How Lonely Sits the City

(A)How lonely sits the city
    that was full of people!
How like (B)a widow has she become,
    she who was great among the nations!
She who was (C)a princess among the provinces
    has become (D)a slave.

(E)She weeps bitterly in the night,
    with tears on her cheeks;
(F)among all her lovers
    she has (G)none to comfort her;
(H)all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
    they have become her enemies.

(I)Judah has gone into exile because of affliction[a]
    and hard servitude;
(J)she dwells now among the nations,
    (K)but finds no resting place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
    in the midst of her distress.[b]

The roads to Zion mourn,
    for none come to (L)the festival;
(M)all her gates are desolate;
    her priests (N)groan;
her virgins have been afflicted,[c]
    and she herself suffers bitterly.

(O)Her foes have become the head;
    her (P)enemies prosper,
because (Q)the Lord has afflicted her
    (R)for the multitude of her transgressions;
(S)her children have gone away,
    captives before the foe.

From the daughter of Zion
    all her majesty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
    (T)that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
    before the pursuer.

Jerusalem remembers
    in the days of her affliction and wandering
(U)all the precious things
    that were hers from (V)days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
    and there was none to help her,
her foes gloated over her;
    they (W)mocked at her downfall.

(X)Jerusalem sinned grievously;
    therefore she became filthy;
all who honored her despise her,
    (Y)for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself (Z)groans
    and turns her face away.

Her uncleanness was (AA)in her skirts;
    (AB)she took no thought of her future;[d]
therefore her fall is terrible;
    (AC)she has no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
    for the enemy has (AD)triumphed!”

10 The enemy has stretched out his hands
    over all her (AE)precious things;
for she has seen (AF)the nations
    enter her sanctuary,
those whom you (AG)forbade
    to enter your congregation.

11 All her people (AH)groan
    as (AI)they search for bread;
they trade their (AJ)treasures for (AK)food
    to revive their strength.
“Look, O Lord, and see,
    for I am despised.”

12 “Is it nothing to you, all (AL)you who pass by?
    (AM)Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
    which was brought upon me,
which (AN)the Lord inflicted
    on (AO)the day of his fierce anger.

13 “From on high he (AP)sent fire;
    into my bones[e] he made it descend;
(AQ)he spread a net for my feet;
    he turned me back;
(AR)he has left me stunned,
    faint all the day long.

14 “My transgressions were bound[f] into (AS)a yoke;
    by his hand they were fastened together;
they were set upon my neck;
    he caused my strength to fail;
the Lord gave me into the hands
    of those whom I cannot withstand.

15 “The Lord rejected
    all my mighty men in my midst;
he summoned an assembly against me
    to crush my young men;
(AT)the Lord has trodden as in a winepress
    the virgin daughter of Judah.

16 “For these things (AU)I weep;
    my eyes flow with tears;
for (AV)a comforter is far from me,
    one to (AW)revive my spirit;
my children are desolate,
    for the enemy has prevailed.”

17 (AX)Zion stretches out her hands,
    but (AY)there is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
    that his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become
    a filthy thing among them.

18 (AZ)“The Lord is in the right,
    (BA)for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
    and see my suffering;
(BB)my young women and my young men
    have gone into captivity.

19 “I called to (BC)my lovers,
    but they deceived me;
my priests and elders
    perished in the city,
while (BD)they sought food
    to revive their strength.

20 “Look, O Lord, for I am in distress;
    (BE)my stomach churns;
my heart is wrung within me,
    because I have been very rebellious.
(BF)In the street the sword bereaves;
    in the house it is like death.

21 “They heard[g] (BG)my groaning,
    yet (BH)there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
    (BI)they are glad that you have done it.
You have brought[h] the day you announced;
    (BJ)now let them be as I am.

22 (BK)“Let all their evildoing come before you,
    and deal with them
as (BL)you have dealt with me
    because of all my transgressions;
for (BM)my groans are many,
    and (BN)my heart is faint.”

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:3 Or under affliction
  2. Lamentations 1:3 Or in the narrow passes
  3. Lamentations 1:4 Septuagint, Old Latin dragged away
  4. Lamentations 1:9 Or end
  5. Lamentations 1:13 Septuagint; Hebrew bones and
  6. Lamentations 1:14 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  7. Lamentations 1:21 Septuagint, Syriac Hear
  8. Lamentations 1:21 Syriac Bring

Lament over Jerusalem

א Alef

How[a] she sits alone,(A)
the city(B) once crowded with people!
She who was great among the nations
has become like a widow.(C)
The princess among the provinces
has been put to forced labor.

ב Bet

She weeps aloud during the night,(D)
with tears on her cheeks.
There is no one to offer her comfort,
not one from all her lovers.[b](E)
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.

ג Gimel

Judah has gone into exile
following[c] affliction and harsh slavery;
she lives among the nations
but finds no place to rest.(F)
All her pursuers have overtaken her
in narrow places.

ד Dalet

The roads to Zion(G) mourn,
for no one comes to the appointed festivals.(H)
All her gates are deserted;
her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
and she herself is bitter.

ה He

Her adversaries have become her masters;(I)
her enemies are at ease,(J)
for the Lord has made her suffer
because of her many transgressions.
Her children have gone away
as captives before the adversary.

ו Vav

All her splendor(K) has vanished
from Daughter Zion.(L)
Her leaders are like stags
that find no pasture;
they walk away exhausted
before the hunter.(M)

ז Zayin

During the days of her affliction and homelessness(N)
Jerusalem remembers all her precious belongings
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into the adversary’s hand,
she had no one to help.
The adversaries looked at her,
laughing over her downfall.

ח Khet

Jerusalem has sinned grievously;
therefore, she has become an object of scorn.[d]
All who honored her now despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness.
She herself groans and turns away.

ט Tet

Her uncleanness stains her skirts.(O)
She never considered her end.
Her downfall was astonishing;(P)
there was no one to comfort her.
Lord, look on my affliction,
for the enemy triumphs!

י Yod

10 The adversary has seized
all her precious belongings.
She has even seen the nations
enter her sanctuary—
those You had forbidden
to enter Your assembly.(Q)

כ Kaf

11 All her people groan
while they search for bread.(R)
They have traded their precious belongings for food
in order to stay alive.(S)
Lord, look and see
how I have become despised.

ל Lamed

12 Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by?(T)
Look and see!
Is there any pain like mine,
which was dealt out to me,
which the Lord made me suffer
on the day of His burning anger?(U)

מ Mem

13 He sent fire from heaven(V) into my bones;
He made it descend.[e](W)
He spread a net for my feet(X)
and turned me back.
He made me desolate,
sick all day long.

נ Nun

14 My transgressions have been formed into a yoke,[f][g](Y)
fastened together by His hand;
they have been placed on my neck,
and the Lord has broken my strength.
He has handed me over
to those I cannot withstand.

ס Samek

15 The Lord has rejected(Z)
all the mighty men within me.
He has summoned an army[h] against me
to crush my young warriors.
The Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah(AA)
like grapes in a winepress.(AB)

ע Ayin

16 I weep because of these things;
my eyes flow[i] with tears.(AC)
For there is no one nearby to comfort me,(AD)
no one to keep me alive.
My children are desolate
because the enemy has prevailed.

פ Pe

17 Zion stretches out her hands;
there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his adversaries.
Jerusalem has become
something impure(AE) among them.

צ Tsade

18 The Lord is just,
for I have rebelled against His command.(AF)
Listen, all you people;
look at my pain.
My young men and women
have gone into captivity.(AG)

ק Qof

19 I called to my lovers,(AH)
but they betrayed me.
My priests and elders
perished in the city
while searching for food
to keep themselves alive.(AI)

ר Resh

20 Lord, see how I am in distress.
I am churning within;(AJ)
my heart is broken,[j]
for I have been very rebellious.
Outside, the sword takes the children;
inside, there is death.(AK)

שׁ Shin

21 People have heard me groaning,(AL)
but there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my misfortune;
they are glad that You have caused it.(AM)
Bring on the day You have announced,
so that they may become like me.(AN)

ת Tav

22 Let all their wickedness come before You,
and deal with them
as You have dealt with me
because of all my transgressions.(AO)
For my groans are many,
and I am sick at heart.

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:1 The stanzas in Lm 1–4 form an acrostic.
  2. Lamentations 1:2 = Jerusalem’s political allies
  3. Lamentations 1:3 Or because of
  4. Lamentations 1:8 Or become impure
  5. Lamentations 1:13 DSS, LXX; MT reads bones, and it prevailed against them
  6. Lamentations 1:14 Some Hb mss, LXX read He kept watch over my transgressions
  7. Lamentations 1:14 Or The yoke of my transgressions is bound; Hb obscure
  8. Lamentations 1:15 Or has announced an appointed time
  9. Lamentations 1:16 Lit my eye, my eye flows
  10. Lamentations 1:20 Lit is turned within me