Lamentations 1
1
Sorrow in Jerusalem
# 1 Each of the first four chapters of this book is an acrostic, laid out in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. The first word of each verse begins with a successive Hebrew letter. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 have one verse for each of the 22 Hebrew letters. Chapter 3 contains 22 stanzas of three verses each. Though chapter 5 has 22 verses, it is not an acrostic. 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.
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.
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.
4The roads to Jerusalem#1:4 Hebrew Zion; also in 1:17. 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!
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.
6All the majesty of beautiful Jerusalem#1:6 Hebrew of the daughter of Zion.
has been stripped away.
Her princes are like starving deer
searching for pasture.
They are too weak to run
from the pursuing enemy.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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#1:15 Hebrew the virgin daughter of Judah.
like grapes are trampled in a winepress.
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.”
17Jerusalem reaches out for help,
but no one comforts her.
Regarding his people Israel,#1:17 Hebrew Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
the Lord has said,
“Let their neighbors be their enemies!
Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Lamentations 1
1
Lament over Jerusalem
א Alef
1How # The stanzas in Lm 1–4 form an acrostic. she sits alone, # Lm 3:28
the city # Lm 1:17 once crowded with people!
She who was great among the nations
has become like a widow. # Ex 22:22; Dt 10:18; 24:19-21; Is 1:17; 47:8-9
The princess among the provinces
has been put to forced labor.
ב Bet
2She weeps aloud during the night, # Ps 6:6
with tears on her cheeks.
There is no one to offer her comfort,
not one from all her lovers. # = Jerusalem’s political allies # Jr 3:1; 22:20-22
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
ג Gimel
3Judah has gone into exile
following # Or because of affliction and harsh slavery;
she lives among the nations
but finds no place to rest. # Dt 28:65; Ps 116:7
All her pursuers have overtaken her
in narrow places.
ד Dalet
4The roads to Zion # 2Sm 5:7; Ps 20:2; Jr 51:35 mourn,
for no one comes to the appointed festivals. # Dt 16:16; 2Ch 8:13; Ps 84:5; Is 1:11-17
All her gates are deserted;
her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
and she herself is bitter.
ה He
5Her adversaries have become her masters; # Dt 28:13,44
her enemies are at ease, # Jb 3:26; 12:6; Jr 12:1
for the Lord has made her suffer
because of her many transgressions.
Her children have gone away
as captives before the adversary.
ו Vav
6All her splendor # Ezk 27:10 has vanished
from Daughter Zion. # Lm 2:1,4,8; 4:22
Her leaders are like stags
that find no pasture;
they walk away exhausted
before the hunter. # Jr 39:4-7
ז Zayin
7During the days of her affliction and homelessness # Is 58:7; Lm 3:19
Jerusalem remembers all her precious belongings
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into the adversary’s hand,
she had no one to help.
The adversaries looked at her,
laughing over her downfall.
ח Khet
8Jerusalem has sinned grievously;
therefore, she has become an object of scorn. # Or become impure
All who honored her now despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness.
She herself groans and turns away.
ט Tet
9Her uncleanness stains her skirts. # Jr 13:22,26; Nah 3:5
She never considered her end.
Her downfall was astonishing; # Dt 28:43
there was no one to comfort her.
Lord, look on my affliction,
for the enemy triumphs!
י Yod
10The adversary has seized
all her precious belongings.
She has even seen the nations
enter her sanctuary —
those You had forbidden
to enter Your assembly. # Dt 23:3; Neh 13:1-3; Ezk 44:9
כ Kaf
11All her people groan
while they search for bread. # Jr 38:9; 52:6
They have traded their precious belongings for food
in order to stay alive. # Lm 1:19; 2:20; 4:10
Lord, look and see
how I have become despised.
ל Lamed
12Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? # Ps 89:41; Jr 22:8
Look and see!
Is there any pain like mine,
which was dealt out to me,
which the Lord made me suffer
on the day of His burning anger? # Am 5:18
מ Mem
13He sent fire from heaven # Gn 19:24; Hs 8:14; Am 1:4–2:5 into my bones;
He made it descend. # DSS, LXX; MT reads bones, and it prevailed against them # 1Kg 18:38; 2Kg 1:10,12; Jb 30:30; Jr 20:9
He spread a net for my feet # Ps 35:7; Is 51:20; Ezk 12:13; Hs 7:12
and turned me back.
He made me desolate,
sick all day long.
נ Nun
14My transgressions have been formed into a yoke, # Some Hb mss, LXX read He kept watch over my transgressions # Or The yoke of my transgressions is bound ; Hb obscure # Gn 27:40; Lv 26:13; Dt 28:48; 2Ch 10:3-11; Is 9:4; Jr 27:2,6-11
fastened together by His hand;
they have been placed on my neck,
and the Lord has broken my strength.
He has handed me over
to those I cannot withstand.
ס Samek
15The Lord has rejected # Ps 119:118
all the mighty men within me.
He has summoned an army # Or has announced an appointed time against me
to crush my young warriors.
The Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah # Lm 2:2,5
like grapes in a winepress. # Is 63:1-6; Jl 3:12-15; Rv 14:17-20; 19:15
ע Ayin
16I weep because of these things;
my eyes flow # Lit my eye, my eye flows with tears. # Jr 9:1,18; Lm 2:11,18; 3:48-49
For there is no one nearby to comfort me, # Is 40:1
no one to keep me alive.
My children are desolate
because the enemy has prevailed.
פ Pe
17Zion stretches out her hands;
there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his adversaries.
Jerusalem has become
something impure # Lv 15:19-20; Ezk 7:19-20; 18:6 among them.
צ Tsade
18The Lord is just,
for I have rebelled against His command. # Neh 9:33
Listen, all you people;
look at my pain.
My young men and women
have gone into captivity. # Dt 28:41; 2Ch 29:9; Ezr 9:7; Jr 48:46
ק Qof
19I called to my lovers, # Lm 1:2
but they betrayed me.
My priests and elders
perished in the city
while searching for food
to keep themselves alive. # Lm 1:11
ר Resh
20Lord, see how I am in distress.
I am churning within; # Jb 30:27
my heart is broken, # Lit is turned within me
for I have been very rebellious.
Outside, the sword takes the children;
inside, there is death. # Dt 32:25; Ezk 7:15
ׁש Shin
21People have heard me groaning, # Lm 1:4,8
but there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my misfortune;
they are glad that You have caused it. # Lm 2:15-17
Bring on the day You have announced,
so that they may become like me. # Is 62:8–63:6; Ezk 38–39; Jl 3:1-3; Mc 7:8-13; Zch 14:1-9
ת Tav
22Let all their wickedness come before You,
and deal with them
as You have dealt with me
because of all my transgressions. # Lm 4:21-22
For my groans are many,
and I am sick at heart.
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