Lamentations

The Prophet Speaks: ? (Alef) 1:1 Alas! The city once full of people now sits all alone! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer! ? (Bet) 1:2 She weeps bitterly at night; tears stream down her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. ? (Gimel) 1:3 Judah has departed into exile under affliction and harsh oppression. She lives among the nations; she has found no resting place. All who pursued her overtook her in narrow straits. ? (Dalet) 1:4 The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels to the festivals. All her city gates are deserted; her priests groan. Her virgins grieve; she is in bitter anguish! ? (He) 1:5 Her foes subjugated her; her enemies are at ease. For the LORD afflicted her because of

The Prophet Speaks: ? (Alef) 2:1 Alas! The Lord has covered Daughter Zion with his anger. He has thrown down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth; he did not protect his temple when he displayed his anger. ? (Bet) 2:2 The Lord destroyed mercilessly all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. In his anger he tore down the fortified cities of Daughter Judah. He knocked to the ground and humiliated the kingdom and its rulers. ? (Gimel) 2:3 In fierce anger he destroyed the whole army of Israel. He withdrew his right hand as the enemy attacked. He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob; it consumed everything around it. ? (Dalet) 2:4 He prepared his bow like an enemy; his right hand was ready to shoot. Like a foe he killed everyone, even our strong young men; he has poured out his anger like fire on the tent

The Prophet Speaks: ? (Alef) 3:1 I am the man who has experienced affliction from the rod of his wrath. 3:2 He drove me into captivity and made me walk in darkness and not light. 3:3 He repeatedly attacks me, he turns his hand against me all day long. ? (Bet) 3:4 He has made my mortal skin waste away; he has broken my bones. 3:5 He has besieged and surrounded me with bitter hardship. 3:6 He has made me reside in deepest darkness like those who died long ago. ? (Gimel) 3:7 He has walled me in so that I cannot get out; he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains. 3:8 Also, when I cry out desperately for help, he has shut out my prayer. 3:9 He has blocked every road I take with a wall of hewn stones; he has made every

The Prophet Speaks: ? (Alef) 4:1 Alas! Gold has lost its luster; pure gold loses value. Jewels are scattered on every street corner. ? (Bet) 4:2 The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold – Alas! – but now they are treated like broken clay pots, made by a potter. ? (Gimel) 4:3 Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the desert. ? (Dalet) 4:4 The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel. ? (He) 4:5 Those who once feasted on delicacies are now starving to death in the streets. Those who grew up wearing expensive clothes are now dying amid garbage. ? (Vav) 4:6 The punishment of my people exceeded that of of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one

The People of Jerusalem Pray: 5:1 O LORD, reflect on what has happened to us; consider and look at our disgrace. 5:2 Our inheritance is turned over to strangers; foreigners now occupy our homes. 5:3 We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers have become widows. 5:4 We must pay money for our own water; we must buy our own wood at a steep price. 5:5 We are pursued – they are breathing down our necks; we are weary and have no rest. 5:6 We have submitted to Egypt and Assyria in order to buy food to eat. 5:7 Our forefathers sinned and are dead, but we suffer their punishment. 5:8 Slaves rule over us; there is no one to rescue us from their power. 5:9 At the risk of our lives we get our food because robbers lurk in the countryside. 5:10 Our skin