Lamentations 1
International Standard Version
The Sorrowful City[a]
1 How lonely she lies,
the city that thronged with people!
Like a widow she has become,
this great one among nations!
The princess among provinces
has become a vassal.
2 Bitterly she cries in the night,
as tears stream down[b] her cheeks.
No one consoles her
of all her friends.
All her neighbors have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into exile
to escape affliction and servitude.
She that sat among the nations,
has found no rest.
All her pursuers overtook her
amid narrow passes.
4 The roads that lead to Zion are in mourning,
because no one travels to the festivals.
All her gates are desolate;
her priests are moaning.
Her young women[c] are grieving,[d]
and she is bitter.
5 Her adversaries dominate her,
her enemies prosper.
For the Lord has made her suffer
because of her many transgressions.
Her children have gone away,
taken into captivity in the presence of the enemy.
6 Fled from cherished[e] Zion
are all that were her splendor.
Her princes have become like deer
that cannot find their feeding grounds.
They flee with strength exhausted
from their pursuers.
7 Jerusalem remembers[f]
her time of affliction and misery;
all her valued belongings[g]
of days gone by,
when her people fell into enemy hands,
with no one to help her,
and her enemies stared at her,
mocking her downfall.
8 Jerusalem sinned greatly,
and she became unclean.[h]
All who honored her now despise her,
because they saw her naked.
She herself groans
and turns her face away.
9 Uncleanness has soiled her skirts,
and she gave no thought to what would follow.
She fell in such a startling way,
with no one to comfort her.
Look, Lord, upon my affliction,
because my enemy is boasting.
10 The adversary seized in his hands
everything she valued.
She watched the nations[i]
enter her sanctuary;
those you forbade to enter
your place of meeting.
11 All her people groaned
as they searched for food.
They traded their valuables in order to eat,
to keep themselves alive.[j]
Look, Lord, and see
how I have become dishonored.
12 May it not befall you,[k]
all who pass along the road!
Look and see:
Is there any grief
like my grief
dealt out to me,
by which the Lord afflicted me
in the time of his fierce wrath?
13 He sent fire from on high,[l]
making it penetrate my bones.[m]
He stretched out a net at my feet,
forcing me to turn back.
He made me desolate;
I’m fainting all day long.
14 The yoke of my sins was bound on,[n]
fastened together by his hand.
They settled on my neck;
he caused my strength to fail.
The Lord placed me in the power
of those I cannot resist.
15 He rejected all the valiant men—
the Lord, in my midst.
He set a time to meet with me
to crush my young warriors.
The Lord has trampled, as in a winepress,
the fair virgin that is[o] Judah.
16 Because of all this, I weep;
my eyes[p] stream with tears
because far from me
is the comforter of my soul.
My children are sorrowful,
because the enemy has won.
17 Zion spreads out her hands;[q]
no one is there to comfort her.
The Lord has issued an order against[r] Jacob,
that all who are around him are to be his enemies;
Jerusalem has become
unclean among them.
18 The Lord is in the right,
but I rebelled against his commands.
Listen, please, all you people,
and look at my pain—
my young men and women[s]
have gone into captivity.
19 I called out to my lovers,[t]
but they deceived me.
My priests and my elders
have died within the city
while looking for something to eat
to keep themselves alive.
20 Look, Lord, how distressed I am;
all my insides are churning.
My heart is troubled within me,
because I vigorously rebelled.
Outside the sword brings loss of life,
while at home death rules.
21 People[u] heard how I groan,
with no one to comfort me.
All my adversaries have heard about my troubles;
they rejoice that you have caused them.
Bring on the day you have promised,
so my adversaries[v] will become like me.
22 May all of their wickedness come to your attention,
and deal with them
as you have done with me
because of all my transgressions.
For I am constantly groaning,
and my heart is faint.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 1:1 This book is an acrostic—successive verses begin with a consecutive letter of the Heb. alphabet except in chapter 3, where every three verses begin with the same consecutive Heb. letter.
- Lamentations 1:2 The Heb. lacks stream down
- Lamentations 1:4 Lit. virgins
- Lamentations 1:4 Or are led away.
- Lamentations 1:6 Lit. from the daughter of
- Lamentations 1:7 Or Remember, Lord, Jerusalem,
- Lamentations 1:7 Or Perished are all her valued belongings
- Lamentations 1:8 Lit. has been removed; i.e. due to ritual uncleanness
- Lamentations 1:10 Or watched foreigners
- Lamentations 1:11 Lit. to eat to refresh the soul
- Lamentations 1:12 Lit. It is not for you
- Lamentations 1:13 Lit. high into my bones
- Lamentations 1:13 Lit. overcoming her
- Lamentations 1:14 Lit. was heavy
- Lamentations 1:15 Lit. the virgin daughter of
- Lamentations 1:16 Lit. my eyes my eyes
- Lamentations 1:17 Or Zion rent her linen garments
- Lamentations 1:17 Or Lord kept watch over
- Lamentations 1:18 Lit. virgins
- Lamentations 1:19 Or friends
- Lamentations 1:21 Lit. They
- Lamentations 1:21 Lit. so they
Lamentations 1
Lexham English Bible
The Desolate City
1 How desolate the city sits
that was full of people!
She has become like a widow,
once great among the nations!
Like a woman of nobility in the provinces,
she has become a forced laborer.
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
her tears are on her cheeks;
she has no comforter
among all her lovers.
All her friends have been unfaithful to her;
they have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into exile with misery
and under hard servitude;
she lives among the nations,
she has not found a resting place;
all her pursuers have overtaken her
amidst her distress.
4 The roads of Zion are mourning
because no one comes to the festival.
All her gates are desolate,
her priests groan;
her young women are worried,
and she herself suffers bitterly.
5 Her foes have become her master,[a]
her enemies are at ease;
Yahweh has made her suffer
because of the greatness of her transgressions.
Her children have gone away,
captive before the foe.
6 All her majesty has gone away
from the daughter of Zion;
her princes have become like young stags
that have not found pasture;
they have gone away without strength,
before the pursuer.
7 Jerusalem remembers
the days of her misery and wanderings,
all her treasures
that were from the days of long ago.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
there was no one helping her;
the enemies saw her, they mocked
at her destruction.
8 Jerusalem sinned grievously,
thus she became an objection of derision;
all those who honored her despise her
because they have seen her nakedness.
She herself groans
and turns away.
9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts;
she did not remember her future,
she has descended beyond understanding,
there is no comforter for her.
See, O Yahweh, my persecution!
My enemy has been made great!
10 The enemy has stretched out his hand
over all her treasures;
for she has seen the nations,
they entered her sanctuary,
those whom you commanded not to enter
in your assembly.
11 All her people groan,
they are searching for bread.
They give their treasures for food,
to bring back life.
See, O Yahweh, and look,
how I am despised.
12 Is it nothing to you, all who pass by?[b]
Look and see
if there is sorrow like my sorrow,[c]
which was dealt to me,
which Yahweh inflicted
on the day of his wrath.[d]
13 From heaven he sent fire,
into my bones he let it descend.
He spread out a net for my feet;
he turned me back,
he gave me devastation,
fainting all day.
14 My rebellion was bound as a yoke,
with his hand it was fastened together;
it was put on my neck
and caused my strength to fail.
The Lord gave me into the hands
of those whom I cannot withstand.
15 The Lord has rejected
all my mighty ones in my midst.
He called an assembly against me,
to crush my young men;
like in a wine press,
the Lord has trodden on
the virgin daughter of Judah.
16 For these things, I am weeping,
my eyes flow with tears;[e]
because a comforter is far from me,
one to restore my life.
My sons are desolate
because the enemy has prevailed.
17 Zion stretches out her hands;
there is no one to comfort her.
Yahweh has commanded against Jacob,
that those surrounding him[f] should be his enemies;
Jerusalem has become
a defilement among them.
18 Yahweh is righteous;
I have rebelled against his word.[g]
Please hear, all the nations,
And see my pain;
My young women[h] and young men
went into captivity.
19 I have called to my lovers,
they themselves deceived me;
my priests and elders perished in the city
when they sought food for themselves
to revive their life.[i]
20 See, O Yahweh, that I am in distress;[j]
my stomach[k] is in torment,
my heart has turned inside me
because I have certainly rebelled.
From outside a sword brings bereavement,
inside the house it is like death.
21 They hear that I was groaning;
there is no comforter for me.
All my enemies have heard my misery,
they are pleased that you have done it.
Bring that day that you have proclaimed,[l]
And let them be like me.
22 Let all their evil come before you;
and deal with them
just as you have dealt with me
because of all my crimes;
for my groaning is much and my heart is faint.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 1:5 Literally “head”
- Lamentations 1:12 Literally “all who cross a road”
- Lamentations 1:12 Or “pain like my pain”
- Lamentations 1:12 Literally “on the day of the blaze of his nose”
- Lamentations 1:16 Literally “my eye my eye is going down with water”
- Lamentations 1:17 NRSV translates “his neighbors”
- Lamentations 1:18 Literally “his mouth”
- Lamentations 1:18 Or “virgins”
- Lamentations 1:19 Or “their soul”
- Lamentations 1:20 Literally “there is distress for me”
- Lamentations 1:20 Literally “inner parts”
- Lamentations 1:21 Or “you have called”
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