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
The Sorrows of Jerusalem
1#1Ki 4:21; Ezr 4:20 How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How she has become like a widow,
who was once great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave!
2#Ps 6:6; Mic 7:5 She weeps sorely in the night,
her tears are on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
3#Dt 28:64–67; La 2:9 Judah has gone into captivity,
under affliction and great servitude;
she dwells among the nations,
she finds no rest;
all her persecutors overtook her
in the midst of distress.
4#Jer 9:11; Joel 1:8–13 The roads to Zion mourn
because no one comes to the solemn feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
her priests sigh,
her virgins are afflicted,
and she herself suffers bitterly.
5#Ps 90:7–8; Jer 30:14–15 Her adversaries have become her masters,
her enemies prosper;
for the Lord has afflicted her
because of the multitude of her transgressions.
Her children have gone into captivity
before the enemy.
6From the daughter of Zion
all her beauty has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
before the pursuer.
7#Ps 42:4; 77:5–9 In the days of her affliction and misery
Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things
that she had in the days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
there was no one to help her.
The adversaries saw her
and mocked at her desolation.
8#Isa 59:2–13; La 1:20–22 Jerusalem has sinned grievously;
therefore she has become vile.
All who honored her despise her,
for they have seen her nakedness;
she herself sighs
and turns away.
9#Dt 32:29; Isa 47:7 Her uncleanness is in her skirts;
she took no thought of her future;
therefore her fall is astounding;
she has no comforter.
“O Lord, look upon my affliction,
for the enemy has triumphed!”
10#Dt 23:3; Jer 51:51 The adversary has spread his hand
over all her precious things;
for she has seen the nations
enter her sanctuary,
those whom You commanded
not to enter Your congregation.
11#Jer 52:6; 38:9 All her people groan,
as they search for bread;
they trade their treasures for food
to restore their strength.
Look, O Lord, and consider,
for I am despised.
12#Da 9:12 Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which the Lord has inflicted
on the day of His fierce anger.
13#Job 30:30; Hab 3:16 From on high He has sent fire into my bones,
and it prevailed against them;
He has spread a net for my feet;
He turned me back;
He has made me desolate
and faint all the day long.
14#Dt 28:48; Isa 47:6 The yoke of my transgressions
was bound; by His hand
they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck.
He made my strength fail;
the Lord delivered me into the hands
of those whom I am not able to withstand.
15#Isa 28:18; 63:3 The Lord has trampled underfoot
all my mighty men in my midst;
He has called an assembly against me
to crush my young men;
The Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah
as in a winepress.
16#La 1:2; Jer 13:17 For these things I weep;
my eyes flow with tears;
for the comforter, who should relieve my soul,
is far from me.
My children are desolate
for the enemy has prevailed.
17#Jer 4:31; Isa 1:15 Zion spreads out her hands,
but there is no one to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob
that his neighbors should be his adversaries;
Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.
18#1Sa 12:14–15; Jer 12:1 The Lord is in the right,
for I have rebelled against His commandment.
Hear now, all peoples,
and see my sorrow;
my virgins and my young men
have gone into captivity.
19#La 1:2; 1:11 I called for my lovers,
but they deceived me;
my priests and my elders
perished in the city,
while they sought food
to restore their strength.
20#La 2:11; Dt 32:25 Look, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my soul is greatly troubled;
my heart is overturned within me,
for I have grievously rebelled.
In the street the sword bereaves,
at home it is like death.
21#La 1:8; Jer 50:11 They have heard my groaning,
yet there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
they are glad that You have done it.
Bring the day that You have announced,
that they become like me.
22#Ne 4:4–5; Ps 109:14–15 Let all their wickedness come before You,
and do to them
as You have done to me
for all my transgressions;
for my groans are many,
and my heart is faint.
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