She weeps bitterly in the night, And her tears are on her cheeks; She has no one to comfort her Among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile out of affliction And harsh servitude; She lives among the nations, But she has not found a resting place; All those who pursued her have overtaken her In the midst of distress.

The roads of Zion are in mourning Because no one comes to an appointed feast. All her gates are deserted; Her priests groan, Her virgins are worried, And as for Zion herself, it is bitter for her.

All of her splendor Is gone from the daughter of Zion; Her leaders have become like deer That have found no pasture, And they have fled without strength From the pursuer.

In the days of her affliction and homelessness Jerusalem remembers all her treasures That were hers since the days of old, When her people fell into the hand of the adversary And no one helped her. The adversaries saw her, They laughed at her ruin.

Jerusalem sinned greatly, Therefore she has become an object of ridicule. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Even she herself groans and turns away.

The adversary has stretched out his hand Over all her precious things, For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, The ones whom You commanded That they were not to enter Your congregation.

All her people groan, seeking bread; They have given their treasures for food To restore their lives. “See, Lord, and look, For I am despised.”

“Is it nothing to all you who pass this way? Look and see if there is any pain like my pain Which was inflicted on me, With which the Lord tormented me on the day of His fierce anger.

From the height He sent fire into my bones, And it dominated them. He has spread a net for my feet; He has turned me back; He has made me desolate, Faint all day long.

The Lord has thrown away all my strong men In my midst; He has called an appointed time against me To crush my young men; The Lord has trodden as in a wine press The virgin daughter of Judah.

“The Lord is righteous, For I have rebelled against His command; Hear now, all peoples, And see my pain; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity.

They have heard that I groan; There is no one to comfort me, All my enemies have heard of my disaster; They are joyful that You have done it. Oh, that You would bring the day which You have proclaimed, So that they will become like me.

May all their wickedness come before You; And deal with them just as You have dealt with me For all my wrongdoings. For my groans are many and my heart is faint.”

The Lord has destroyed; He has not spared All the settlements of Jacob. In His wrath He has overthrown The strongholds of the daughter of Judah, He has hurled them down to the ground; He has profaned the kingdom and its leaders.

In fierce anger He has cut off All the strength of Israel; He has pulled back His right hand From the enemy. And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire Consuming on all sides.

The Lord has become like an enemy. He has engulfed Israel; He has engulfed all its palaces, He has destroyed its strongholds And caused great mourning and grieving in the daughter of Judah.

All who pass along the way Clap their hands in ridicule at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city of which they said, ‘Perfect in beauty, A joy to all the earth’?”

All your enemies Have opened their mouths wide against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, “We have engulfed her! This certainly is the day which we awaited; We have reached it, we have seen it!”

Indeed, He has turned His hand against me Repeatedly all the day.

I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their song of ridicule all the day.

To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the land,

All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city.

You have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against me.