Lamentations 1:1-9

International Children’s Bible

² She cries loudly at night.
    Tears are on her cheeks.
There is no one to comfort her.
    All her lovers are gone.
All her friends have turned against her.
    They have become her enemies.

³ Judah has gone into captivity.
    She has suffered and worked hard.
She lives among other nations.
    But she has found no rest.
Those who chased her caught her.
    They caught her when she was in trouble.

⁴ The roads to Jerusalem are sad.
    No one comes to Jerusalem for the feasts.
No one passes through her gates.
    And her priests groan.
Her young women are suffering.
    And Jerusalem suffers terribly.

⁵ Her enemies have become her masters.
    Her enemies enjoy the wealth they have won.
The Lord is punishing her
    for her many sins.
Her children have gone away.
    They are captives of the enemy in a foreign land.

⁶ The beauty of Jerusalem
    has gone away.
Her rulers are like deer
    that cannot find food.
They are weak and have run away
    from those who chased them.

⁷ Jerusalem is suffering and homeless.
    She remembers all the precious things
    she had in the past.
She remembers when her people were defeated by the enemy.
    There was no one to help her.
When her enemies saw her,
    they laughed to see her ruined.

⁸ Jerusalem sinned terribly.
    So she has become unclean.
Those who honored her hate her now
    because they have seen her nakedness.
Jerusalem groans
    and turns away.

⁹ Jerusalem made herself unclean by her sins.
    She did not think about what would happen to her.
Her defeat was surprising.
    There was no one to comfort her.
She says, “Lord, see how I suffer.
    The enemy has won.”