Lamentations 1
New Living Translation
Sorrow in Jerusalem
1 Jerusalem, once so full of people,
is now deserted.
She who was once great among the nations
now sits alone like a widow.
Once the queen of all the earth,
she is now a slave.
2 She sobs through the night;
tears stream down her cheeks.
Among all her lovers,
there is no one left to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her
and become her enemies.
3 Judah has been led away into captivity,
oppressed with cruel slavery.
She lives among foreign nations
and has no place of rest.
Her enemies have chased her down,
and she has nowhere to turn.
4 The roads to Jerusalem[a] are in mourning,
for crowds no longer come to celebrate the festivals.
The city gates are silent,
her priests groan,
her young women are crying—
how bitter is her fate!
5 Her oppressors have become her masters,
and her enemies prosper,
for the Lord has punished Jerusalem
for her many sins.
Her children have been captured
and taken away to distant lands.
6 All the majesty of beautiful Jerusalem[b]
has been stripped away.
Her princes are like starving deer
searching for pasture.
They are too weak to run
from the pursuing enemy.
7 In the midst of her sadness and wandering,
Jerusalem remembers her ancient splendor.
But now she has fallen to her enemy,
and there is no one to help her.
Her enemy struck her down
and laughed as she fell.
8 Jerusalem has sinned greatly,
so she has been tossed away like a filthy rag.
All who once honored her now despise her,
for they have seen her stripped naked and humiliated.
All she can do is groan
and hide her face.
9 She defiled herself with immorality
and gave no thought to her future.
Now she lies in the gutter
with no one to lift her out.
“Lord, see my misery,” she cries.
“The enemy has triumphed.”
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.
11 Her people groan as they search for bread.
They have sold their treasures for food to stay alive.
“O Lord, look,” she mourns,
“and see how I am despised.
12 “Does it mean nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look around and see if there is any suffering like mine,
which the Lord brought on me
when he erupted in fierce anger.
13 “He has sent fire from heaven that burns in my bones.
He has placed a trap in my path and turned me back.
He has left me devastated,
racked with sickness all day long.
14 “He wove my sins into ropes
to hitch me to a yoke of captivity.
The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies;
I am helpless in their hands.
15 “The Lord has treated my mighty men
with contempt.
At his command a great army has come
to crush my young warriors.
The Lord has trampled his beloved city[c]
like grapes are trampled in a winepress.
16 “For all these things I weep;
tears flow down my cheeks.
No one is here to comfort me;
any who might encourage me are far away.
My children have no future,
for the enemy has conquered us.”
17 Jerusalem reaches out for help,
but no one comforts her.
Regarding his people Israel,[d]
the Lord has said,
“Let their neighbors be their enemies!
Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!”
18 “The Lord is right,” Jerusalem says,
“for I rebelled against him.
Listen, people everywhere;
look upon my anguish and despair,
for my sons and daughters
have been taken captive to distant lands.
19 “I begged my allies for help,
but they betrayed me.
My priests and leaders
starved to death in the city,
even as they searched for food
to save their lives.
20 “Lord, see my anguish!
My heart is broken
and my soul despairs,
for I have rebelled against you.
In the streets the sword kills,
and at home there is only death.
21 “Others heard my groans,
but no one turned to comfort me.
When my enemies heard about my troubles,
they were happy to see what you had done.
Oh, bring the day you promised,
when they will suffer as I have suffered.
22 “Look at all their evil deeds, Lord.
Punish them,
as you have punished me
for all my sins.
My groans are many,
and I am sick at heart.”
Lamentations 1
International Standard Version
The Sorrowful City[a]
1 How lonely she lies,
the city that thronged with people!
Like a widow she has become,
this great one among nations!
The princess among provinces
has become a vassal.
2 Bitterly she cries in the night,
as tears stream down[b] her cheeks.
No one consoles her
of all her friends.
All her neighbors have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into exile
to escape affliction and servitude.
She that sat among the nations,
has found no rest.
All her pursuers overtook her
amid narrow passes.
4 The roads that lead to Zion are in mourning,
because no one travels to the festivals.
All her gates are desolate;
her priests are moaning.
Her young women[c] are grieving,[d]
and she is bitter.
5 Her adversaries dominate her,
her enemies prosper.
For the Lord has made her suffer
because of her many transgressions.
Her children have gone away,
taken into captivity in the presence of the enemy.
6 Fled from cherished[e] Zion
are all that were her splendor.
Her princes have become like deer
that cannot find their feeding grounds.
They flee with strength exhausted
from their pursuers.
7 Jerusalem remembers[f]
her time of affliction and misery;
all her valued belongings[g]
of days gone by,
when her people fell into enemy hands,
with no one to help her,
and her enemies stared at her,
mocking her downfall.
8 Jerusalem sinned greatly,
and she became unclean.[h]
All who honored her now despise her,
because they saw her naked.
She herself groans
and turns her face away.
9 Uncleanness has soiled her skirts,
and she gave no thought to what would follow.
She fell in such a startling way,
with no one to comfort her.
Look, Lord, upon my affliction,
because my enemy is boasting.
10 The adversary seized in his hands
everything she valued.
She watched the nations[i]
enter her sanctuary;
those you forbade to enter
your place of meeting.
11 All her people groaned
as they searched for food.
They traded their valuables in order to eat,
to keep themselves alive.[j]
Look, Lord, and see
how I have become dishonored.
12 May it not befall you,[k]
all who pass along the road!
Look and see:
Is there any grief
like my grief
dealt out to me,
by which the Lord afflicted me
in the time of his fierce wrath?
13 He sent fire from on high,[l]
making it penetrate my bones.[m]
He stretched out a net at my feet,
forcing me to turn back.
He made me desolate;
I’m fainting all day long.
14 The yoke of my sins was bound on,[n]
fastened together by his hand.
They settled on my neck;
he caused my strength to fail.
The Lord placed me in the power
of those I cannot resist.
15 He rejected all the valiant men—
the Lord, in my midst.
He set a time to meet with me
to crush my young warriors.
The Lord has trampled, as in a winepress,
the fair virgin that is[o] Judah.
16 Because of all this, I weep;
my eyes[p] stream with tears
because far from me
is the comforter of my soul.
My children are sorrowful,
because the enemy has won.
17 Zion spreads out her hands;[q]
no one is there to comfort her.
The Lord has issued an order against[r] Jacob,
that all who are around him are to be his enemies;
Jerusalem has become
unclean among them.
18 The Lord is in the right,
but I rebelled against his commands.
Listen, please, all you people,
and look at my pain—
my young men and women[s]
have gone into captivity.
19 I called out to my lovers,[t]
but they deceived me.
My priests and my elders
have died within the city
while looking for something to eat
to keep themselves alive.
20 Look, Lord, how distressed I am;
all my insides are churning.
My heart is troubled within me,
because I vigorously rebelled.
Outside the sword brings loss of life,
while at home death rules.
21 People[u] heard how I groan,
with no one to comfort me.
All my adversaries have heard about my troubles;
they rejoice that you have caused them.
Bring on the day you have promised,
so my adversaries[v] will become like me.
22 May all of their wickedness come to your attention,
and deal with them
as you have done with me
because of all my transgressions.
For I am constantly groaning,
and my heart is faint.
Footnotes
- Lamentations 1:1 This book is an acrostic—successive verses begin with a consecutive letter of the Heb. alphabet except in chapter 3, where every three verses begin with the same consecutive Heb. letter.
- Lamentations 1:2 The Heb. lacks stream down
- Lamentations 1:4 Lit. virgins
- Lamentations 1:4 Or are led away.
- Lamentations 1:6 Lit. from the daughter of
- Lamentations 1:7 Or Remember, Lord, Jerusalem,
- Lamentations 1:7 Or Perished are all her valued belongings
- Lamentations 1:8 Lit. has been removed; i.e. due to ritual uncleanness
- Lamentations 1:10 Or watched foreigners
- Lamentations 1:11 Lit. to eat to refresh the soul
- Lamentations 1:12 Lit. It is not for you
- Lamentations 1:13 Lit. high into my bones
- Lamentations 1:13 Lit. overcoming her
- Lamentations 1:14 Lit. was heavy
- Lamentations 1:15 Lit. the virgin daughter of
- Lamentations 1:16 Lit. my eyes my eyes
- Lamentations 1:17 Or Zion rent her linen garments
- Lamentations 1:17 Or Lord kept watch over
- Lamentations 1:18 Lit. virgins
- Lamentations 1:19 Or friends
- Lamentations 1:21 Lit. They
- Lamentations 1:21 Lit. so they
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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