Chapter 1

1aAlas!Lonely sits the cityOnce great with people!She that was great among nationsIs become like a widow;The princess among statesIs become a thrall.

2Bitterly she weeps in the night,Her cheek wet with tears.There is none to comfort herOf all her friends.All her allies have betrayed her;They have become her foes.

3Judah has gone into exileBecause of misery and harsh oppression;When she settled among the nations,She found no rest;All her pursuers overtook herbIn the narrow places.

4Zion’s roads are in mourning,Empty of festival pilgrims;All her gates are deserted.Her priests sigh,Her maidens are unhappy—She is utterly disconsolate!

5Her enemies are now the masters,Her foes are at ease,Because the LORD has afflicted herFor her many transgressions;Her infants have gone into captivityBefore the enemy.

6Gone from Fair Zion are allThat were her glory;Her leaders were like stagsThat found no pasture;They could only walk feeblyBefore the pursuer.

7All the precious things she hadIn the days of oldJerusalem recalledIn her days of woe and sorrow,When her people fell by enemy handsWith none to help her;When enemies looked on and gloatedOver her downfall.

8Jerusalem has greatly sinned,Therefore she is become a mockery.All who admired her despise her,For they have seen her disgraced;And she can only sighAnd shrink back.

9Her uncleanness clings to her skirts.She gave no thought to her future;She has sunk appallingly,With none to comfort her.—See, O LORD, my misery;How the enemy jeers!

10The foe has laid handsOn everything dear to her.She has seen her SanctuaryInvaded by nationsWhich You have denied admissionInto Your community.

11All her inhabitants sighAs they search for bread;They have bartered their treasures for food,To keep themselves alive.—See, O LORD, and behold,cHow abject I have become!

12bMay it never befall you,All who pass along the road—Look about and see:Is there any agony like mine,Which was dealt out to meWhen the LORD afflicted meOn His day of wrath?

13From above He sent a fireDown into my bones.He spread a net for my feet,He hurled me backward;He has left me forlorn,In constant misery.

14dThe yoke of my offenses is bound fast,Lashed tight by His hand;Imposed upon my neck,It saps my strength;The Lord has delivered me into the handsOf those I cannot withstand.

15The Lord in my midst has rejectedAll my heroes;He has proclaimed a set time against meTo crush my young men.As in a press the Lord has troddenFair Maiden Judah.

16For these things do I weep,My eyes flow with tears:Far from me is any comforterWho might revive my spirit;My children are forlorn,For the foe has prevailed.

17Zion spreads out her hands,She has no one to comfort her;The LORD has summoned against JacobHis enemies all about him;Jerusalem has become among themA thing unclean.

18The LORD is in the right,For I have disobeyed Him.Hear, all you peoples,And behold my agony:My maidens and my youthsHave gone into captivity!

19I cried out to my friends,But they played me false.My priests and my eldersHave perished in the cityAs they searched for foodTo keep themselves alive.

20See, O LORD, the distress I am in!My heart is in anguish,eI know how wrong I wasTo disobey.Outside the sword deals death;Indoors, the plague.

21When they heard how I was sighing,There was none to comfort me;All my foes heard of my plight and exulted.For it is Your doing:fYou have brought on the day that You threatened.Oh, let them become like me!

22Let all their wrongdoing come before You,And deal with themAs You have dealt with meFor all my transgressions.For my sighs are many,And my heart is sick.