Lamentations 2:10-19
New Catholic Bible
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
sit on the ground in silence.
They have strewn dust on their heads
and wrapped themselves in sackcloth.
The maidens of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes are exhausted from weeping,
and torment afflicts my innermost being.
My gall is poured out on the earth
because of the destruction of my people,
as children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.
12 They keep crying out to their mothers,
“Where is there bread and something to drink?”
as they faint like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
and breathe their last
in their mothers’ arms.
13 To what can I liken you or compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I do to rescue and comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
Your ruin is as vast as the sea.
Who can heal you?
14 The visions that your prophets revealed to you
were false and worthless.
They did not lay bare your guilt
so that you might reverse your fortunes.
The visions they proclaimed to you
were erroneous and deceptive.[a]
15 All those who pass by
clap their hands at you.
They hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem,
“Is this the city once described as perfect in beauty,
the joy of the whole world?”
16 All your enemies do not hesitate
to open their mouths against you.
They hiss and gnash their teeth;
they cry out, “We have devoured her!
This is the day we longed for;
at last we have seen it.”
17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has carried out his threat.
As he decreed from days of old,
he has destroyed without pity.
He has permitted the enemy to rejoice over you
and exalted the strength of your foes.
18 Cry out to the Lord,
O wall of the daughter of Zion.
Let your tears flow like a torrent
both day and night.
Allow yourself no respite;
give your eyes no rest.
19 Arise and cry out during the night
at the beginning of every watch.[b]
Pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children
who are fainting from hunger
at the corner of every street.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 2:14 How to distinguish between true and false prophets is necessary to grow in the spiritual life (see 1 Jn 4:1-6). It’s easy to listen to those who say what we want to hear, but much better to gain the wisdom of true prophets who challenge and question our actions and motives.
- Lamentations 2:19 Watch: there were three each night.
