。
她住在列國中，找不著安居之所。
在困境之中，追趕她的人把她追上了。
4 通往錫安道路悲哀，因為沒有人去守節。
錫安一切的城門冷落，祭司唉哼，
處女憂傷，錫安也受盡痛苦。
5 錫安的敵人成為主人；她的仇敵亨通。
因為她的過犯眾多，耶和華就使她受苦。
她的孩童在敵人面前被擄去。
6 錫安（“錫安”原文作“錫安的女子”）所有的尊榮，都離開了她的居民。
她的眾領袖都像找不著牧場的鹿；
在追趕的人面前無力逃走。
7 耶路撒冷在困苦飄流的日子，就追念她昔日的一切珍寶。
她的人民落在敵人手裡的時候，沒有人幫助她。
敵人看見她，就譏笑她的滅亡。
8 耶路撒冷犯了大罪，因此成了不潔之物。
素來尊敬她的現在都藐視她，因為看見她赤身露體；
她自己也唉哼，轉身退避。
9 她的污穢沾滿了衣裙；她從不思想自己的結局。
所以她令人驚異地敗落了；沒有人安慰她。
她說：“耶和華啊！求你看看我的苦難，因為仇敵顯為大。”
10 敵人伸手奪取她的一切珍寶，
她看著外族人闖入她的聖所：
你曾禁止他們進入你的會中。
11 她所有的人民都在唉哼，到處尋覓食物；
他們為了維持生命，拿自己的珍寶去換取糧食。
她說：“耶和華啊！求你垂看，求你鑒察，因為我被人藐視。”
耶路撒冷自述苦況
12 所有過路的人啊！你們毫不在意嗎？
你們要細察要觀看，有沒有痛苦像我所受的痛苦，
就是耶和華在他發烈怒的日子使我所受的痛苦。
13 他從高天降火，使火進入我的骨頭裡（按照《馬索拉文本》，“他從高天降火，使火進入我的骨頭裡”作“他從高天降火進入我的骨頭裡，他管理火”；現參照《七十士譯本》翻譯）。
他設置網羅絆我的腳，使我退去。
他使我孤單淒涼，終日愁煩。
14 我的過犯像軛一樣被綁好；是他親手纏綁的。
我的過犯加在我的頸上，他使我的氣力衰弱。
主把我交在我不能對抗的人手中。
15 主丟棄我中間的所有勇士；
他招聚了一大群人來攻擊我，要打碎我的青年人。
主踐踏猶大女兒中的處女，像踐踏壓酒池一樣。
16 為了這些事我不住哭泣，我的眼不住流下淚水；
因為那安慰我、使我重新振作的，都遠離了我。
我的兒女孤單淒涼，因為仇敵得勝了。
17 錫安伸出雙手，但沒有人安慰她。
論到雅各，耶和華已經下令，使他四圍的人都與他為敵；
耶路撒冷在他們中間，已經成了不潔的東西。
神的公義
18 耶和華是公義的，他這樣待我，是因為我違背了他的命令。
萬民哪！請你們聽我的話！看看我的痛苦！
我的少女和青年人都已經被擄去了。
19 我向我所愛的人呼求，他們卻欺騙我。
我的祭司和長老為了延續生命，尋找糧食的時候，
就在城中氣絕身亡了。
20 耶和華啊！你看，患難臨到我！我的心腸激動，
我的心在我裡面翻轉，因為我曾經非常悖逆。
街上有刀劍使人喪子，屋裡也有死亡。
21 有人聽見我的唉哼，卻沒有人安慰我，
我所有的仇敵都聽見我的災難；你作了這事，他們就歡樂。
願你使你所宣告的日子來臨那時，他們就必像我一樣。
22 願他們的一切惡行都擺在你面前，願你對付他們，
好像你因我的一切過犯對付我一樣。
因為我唉哼甚苦，我心裡愁煩。
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
