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Zion Lays Desolate

Aleph

How (A)lonely sits the city
That was (B)great with 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!

Beth

She (F)weeps bitterly in the night,
And her tears are on her cheeks;
She has none to comfort her
Among all her (G)lovers.
All her friends have (H)dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.

Gimel

(I)Judah has gone into exile because of affliction
And because of great slavery;
She sits (J)among the nations,
But she has found no rest;
All (K)her pursuers have overtaken her
In the midst of [b]distress.

Daleth

The roads [c]of Zion are in mourning
Because (L)no one comes to the appointed times.
All her gates are (M)desolate;
Her priests are sighing,
Her (N)virgins are grieving,
And she herself [d]is (O)bitter.

He

Her adversaries have become [e]her masters;
Her enemies are complacent;
For [f]Yahweh has (P)caused her grief
Because of the greatness of her transgressions;
Her infants have gone away
As captives before the adversary.

Vav

So all her (Q)majesty
Has gone out from the daughter of Zion;
Her princes have become like deer
That have found no pasture;
So they have [g](R)fled without strength
Before the pursuer.

Zayin

In the days of her affliction and homelessness
(S)Jerusalem remembers all her precious things
That were from the days of old,
When her people fell into the hand of the adversary
And (T)no one helped her.
The adversaries saw her;
They (U)laughed at her [h]ruin.

Heth

Jerusalem sinned (V)greatly;
Therefore (W)she has become an impure thing.
All who honored her despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness;
Even (X)she herself sighs and turns away.

Teth

Her (Y)uncleanness was in her skirts;
She did not remember her (Z)future.
Therefore she has (AA)gone down astonishingly;
(AB)She has no comforter.
(AC)See, O Yahweh, my affliction,
For the enemy has (AD)magnified himself!”

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:1 Or districts
  2. Lamentations 1:3 Or narrow places
  3. Lamentations 1:4 Or to
  4. Lamentations 1:4 Or suffers bitterly
  5. Lamentations 1:5 Lit head
  6. Lamentations 1:5 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
  7. Lamentations 1:6 Lit gone
  8. Lamentations 1:7 Lit cessation

The Sorrows of Zion

How (A)lonely sits the city
That was (B)full of 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!
She (F)weeps bitterly in the night
And her tears are on her cheeks;
She has none to comfort her
Among all her (G)lovers.
All her friends have (H)dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
(I)Judah has gone into exile [b]under affliction
And [c]under [d]harsh servitude;
She dwells (J)among the nations,
But she has found no rest;
All (K)her pursuers have overtaken her
In the midst of [e]distress.
The roads [f]of Zion are in mourning
Because (L)no one comes to the appointed feasts.
All her gates are (M)desolate;
Her priests are groaning,
Her (N)virgins are afflicted,
And she herself [g]is (O)bitter.
Her adversaries have become [h]her masters,
Her enemies [i]prosper;
For the Lord has (P)caused her grief
Because of the multitude of her transgressions;
Her little ones have gone away
As captives before the adversary.
All her (Q)majesty
Has departed from the daughter of Zion;
Her princes have become like deer
That have found no pasture;
And they have [j](R)fled without strength
Before the pursuer.
In the days of her affliction and homelessness
(S)Jerusalem remembers all her precious things
That were from the days of old,
When her people fell into the hand of the adversary
And (T)no one helped her.
The adversaries saw her,
They (U)mocked at her [k]ruin.
Jerusalem sinned (V)greatly,
Therefore (W)she has become an unclean thing.
All who honored her despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness;
Even (X)she herself groans and turns away.
Her (Y)uncleanness was in her skirts;
She [l]did not consider her (Z)future.
Therefore she has [m](AA)fallen astonishingly;
(AB)She has no comforter.
(AC)See, O Lord, my affliction,
For the enemy has (AD)magnified himself!”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:1 Or districts
  2. Lamentations 1:3 Or by reason of
  3. Lamentations 1:3 Or by reason of
  4. Lamentations 1:3 Lit great
  5. Lamentations 1:3 Or narrow places
  6. Lamentations 1:4 Or to
  7. Lamentations 1:4 Or suffers bitterly
  8. Lamentations 1:5 Lit head
  9. Lamentations 1:5 Or are at ease
  10. Lamentations 1:6 Lit gone
  11. Lamentations 1:7 Lit cessation
  12. Lamentations 1:9 Lit did not remember her latter end
  13. Lamentations 1:9 Lit come down