² Without pity^(A) the Lord has swallowed^(B) up
    all the dwellings of Jacob;
in his wrath he has torn down
    the strongholds^(C) of Daughter Judah.
He has brought her kingdom and its princes
    down to the ground^(D) in dishonor.

¹⁰ The elders of Daughter Zion
    sit on the ground in silence;^(A)
they have sprinkled dust^(B) on their heads^(C)
    and put on sackcloth.^(D)
The young women of Jerusalem
    have bowed their heads to the ground.^(E)

¹¹ My eyes fail from weeping,^(F)
    I am in torment within^(G);
my heart^(H) is poured out^(I) on the ground
    because my people are destroyed,^(J)
because children and infants faint^(K)
    in the streets of the city.

¹² They say to their mothers,
    “Where is bread and wine?”^(L)
as they faint like the wounded
    in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away^(M)
    in their mothers’ arms.^(N)

¹³ What can I say for you?^(O)
    With what can I compare you,
    Daughter^(P) Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
    that I may comfort you,
    Virgin Daughter Zion?^(Q)
Your wound is as deep as the sea.^(R)
    Who can heal you?

¹⁴ The visions of your prophets
    were false^(S) and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
    to ward off your captivity.^(T)
The prophecies they gave you
    were false and misleading.^(U)

¹⁸ The hearts of the people
    cry out to the Lord.^(A)
You walls of Daughter Zion,^(B)
    let your tears^(C) flow like a river
    day and night;^(D)
give yourself no relief,
    your eyes no rest.^(E)

¹⁹ Arise, cry out in the night,
    as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart^(F) like water
    in the presence of the Lord.^(G)
Lift up your hands^(H) to him
    for the lives of your children,
who faint^(I) from hunger
    at every street corner.

⁴ Your foes roared^(K) in the place where you met with us;
    they set up their standards^(L) as signs.
⁵ They behaved like men wielding axes
    to cut through a thicket of trees.^(M)
6 They smashed all the carved^(N) paneling
    with their axes and hatchets.
⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
    they defiled^(O) the dwelling place^(P) of your Name.^(Q)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush^(R) them completely!”
    They burned^(S) every place where God was worshiped in the land.

¹⁷ It was you who set all the boundaries^(A) of the earth;
    you made both summer and winter.^(B)

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
    how foolish people^(C) have reviled your name.
¹⁹ Do not hand over the life of your dove^(D) to wild beasts;
    do not forget the lives of your afflicted^(E) people forever.
²⁰ Have regard for your covenant,^(F)
    because haunts of violence fill the dark places^(G) of the land.

“He took up our infirmities
    and bore our diseases.”^[a](M)