Lamentations 1:1-9

Evangelical Heritage Version

1 How lonely the city sits, which once was full of people!
She, who was great among the nations, is now a widow.
    She, who was a princess among the provinces, now works as a slave.
² At night she weeps bitterly, and her tears linger on her cheek.
    Not one of her lovers is there to comfort her.
    All her friends have betrayed her. They are now her enemies.
³ Judah has gone into exile. She endures affliction and harsh labor.
    She lives among the nations. She finds no rest.
    All her pursuers caught up with her when she was in great distress.
⁴ The roads to Zion are mourning,
    because there are no travelers going to the appointed assemblies.
    All her gates are deserted. Her priests groan.
    Her virgins grieve. Her grief is bitter.
⁵ Her foes have risen to the top. Her enemies prosper.
    Because of her many acts of rebellion, the Lord has brought grief to her.
    Her children have gone into captivity in the presence of the foe.
⁶ The daughter of Zion^[b] has lost all her splendor.
    Her officials have become like deer that find no pasture.
    Powerless, they fled before^[c] the pursuer.
⁷ Jerusalem remembers the days of her affliction and her homeless wandering.
    She remembers all her precious things which were hers from long ago.
    When her people fell under the hand of the foe, there was no one to help her.
    Foes saw her and laughed at the end she has come to.
⁸ Jerusalem has sinned terribly, so she is unclean.^[d]
    All who once honored her now despise her, because they have seen her nakedness.
    She can only sigh and turn away.
⁹ Her flow of blood stains her skirt. She did not consider the outcome of her sin.
    Her collapse was astonishing. There was no one to comfort her.
    Look, Lord, at my affliction, for the enemy has done awful things.