Lamentations 1
1
Lonely Jerusalem
The Prophet Speaks:
1 #
Ba 4.12. Jerusalem, once so crowded,
lies deserted and lonely.
This city that was known
all over the world
is now like a widow.
This queen of the nations
has been made a slave.
2Each night, bitter tears
flood her cheeks.
None of her former lovers
are there to offer comfort;
her friends#1.2 lovers … friends: Israel's former allies. have betrayed her
and are now her enemies.
3The people of Judah are slaves,
suffering in a foreign land,
with no rest from sorrow.
Their enemies captured them
and were terribly cruel.#1.3 Their … cruel: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4The roads to Zion mourn
because no one travels there
to celebrate the festivals.
The city gates are deserted;
priests are weeping.
Young women are raped;#1.4 raped: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Zion is in sorrow!
5Enemies now rule the city
and live as they please.
The Lord has punished Jerusalem
because of her awful sins;
he has let her people
be dragged away.
6Zion's glory has disappeared.
Her leaders are like deer
that cannot find pasture;
they are hunted down
till their strength is gone.
7Her people recall the good life
that once was theirs;
now they suffer
and are scattered.
No one was there to protect them
from their enemies who sneered
when their city was taken.
8Jerusalem's horrible sins
have made the city a joke.
Those who once admired her
now hate her instead—
she has been disgraced;
she groans and turns away.
9Her sins had made her filthy,
but she wasn't worried
about what could happen.
And when Jerusalem fell,
it was so tragic.
No one gave her comfort
when she cried out,
“Help! I'm in trouble, Lord!
The enemy has won.”
10Zion's treasures were stolen.
Jerusalem saw foreigners
enter her place of worship,
though the Lord
had forbidden them
to belong to his people.#1.10 to … people: Or “to enter his temple.”
11Everyone in the city groans
while searching for food;
they trade their valuables
for barely enough scraps
to stay alive.
Jerusalem Speaks:
Jerusalem shouts to the Lord,
“Please look and see
how miserable I am!”
12No passerby even cares.#1.12 No … cares: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Why doesn't someone notice
my terrible sufferings?
You were fiercely angry, Lord,
and you punished me
worst of all.
13From heaven you sent a fire
that burned in my bones;
you set a trap for my feet
and made me turn back.
All day long you leave me
in shock from constant pain.
14You have tied my sins
around my neck,#1.14 You … neck: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and they weigh so heavily
that my strength is gone.
You have put me in the power
of enemies too strong for me.
15You, Lord, have turned back
my warriors and crushed
my young heroes.
Judah was a woman untouched,
but you let her be trampled
like grapes in a wine pit.
16Because of this, I mourn,
and tears flood my eyes.
No one is here to comfort
or to encourage me;
we have lost the war—
my people are suffering.
The Prophet Speaks:
17Zion reaches out her hands,
but no one offers comfort.
The Lord has turned
the neighboring nations
against Jacob's descendants.
Jerusalem is merely a filthy rag
to her neighbors.
Jerusalem Speaks:
18The Lord was right,
but I refused to obey him.
Now I ask all of you to look
at my sufferings—
even my young people
have been dragged away.
19I called out to my lovers,
but they betrayed me.
My priests and my leaders died
while searching the city
for scraps of food.
20Won't you look and see
how upset I am, our Lord?
My stomach is in knots,
and my heart is broken
because I betrayed you.
In the streets and at home,
my people are slaughtered.
21Everyone heard my groaning,
but no one offered comfort.
My enemies know of the trouble
that you have brought on me,
and it makes them glad.
Hurry and punish them,
as you have promised.
22Don't let their evil deeds
escape your sight.
Punish them as much
as you have punished me
because of my sins.
I never stop groaning—
I've lost all hope!
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Lamentations 1: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Lamentations 1
1
1The city of Jerusalem is so empty!
She used to be full of people.
But now she’s like a woman whose husband has died.
She used to be great among the nations.
She was like a queen among the kingdoms.
But now she is a slave.
2Jerusalem weeps bitterly at night.
Tears run down her cheeks.
None of her friends comforts her.
All those who were going to help her
have turned against her.
They have become her enemies.
3After Judah’s people had suffered greatly,
they were taken away as prisoners.
Now they live among the nations.
They can’t find any place to rest.
All those who were chasing them have caught up with them.
And they can’t get away.
4The roads to Zion are empty.
No one travels to her appointed feasts.
All the public places near her gates are deserted.
Her priests groan.
Her young women are sad.
And Zion herself weeps bitterly.
5Her enemies have become her masters.
They have an easy life.
The Lord has brought suffering to Jerusalem
because her people have committed so many sins.
Her children have been taken away as prisoners.
Her enemies have forced her people to leave their homes.
6The city of Zion used to be full of glory.
But now her glory has faded away.
Her princes are like deer.
They can’t find anything to eat.
They are almost too weak to get away
from those who hunt them down.
7Jerusalem’s people are suffering and wandering.
They remember all the treasures
they used to have.
But they fell into the hands of their enemies.
And no one was there to help them.
Their enemies looked at them.
They laughed because Jerusalem had been destroyed.
8Her people have committed many sins.
They have become impure.
All those who honored Jerusalem now look down on her.
They all look at her as if she were a naked woman.
The city groans and turns away in shame.
9Her skirts are dirty.
She didn’t think about how things might turn out.
Her fall from power amazed everyone.
And no one was there to comfort her.
She said, “Lord, please pay attention to how much I’m suffering.
My enemies have won the battle over me.”
10Jerusalem’s enemies took away
all her treasures.
Her people saw outsiders
enter her temple.
The Lord had commanded them
not to do that.
11All Jerusalem’s people groan
as they search for bread.
They trade their treasures for food
just to stay alive.
Jerusalem says, “Lord, look at me.
Think about my condition.
Everyone looks down on me.”
12Jerusalem also says, “All you who are passing by,
don’t you care about what has happened to me?
Just look at my condition.
Has anyone suffered the way I have?
The Lord has brought all this on me.
He has made me suffer.
His anger has burned against me.
13“He sent down fire from heaven.
It went deep down into my bones.
He spread a net to catch me by the feet.
He stopped me right where I was.
He made me empty.
I am sick all the time.
14“My sins have been made into a heavy yoke.
They were woven together by his hands.
They have been placed on my neck.
The Lord has taken away my strength.
He has handed me over to my enemies.
I can’t win the battle over them.
15“The Lord has refused to accept
any of my soldiers.
He has sent for an army
to crush my young men.
I am like grapes in the Lord’s winepress.
He has stomped on me,
even though I am his very own.
16“That’s why I am weeping.
Tears are flowing from my eyes.
No one is near to comfort me.
No one can heal my spirit.
My children don’t have anything.
My enemies are much too strong for me.”
17Zion reaches out her hands.
But no one is there to comfort her people.
The Lord has ordered that
the neighbors of Jacob’s people would become their enemies.
Jerusalem has become impure among them.
18Jerusalem says, “The Lord always does what is right.
But I refused to obey his commands.
Listen, all you nations.
Pay attention to how much I’m suffering.
My young men and women
have been taken away as prisoners.
19“I called out to those who were going to help me.
But they turned against me.
My priests and elders
died in the city.
They were searching for food
just to stay alive.
20“Lord, see how upset I am!
I am suffering deep down inside.
My heart is troubled.
Again and again I have refused to obey you.
Outside the city, people are being killed by swords.
Inside, there is nothing but death.
21“People have heard me groan.
But no one is here to comfort me.
My enemies have heard about all my troubles.
What you have done makes them happy.
So please judge them, just as you said you would.
Let them become like me.
22“Please pay attention to all their sinful ways.
Punish them as you have punished me.
You judged me because I had committed so many sins.
I groan all the time.
And my heart is weak.”
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