1Jerusalem, 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.H5892H3427H910H7227H5971H490H7227H1471H8282H4082H4522 2She 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.H1058H1058H3915H1832H3895H157H5162H7453H898H341 3Judah 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.H3063H1540H6040H7230H5656H3427H1471H4672H4494H7291H5381H4712 4The roads to Jerusalem 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!H1870H6726H57H935H4150H8179H8074H3548H584H1330H3013H4843 5Her 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.H6862H7218H341H7951H3068H3013H7230H6588H5768H1980H7628H6440H6862 6All the majesty of beautiful Jerusalem has been stripped away. Her princes are like starving deer searching for pasture. They are too weak to run from the pursuing enemy.H1323H6726H1926H3318H8269H354H4672H4829H3212H3581H6440H7291 7In 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.H3389H2142H3117H6040H4788H4262H3117H6924H5971H5307H3027H6862H5826H6862H7200H7832H4868 8Jerusalem 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.H3389H2399H2398H5206H3513H2107H7200H6172H584H7725H268 9She 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.”H2932H7757H2142H319H3381H6382H5162H3068H7200H6040H341H1431 10The 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.H6862H6566H3027H4261H7200H1471H935H4720H6680H935H6951 11Her 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.H5971H584H1245H3899H5414H4261H4262H400H7725H5315H7200H3068H5027H2151 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.H5674H1870H5027H7200H3426H4341H4341H5953H3068H3013H3117H2740H639 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.H4791H7971H784H6106H7287H6566H7568H7272H7725H268H5414H8074H1739H3117 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.H5923H6588H8244H3027H8276H5927H6677H3581H3782H136H5414H3027H3201H6965 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 like grapes are trampled in a winepress.H136H5541H47H7130H7121H4150H7665H970H136H1869H1330H1323H3063H1660 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.”H1058H5869H5869H3381H4325H5162H7725H5315H7368H1121H8074H341H1396 17Jerusalem reaches out for help, but no one comforts her. Regarding his people Israel, the Lord has said, “Let their neighbors be their enemies! Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!”H6726H6566H3027H5162H3068H6680H3290H6862H5439H3389H5079 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.H3068H6662H4784H6310H8085H5971H7200H4341H1330H970H1980H7628 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.H7121H157H7411H3548H2205H1478H5892H1245H400H7725H5315 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.H7200H3068H6887H4578H2560H3820H2015H7130H4784H4784H2351H2719H7921H1004H4194 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.H8085H584H5162H341H8085H7451H7797H6213H935H3117H7121H3644 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.”H7451H935H6440H5953H5953H6588H585H7227H3820H1742
2The Lord in his anger has cast a dark shadow over beautiful Jerusalem. The fairest of Israel’s cities lies in the dust, thrown down from the heights of heaven. In his day of great anger, the Lord has shown no mercy even to his Temple.H136H5743H1323H6726H5743H639H7993H8064H776H8597H3478H2142H1916H7272H3117H639 2Without mercy the Lord has destroyed every home in Israel. In his anger he has broken down the fortress walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He has brought them to the ground, dishonoring the kingdom and its rulers.H136H1104H4999H3290H2550H2040H5678H4013H1323H3063H5060H776H2490H4467H8269 3All the strength of Israel vanishes beneath his fierce anger. The Lord has withdrawn his protection as the enemy attacks. He consumes the whole land of Israel like a raging fire.H1438H2750H639H7161H3478H7725H268H3225H6440H341H1197H3290H3852H784H398H5439 4He bends his bow against his people, as though he were their enemy. His strength is used against them to kill their finest youth. His fury is poured out like fire on beautiful Jerusalem.H1869H7198H341H5324H3225H6862H2026H4261H5869H168H1323H6726H8210H2534H784 5Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel like an enemy. He has destroyed her palaces and demolished her fortresses. He has brought unending sorrow and tears upon beautiful Jerusalem.H136H341H1104H3478H1104H759H7843H4013H7235H1323H3063H8386H592 6He has broken down his Temple as though it were merely a garden shelter. The Lord has blotted out all memory of the holy festivals and Sabbath days. Kings and priests fall together before his fierce anger.H2554H7900H1588H7843H4150H3068H4150H7676H7911H6726H5006H2195H639H4428H3548 7The Lord has rejected his own altar; he despises his own sanctuary. He has given Jerusalem’s palaces to her enemies. They shout in the Lord’s Temple as though it were a day of celebration.H136H2186H4196H5010H4720H5462H3027H341H2346H759H5414H6963H1004H3068H3117H4150 8The Lord was determined to destroy the walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He made careful plans for their destruction, then did what he had planned. Therefore, the ramparts and walls have fallen down before him.H3068H2803H7843H2346H1323H6726H5186H6957H7725H3027H1104H2426H2346H56H535H3162 9Jerusalem’s gates have sunk into the ground. He has smashed their locks and bars. Her kings and princes have been exiled to distant lands; her law has ceased to exist. Her prophets receive no more visions from the Lord.H8179H2883H776H6H7665H1280H4428H8269H1471H8451H5030H4672H2377H3068 10The leaders of beautiful Jerusalem sit on the ground in silence. They are clothed in burlap and throw dust on their heads. The young women of Jerusalem hang their heads in shame.H2205H1323H6726H3427H776H1826H5927H6083H7218H2296H8242H1330H3389H3381H7218H776 11I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken. My spirit is poured out in agony as I see the desperate plight of my people. Little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets.H5869H3615H1832H4578H2560H3516H8210H776H7667H1323H5971H5768H3243H5848H7339H7151 12They cry out to their mothers, “We need food and drink!” Their lives ebb away in the streets like the life of a warrior wounded in battle. They gasp for life as they collapse in their mothers’ arms.H559H517H1715H3196H5848H2491H7339H5892H5315H8210H517H2436 13What can I say about you? Who has ever seen such sorrow? O daughter of Jerusalem, to what can I compare your anguish? O virgin daughter of Zion, how can I comfort you? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?H5749H5749H4100H1819H1323H3389H7737H5162H1330H1323H6726H7667H1419H3220H7495 14Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope.H5030H2372H7723H8602H1540H5771H7725H7622H7622H2372H7723H4864H4065 15All who pass by jeer at you. They scoff and insult beautiful Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city called ‘Most Beautiful in All the World’ and ‘Joy of All the Earth’?”H5674H5606H3709H1870H8319H5128H7218H1323H3389H5892H559H3632H3308H4885H776 16All your enemies mock you. They scoff and snarl and say, “We have destroyed her at last! We have long waited for this day, and it is finally here!”H341H6475H6310H8319H2786H8127H559H1104H389H3117H6960H4672H7200 17But it is the Lord who did just as he planned. He has fulfilled the promises of disaster he made long ago. He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy. He has caused her enemies to gloat over her and has given them power over her.H3068H6213H2161H1214H565H6680H3117H6924H2040H2550H341H8055H7311H7161H6862 18Cry aloud before the Lord, O walls of beautiful Jerusalem! Let your tears flow like a river day and night. Give yourselves no rest; give your eyes no relief.H3820H6817H136H2346H1323H6726H1832H3381H5158H3119H3915H5414H6314H1323H5869H1826 19Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in every street they are faint with hunger.H6965H7442H3915H7218H821H8210H3820H4325H5227H6440H136H5375H3709H5315H5768H5848H7458H7218H2351 20“O Lord, think about this! Should you treat your own people this way? Should mothers eat their own children, those they once bounced on their knees? Should priests and prophets be killed within the Lord’s Temple?H7200H3068H5027H5953H3541H802H398H6529H5768H2949H3548H5030H2026H4720H136 21“See them lying in the streets—young and old, boys and girls, killed by the swords of the enemy. You have killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without mercy.H5288H2205H7901H776H2351H1330H970H5307H2719H2026H3117H639H2873H2550 22“You have invited terrors from all around, as though you were calling them to a day of feasting. In the day of the Lord’s anger, no one has escaped or survived. The enemy has killed all the children whom I carried and raised.”H7121H4150H3117H4032H5439H3117H3068H639H6412H8300H2946H7235H341H3615
3I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.H1397H7200H6040H7626H5678 2He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.H5090H3212H2822H216 3He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.H7725H2015H3027H3117 4He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones.H1320H5785H1086H7665H6106 5He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.H1129H5362H7219H8513 6He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead.H3427H4285H4191H5769 7He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains.H1443H3318H5178H3513 8And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.H2199H7768H5640H8605 9He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked.H1443H1870H1496H5410H5753 10He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.H1677H693H738H4565 11He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.H5493H1870H6582H7760H8074 12He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.H1869H7198H5324H4307H2671 13He shot his arrows deep into my heart.H1121H827H935H3629 14My own people laugh at me. All day long they sing their mocking songs.H7814H5971H5058H3117 15He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.H7646H4844H7301H3939 16He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust.H1638H8127H2687H3728H665 17Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.H2186H5315H2186H7965H5382H2896 18I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”H559H5331H8431H6H3068 19The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.H2142H6040H4788H3939H7219 20I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.H5315H2142H2142H7743 21Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this.H7725H3820H3176 22The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.H3068H2617H8552H7356H3615 23Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.H2319H1242H7227H530 24I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”H3068H2506H559H5315H3176 25The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.H3068H2896H6960H5315H1875 26So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.H2896H3175H2342H1748H8668H3068 27And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline.H2896H1397H5375H5923H5271 28Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord’s demands.H3427H910H1826H5190 29Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last.H5414H6310H6083H3426H8615 30Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies.H5414H3895H5221H7646H2781 31For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.H136H2186H5769 32Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.H3013H7355H7230H2617 33For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.H6031H3820H3013H1121H376 34If people crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,H1792H7272H615H776 35if they deprive others of their rights in defiance of the Most High,H5186H4941H1397H6440H5945 36if they twist justice in the courts—doesn’t the Lord see all these things?H5791H120H7379H136H7200 37Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission?H559H136H6680 38Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?H6310H5945H3318H7451H2896 39Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?H2416H120H596H1397H2399 40Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord.H2664H2713H1870H7725H3068 41Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,H5375H3824H3709H410H8064 42“We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.H5168H6586H4784H5545 43“You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy.H5526H639H7291H2026H2550 44You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you.H5526H6051H8605H5674 45You have discarded us as refuse and garbage among the nations.H7760H5501H3973H7130H5971 46“All our enemies have spoken out against us.H341H6475H6310 47We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.”H6343H6354H7612H7667 48Tears stream from my eyes because of the destruction of my people!H5869H3381H6388H4325H7667H1323H5971 49My tears flow endlessly; they will not stopH5869H5064H1820H2014 50until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.H3068H8259H7200H8064 51My heart is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.H5869H5953H5315H1323H5892 52My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird.H341H6679H6679H6833H2600 53They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me.H6789H2416H953H3034H68 54The water rose over my head, and I cried out, “This is the end!”H4325H6687H7218H559H1504 55But I called on your name, Lord, from deep within the pit.H7121H8034H3068H8482H953 56You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!”H8085H6963H5956H241H7309H7775 57Yes, you came when I called; you told me, “Do not fear.”H7126H3117H7121H559H3372 58Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life.H136H7378H7379H5315H1350H2416 59You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord. Be my judge, and prove me right.H3068H7200H5792H8199H4941 60You have seen the vengeful plots my enemies have laid against me.H7200H5360H4284 61Lord, you have heard the vile names they call me. You know all about the plans they have made.H8085H2781H3068H4284 62My enemies whisper and mutter as they plot against me all day long.H8193H6965H1902H3117 63Look at them! Whether they sit or stand, I am the object of their mocking songs.H5027H3427H7012H4485 64Pay them back, Lord, for all the evil they have done.H7725H1576H3068H4639H3027 65Give them hard and stubborn hearts, and then let your curse fall on them!H5414H4044H3820H8381 66Chase them down in your anger, destroying them beneath the Lord’s heavens.H7291H8045H639H8064H3068
Dublin, OH
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.H5892
