¹ O God, pagan nations have conquered your land,
    your special possession.
They have defiled your holy Temple
    and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.

¹² Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field;
    Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!
A thicket will grow on the heights
    where the Temple now stands.

¹⁰ The enemy has plundered her completely,
    taking every precious thing she owns.
She has seen foreigners violate her sacred Temple,
    the place the Lord had forbidden them to enter.

‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field;
    Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!
A thicket will grow on the heights
    where the Temple now stands.’^[a]

¹ O God, why have you rejected us so long?
    Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture?
² Remember that we are the people you chose long ago,
    the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession!
    And remember Jerusalem,^[b] your home here on earth.
³ Walk through the awful ruins of the city;
    see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary.

⁴ There your enemies shouted their victorious battle cries;
    there they set up their battle standards.

⁷¹ He took David from tending the ewes and lambs
    and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants—
    God’s own people, Israel.

⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground.
    They defiled the place that bears your name.
⁸ Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!”
    So they burned down all the places where God was worshiped.