Lamentations 1:1-6

New American Standard Bible

1 How ^(A)lonely sits the city
That once had ^(B)many people!
She has become like a ^(C)widow
Who was once ^(D)great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the ^[a]provinces
Has become a ^(E)forced laborer!
² She ^(F)weeps bitterly in the night,
And her tears are on her cheeks;
She has no one to comfort her
Among all her ^(G)lovers.
All her friends have ^(H)dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
^3 (I)Judah has gone into exile out of affliction
And ^[b]harsh servitude;
She lives ^(J)among the nations,
But she has not found a resting place;
All those who ^(K)pursued her have overtaken her
In the midst of ^[c]distress.
⁴ The roads ^[d]of Zion are in mourning
Because ^(L)no one comes to an appointed feast.
All her gates are ^(M)deserted;
Her priests groan,
Her ^(N)virgins are worried,
And as for Zion herself, it is ^(O)bitter for her.
⁵ Her adversaries have become ^[e]her masters,
Her enemies are ^[f]secure;
For the Lord has ^[g](P)caused her grief
Because of the multitude of her wrongdoings;
Her little ones have gone away
As captives ^[h]led by the enemy.
⁶ All of her ^(Q)splendor
Is gone from the daughter of Zion;
Her leaders have become like deer
That have found no pasture,
And they have ^[i](R)fled without strength
^[j]From the pursuer.