The Lord determined to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from destroying, And He has caused rampart and wall to mourn; They have languished together.

Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her leaders are among the nations; The Law is gone. Her prophets, too, find No vision from the Lord.

The elders of the daughter of Zion Sit on the ground and are silent. They have thrown dust on their heads; They have put on sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem Have bowed their heads to the ground.

My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, When little ones and infants languish In the streets of the city.

They say to their mothers, “Where is grain and wine?” As they faint like a wounded person In the streets of the city, As their lives are poured out In their mothers’ arms.

How shall I admonish you? What shall I compare to you, Daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I liken to you as I comfort you, Virgin daughter of Zion? For your collapse is as vast as the sea; Who can heal you?

Your prophets have seen for you Worthless and deceptive visions; And they have not exposed your wrongdoing So as to restore you from captivity, But they have seen for you worthless and misleading pronouncements.

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!”

The Lord has done what He determined; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has torn down without sparing, And He has helped the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the might of your adversaries.

Their heart cried out to the Lord: “You wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your tears stream down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let your eyes have no rest.

Arise, whimper in the night At the beginning of the night watches; Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Raise your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who languish because of hunger At the head of every street.

See, Lord, and look! With whom have You dealt this way? Should women really eat their children, The little ones who were born healthy? Should priest and prophet really be killed In the sanctuary of the Lord?

On the ground in the streets Lie young and old; My virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword. You have put them to death on the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, without sparing.

You called as on the day of an appointed feast My terrors on every side; And there was no one who survived or escaped On the day of the Lord’s anger. As for those whom I brought forth healthy and whom I raised, My enemy annihilated them.”

Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Misery

I am the man who has seen misery Because of the rod of His wrath.

He has consumed my flesh and my skin, He has broken my bones.

He has besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.

He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy.

Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer.

He has blocked my ways with cut stone; He has twisted my paths.

He is to me like a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in secret places.

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

My soul has been excluded from peace; I have forgotten happiness.

So I say, “My strength has failed, And so has my hope from the Lord.”