Lamentations 1
Modern English Version
The Sorrows of Jerusalem
1 How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How she has become like a widow,
who was once great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave!
2 She weeps sorely in the night,
her tears are on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into captivity,
under affliction and great servitude;
she dwells among the nations,
she finds no rest;
all her persecutors overtook her
in the midst of distress.
4 The roads to Zion mourn
because no one comes to the solemn feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
her priests sigh,
her virgins are afflicted,
and she herself suffers bitterly.
5 Her adversaries have become her masters,
her enemies prosper;
for the Lord has afflicted her
because of the multitude of her transgressions.
Her children have gone into captivity
before the enemy.
6 From the daughter of Zion
all her beauty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and misery
Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things
that she had in the days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
there was no one to help her.
The adversaries saw her
and mocked at her desolation.
8 Jerusalem has sinned grievously;
therefore she has become vile.
All who honored her despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself sighs
and turns away.
9 Her uncleanness is in her skirts;
she took no thought of her future;
therefore her fall is astounding;
she has no comforter.
“O Lord, look upon my affliction,
for the enemy has triumphed!”
10 The adversary has spread his hand
over all her precious things;
for she has seen the nations
enter her sanctuary,
those whom You commanded
not to enter Your congregation.
11 All her people groan,
as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
to restore their strength.
Look, O Lord, and consider,
for I am despised.
12 Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which the Lord has inflicted
on the day of His fierce anger.
13 From on high He has sent fire into my bones,
and it prevailed against them;
He has spread a net for my feet;
He turned me back;
He has made me desolate
and faint all the day long.
14 The yoke of my transgressions
was bound; by His hand
they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck.
He made my strength fail;
the Lord delivered me into the hands
of those whom I am not able to withstand.
15 The Lord has trampled underfoot
all my mighty men in my midst;
He has called an assembly against me
to crush my young men;
The Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah
as in a winepress.
16 For these things I weep;
my eyes flow with tears;
for the comforter, who should relieve my soul,
is far from me.
My children are desolate
for the enemy has prevailed.
17 Zion spreads out her hands,
but there is no one to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his adversaries;
Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.
18 The Lord is in the right,
for I have rebelled against His commandment.
Hear now, all peoples,
and see my sorrow;
my virgins and my young men
have gone into captivity.
19 I called for my lovers,
but they deceived me;
my priests and my elders
perished in the city,
while they sought food
to restore their strength.
20 Look, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my soul is greatly troubled;
my heart is overturned within me,
for I have grievously rebelled.
In the street the sword bereaves,
at home it is like death.
21 They have heard my groaning,
yet there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
they are glad that You have done it.
Bring the day that You have announced,
that they become like me.
22 Let all their wickedness come before You,
and do to them
as You have done to me
for all my transgressions;
for my groans are many,
and my heart is faint.
Lamentations 1
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Prophet Speaks Out: No One Offers Comfort
1 [a]“Look how deserted Jerusalem is!
Once the city was crowded with people.
Once it was important among the nations.
Now it is a widow.
Once it was a princess among the provinces.
Now it does forced labor.
2 Jerusalem cries bitterly at night with tears running down its cheeks.
Out of all those who love the city, no one offers it comfort.
All of Jerusalem’s friends have betrayed it and become its enemies.
3 “Judah has been exiled after ⌞much⌟ suffering and harsh treatment.
Its ⌞people⌟ live among the nations; they find no rest.
Those who chased them caught up with them
in places where there was no way out.
4 “The roads to Zion are deserted.[b]
No one comes to the annual festivals.
No one passes through any of its gates.[c]
Its priests are groaning.
Its young women are made to suffer.
Zion is bitter.
5 Its opponents are now in control.
Its enemies have no worries.
The Lord made Zion suffer for its many rebellious acts.
Its children go ahead of their opponents into captivity.
6 All splendor has abandoned the people of Zion.
Its influential people were like deer that couldn’t find any pasture.
They ran without any strength ahead of the hunters.
7 “Now, during its suffering and oppression,
Jerusalem remembers all the treasures it had from ancient times,
when its people fell into the power of their enemies
with no one to help them.
Their opponents looked on, and they laughed at Jerusalem’s downfall.
8 Jerusalem has sinned so much that it has become a filthy thing.
Everyone who used to honor it now despises it.
They’ve seen it naked.
Jerusalem groans and turns away.
9 Jerusalem’s own filth ⌞covers⌟ its clothes.
It gave no thought to its future.
Its downfall was shocking.
No one offers it comfort.
‘O Lord, look at my suffering,
because my enemies have triumphed.’
10 The enemies laid their hands on all of the city’s treasures.
Jerusalem has seen the nations enter the holy place.
‘O Lord, they are the same people
you have forbidden to enter your congregation.’
11 All the people are groaning as they beg for bread.
They trade their treasures for food to keep themselves alive.
‘O Lord, look and see how despised I am!’ ”
Zion Speaks Out: No One Offers Comfort
12 “Doesn’t this affect all of you who pass by?
Look and see if there’s any pain
like the pain that the Lord has caused me,
like the pain that he has made me suffer on the day of his fierce anger.
13 He sent fire from above.
He made it go deep into my bones.
He spread a net for my feet.
He made me turn back.
He has left me devastated.
He has made me sick all day long.
14 My rebellious acts are a heavy burden for me.
They were tied together by God’s own hands.
They were tied around my neck.
He has weakened me ⌞with them⌟.
The Lord has handed me over to people I cannot oppose.
15 The Lord has treated all the warriors inside my ⌞walls⌟ with contempt.
He called an army to defeat my young men.
The Lord trampled the people of Judah in a winepress.
16 I’m crying because of ⌞all⌟ these things.
My eyes—my eyes flow with tears.
No one can give me the comfort I need to keep me alive.
Everyone is too far away from me.
My children are devastated because my enemies have won.”
17 Zion holds out its hands.
No one offers it comfort.
The Lord has given this order about Jacob:
His own neighbors will become his opponents.
Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.
18 “The Lord is right in what he did,
because I rebelled against his word.
Please listen, all you people, and look at my pain.
My young women and young men have gone into captivity.
19 I called for those who love me, but they betrayed me.
My priests and leaders breathed their last breath in the city,
looking for food to keep themselves alive.
20 “O Lord, see the distress I’m in!
My stomach is churning.
My heart is pounding because I’ve been very bitter.
In the streets swords kill my children.
Inside the houses it’s like death.
21 “All my enemies have heard that I am groaning.
No one offers me comfort.
All my enemies have heard about my disaster.
They are happy that you did it.
You have allowed the day to come, the one that you had announced.
Let my enemies be like me now.
22 Recall all of their wickedness.
Then deal with them as you have dealt with me
because of all my rebellious acts.
I groan so much and feel so sick at heart.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.