Lamentations — Legacy Standard Bible

Zion Lays Desolate

א Aleph

How ^alonely sits the cityThat was ^bgreat with people!She has become like a ^cwidowWho was once ^dgreat among the nations!She who was a princess among the ¹provincesHas become a ^eforced laborer!

ב Beth

²She ^aweeps bitterly in the night,And her tears are on her cheeks;She has none to comfort herAmong all her ^blovers.All her friends have ^cdealt treacherously with her;They have become her enemies.

ג Gimel

³^aJudah has gone into exile because of afflictionAnd because of great slavery;She sits ^bamong the nations,But she has found no rest;All ^cher pursuers have overtaken herIn the midst of ¹distress.

ד Daleth

⁴The roads ¹of Zion are in mourningBecause ^ano one comes to the appointed times.All her gates are ^bdesolate;Her priests are sighing,Her ^cvirgins are grieving,And she herself ²is ^dbitter.

ה He

⁵Her adversaries have become ¹her masters;Her enemies are complacent;For ²Yahweh has ^acaused her griefBecause of the greatness of her transgressions;Her infants have gone awayAs captives before the adversary.

ו Vav

⁶So all her ^amajestyHas gone out from the daughter of Zion;Her princes have become like deerThat have found no pasture;So they have ¹^,^bfled without strengthBefore the pursuer.

ז Zayin

⁷In the days of her affliction and homelessness^aJerusalem remembers all her precious thingsThat were from the days of old,When her people fell into the hand of the adversaryAnd ^bno one helped her.The adversaries saw her;They ^claughed at her ¹ruin.

ח Heth

⁸Jerusalem sinned ^agreatly;Therefore ^bshe has become an impure thing.All who honored her despise herBecause they have seen her nakedness;Even ^cshe herself sighs and turns away.

ט Teth

⁹Her ^auncleanness was in her skirts;She did not remember her ^bfuture.Therefore she has ^cgone down astonishingly;^dShe has no comforter.“^eSee, O Yahweh, my affliction,For the enemy has ^fmagnified himself!”

י Yodh

¹⁰The adversary has stretched out his handOver all her desirable things,For she has seen the ^anations enter her sanctuary,The ones whom You commandedThat they should ^bnot enter into Your assembly.

כ Kaph

¹¹All her people are sighing, ^aseeking bread;They have given their desirable things for foodTo ^brestore their souls.“See, O Yahweh, and look,For I am ^cdespised.”

ל Lamedh

¹²“Is ^ait nothing to all you who pass this way?Look and see if there is any ¹pain like my ²painWhich was dealt severely to me,Which ^bYahweh grieved me with on the day of His ^cburning anger.

מ Mem

¹³“From on high He sent fire into my ^abones,And it dominated them.He has spread a ^bnet for my feet;He has turned me back;He has made me ^cdesolate,¹Faint all day long.

נ Nun

¹⁴“The ^ayoke of my transgressions is bound;By His hand they are knit together.They have ^bcome upon my neck;He has made my strength stumble.The Lord ^chas given me into the handsOf those against whom I am not able to stand.

ס Samekh

¹⁵“The ^aLord has rejected all my mighty menIn my midst;He has called an appointed time against meTo break my ^byoung men;The Lord has ^ctrodden as in a wine pressThe virgin daughter of Judah.

ע Ayin

¹⁶“For these things I ^aam weeping;¹My eyes run down with water;Because far from me is a ^bcomforter,One who restores my soul.My children are desolateBecause the enemy has prevailed.”

פ Pe

¹⁷Zion ^astretches out her hands;There is no one to comfort her;Yahweh has ^bcommanded concerning JacobThat the ones round about him should be his adversaries;^cJerusalem has become an impure thing among them.

צ Tsadhe

¹⁸“Yahweh is ^arighteous;For I have ^brebelled against His ¹command;Hear now, all peoples,And ^cbehold my ²pain;^dMy virgins and my young menHave gone into captivity.

ק Qoph

¹⁹“I ^acalled to my lovers, but they deceived me;My ^bpriests and my elders breathed their last in the cityWhile they sought food for themselves in order to ^crestore their souls.

ר Resh

²⁰“See, O Yahweh, for I am in distress;My ¹^,^ainmost being is greatly disturbed;My heart is overturned within me,For I have been very ^brebellious.In the street the sword bereaves;In the house it is like death.

שׁ Shin

²¹“They have heard that I ^aam sighing;There is no one to comfort me;All my enemies have heard of the ¹evil done to me;They ^brejoice that You have done it.You have brought the day which You have proclaimed,So that they will become ^clike me.

ת Tav

²²“Let all their evil come before You;And ^adeal severely with them as You have dealt severely with meFor all my transgressions;For my groans are great and my heart is faint.”

The Anger of Yahweh

א Aleph

How the Lord has ^acovered the daughter of ZionWith a cloud in His anger!He has ^bcast from heaven to earthThe ^cbeauty of Israel,And has not remembered the ^dfootstool of His feetIn the day of His anger.

ב Beth

²The Lord has ^aswallowed up; He has not sparedAll the habitations of Jacob.In His wrath He has ^bpulled downThe strongholds of the daughter of Judah;He has ^cbrought them down to the ground;He has ^dprofaned the kingdom and its princes.

ג Gimel

³In ¹hot anger He has cut in pieces²All the ^astrength of Israel;He has ^bturned back His right handFrom before the enemy.And He has ^cburned in Jacob like a flaming fireDevouring round about.

ד Daleth

⁴He has bent His ^abow like an enemy;He has set His right hand like an adversaryAnd killed all that were ^bdesirable to the eye;In the tent of the daughter of ZionHe has ^cpoured out His wrath like fire.

ה He

⁵The Lord has become like an ^aenemy.He has ^bswallowed up Israel;He has swallowed up all its ^cpalaces;He has brought its strongholds to ruinAnd ^dmultiplied in the daughter of JudahMourning and moaning.

ו Vav

⁶And He has violently treated His ¹tabernacle like a garden booth;He has ^abrought His appointed ²meeting place to ruin.Yahweh has ^bcaused to be forgottenThe appointed time and sabbath in Zion,And He has ^cspurned king and priestIn the indignation of His anger.

ז Zayin

⁷The Lord has ^arejected His altar;He has abandoned His sanctuary;He ^bhas delivered into the hand of the enemyThe walls of her palaces.They have made a ^cnoise in the house of YahwehAs in the day of an appointed time.

ח Heth

⁸Yahweh ¹determined to bring to ruinThe wall of the daughter of Zion.He has ^astretched out a line;He has not turned His hand back from swallowing up,And He has ^bcaused rampart and wall to mourn;They have languished together.

ט Teth

⁹Her ^agates have sunk into the ground;He has destroyed and broken her bars.Her king and her princes are among the nations;The ^blaw is no more.Also, her prophets find^cNo vision from Yahweh.

י Yodh

¹⁰The elders of the daughter of Zion^aSit on the ground; they ^bare silent.They have thrown ^cdust up on their heads;They have girded themselves with ^dsackcloth.The ^evirgins of JerusalemHave bowed their heads down to the ground.

כ Kaph

¹¹My ^aeyes fail because of tears;My ¹^,^binmost being is greatly disturbed;My ²^,^cheart is poured out on the earth^dBecause of the ³destruction of the daughter of my people,When ^einfants and nursing babies faintIn the open squares of the city.

ל Lamedh

¹²They say to their mothers,“^aWhere is grain and wine?”As they faint like a wounded manIn the open squares of the city,As their ^blife is poured outOn their mothers’ bosom.

מ Mem

¹³What shall I testify about you?To what ^ashall I equate you,O daughter of Jerusalem?To what shall I liken you as I comfort you,O ^bvirgin daughter of Zion?For your ¹destruction is as vast as the sea;Who can ^cheal you?

נ Nun

¹⁴Your ^aprophets have beheld for youWorthless and ineffective visions;And they have not ^buncovered your iniquitySo as to ¹return you from captivity,But they have ^cbeheld for you worthless and misleading ²oracles.

ס Samekh

¹⁵All who pass along the way^aClap their hands in derision at you;They ^bhiss and shake their headsAt the daughter of Jerusalem,“Is this the city of which they said,‘^cThe perfection of beauty,^dThe joy of the whole earth’?”

פ Pe

¹⁶All ^ayour enemiesHave opened their mouths wide against you;They hiss and ^bgnash their teeth.They say, “We have ^cswallowed her up!Surely this is the ^dday for which we have hoped;We have found it, we have seen it.”

ע Ayin

¹⁷Yahweh has ^adone what He purposed;He has completed His wordWhich He commanded from days of old.He has pulled down ^bwithout sparing,And He has caused the enemy to ^cbe glad over you;He has ^dexalted the ¹might of your adversaries.

צ Tsadhe

¹⁸Their ^aheart cried out to the Lord,“O ^bwall of the daughter of Zion,Let your ^ctears run down like a river day and night;Give yourself no relief;Let ¹your eyes not be still.

ק Qoph

¹⁹“Arise, cry aloud in the ^anightAt the head of the night watches;^bPour out your heart like waterBefore the presence of the Lord;Lift up your hands to HimFor the ^clife of your infantsWho are ^dfaint because of hungerAt the head of every street.”

ר Resh

²⁰See, O Yahweh, and look!With ^awhom have You dealt thus?Should women ^beat their ¹offspring,The infants who were ²born healthy?Should ^cpriest and prophet be killedIn the sanctuary of the Lord?

שׁ Shin

²¹On the ground in the streetsLie ^ayoung and old;My ^bvirgins and my young menHave fallen by the sword.You have killed them in the day of Your anger;You have slaughtered, ^cnot sparing.

ת Tav

²²You called as in the day of an appointed timeMy ^aterrors on every side;And there was ^bno one who escaped or survivedIn the day of Yahweh’s anger.Those ^cwhom I ¹gave birth to and reared,My enemy consumed them.

Jeremiah’s Heavy Chain

א Aleph

I am the man who has ^aseen afflictionBecause of the rod of His wrath.²He has driven me and made me walkIn ^adarkness and not in light.³Surely against me He has ^aturned His handRepeatedly all the day.

ב Beth

⁴He has caused my ^aflesh and my skin to waste away;He has ^bbroken my bones.⁵He has ^abesieged and encompassed me with ^bgall and hardship.⁶^aDark places He has made me inhabit,Like those who have long been dead.

ג Gimel

⁷He has ^awalled me in so that I cannot go out;He has made my ¹^,^bchain heavy.⁸Even when I cry out and call for help,He ^ashuts out my prayer.⁹He has ^ablocked my ways with cut stone;He has made my paths crooked.

ד Daleth

¹⁰He is to me like a bear lying in wait,Like a lion in secret places.¹¹He has turned aside my ways and ^atorn me to pieces;He has made me desolate.¹²He ^abent His bowAnd ^bset me as a target for the arrow.

ה He

¹³He made the ¹arrows of His ^aquiverTo enter into my ²inward parts.¹⁴I have become a ^alaughingstock to all my people,Their ^bmusic of mockery all the day.¹⁵He has ^asaturated me with bitterness;He has sated me with wormwood.

ו Vav

¹⁶He has ^abroken my teeth with ^bgravel;He has made me cower in the ^cdust.¹⁷My soul has been rejected ^afrom peace;I have forgotten goodness.¹⁸So I say, “My strength has perished,As well as my ^ahopeful waiting which comes from Yahweh.”

The Lord Will Not Reject Forever

ז Zayin

¹⁹Remember my affliction and my ¹homelessness, the ^awormwood and gall.²⁰Surely ^amy soul remembersAnd is ^bbowed down within me.²¹This I will return to my heart;Therefore I will ^await in hope.

ח Heth

²²The ^alovingkindnesses of Yahweh ¹indeed never cease,^bFor His compassions never fail.²³They are new ^aevery morning;Great is ^bYour faithfulness.²⁴“Yahweh is my ^aportion,” says my soul,“Therefore I ^bwait for Him.”

ט Teth

²⁵Yahweh is good to those who ^ahope in Him,To the soul who ^bseeks Him.²⁶It is good that he ^awaits silentlyFor the salvation of Yahweh.²⁷It is good for a man that he should bearThe yoke in his youth.

י Yodh

²⁸Let him ^asit alone and be silentSince He has laid it on him.²⁹Let him ¹put his mouth in the ^adust;Perhaps there is ^bhope.³⁰Let him give his ^acheek to the one who strikes him;Let him be saturated with reproach.

כ Kaph

³¹For the Lord will ^anot reject forever,³²For if He causes grief,Then He will have ^acompassionAccording to His abundant lovingkindness.³³For He ^adoes not afflict from His heartOr grieve the sons of men.

ל Lamedh

³⁴To crush under His feetAll the prisoners of the ¹land,³⁵To ¹deprive a man of ^ajusticeIn the presence of the Most High,³⁶To ¹^,^adefraud a man in his legal case—These things the Lord does not see with approval.

מ Mem

³⁷Who is ¹there who speaks and it ^ahappens,Unless the Lord has commanded it?³⁸Is it not from the mouth of the Most HighThat ^aboth calamities and ¹good go forth?³⁹Why should any living ¹person or any man^aComplain because of his sins?

נ Nun

⁴⁰Let us ^asearch out and examine our ways,And let us return to Yahweh.⁴¹We ^alift up our heart to our handsToward God in heaven;⁴²We have ^atransgressed and rebelled;You have ^bnot pardoned.

ס Samekh

⁴³You have covered Yourself with ^aangerAnd ^bpursued us;You have killed and ^chave not spared.⁴⁴You have ^acovered Yourself with a cloudSo that ^bno prayer can pass through.⁴⁵You have made us mere ^ascum and refuseIn the midst of the peoples.

פ Pe

⁴⁶All our enemies have ^aopened their mouths against us.⁴⁷^aPanic and pitfall have befallen us,Devastation and destruction;⁴⁸My ¹^,^aeyes run down with streams of waterBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

ע Ayin

⁴⁹My eyes pour down ^aunceasingly,Without stopping,⁵⁰Until Yahweh ^alooks downAnd sees from heaven.⁵¹My eyes deal severely with my soulBecause of all the daughters of my city.

צ Tsadhe

⁵²My enemies ^awithout causeHunted me down ^blike a bird;⁵³They have silenced my life ^ain the pitAnd have ¹^,^bplaced a stone on me.⁵⁴Waters flowed ^aover my head;I said, “I am cut off!”

ק Qoph

⁵⁵I ^acalled on Your name, O Yahweh,Out of the lowest pit.⁵⁶You have ^aheard my voice,“^bDo not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,From my cry for help.”⁵⁷You ^adrew near when I called on You;You said, “^bDo not fear!”

ר Resh

⁵⁸O Lord, You ^ahave pleaded my soul’s cause;You have ^bredeemed my life.⁵⁹O Yahweh, You have ^aseen my oppression;^bJudge my case.⁶⁰You have seen all their vengeance,All their ^apurposes against me.

שׂ Sin / שׁ Shin

⁶¹You have heard their ^areproach, O Yahweh,All their purposes against me.⁶²The ^alips of those who rise against me and their whisperingAre against me all day long.⁶³Look on their ^asitting and their rising;^bI am their mocking song.

ת Tav

⁶⁴You will ^arecompense them, O Yahweh,According to the work of their hands.⁶⁵You will give them ¹^,^adullness of heart;Your curse will be on them.⁶⁶You will ^apursue them in anger and destroy themFrom under the ^bheavens of Yahweh!

Yahweh’s Wrath Spent

א Aleph

How ^adark the gold has become,How the pure gold has changed!The sacred stones are poured outAt the head of every street.

ב Beth

²The precious sons of Zion,Weighed against fine gold,How they are regarded as ^aearthen jars,The work of a potter’s hands!

ג Gimel

³Even ^ajackals offer the breast;They nurse their young;But the daughter of my people has become ^bcruelLike ^costriches in the wilderness.

ד Daleth

⁴The ^atongue of the nursing baby cleavesTo the roof of its mouth because of ^bthirst;The infants ^cask for bread,But no one breaks it for them.

ה He

⁵Those who ate ^adelicaciesAre desolate in the streets;Those ¹reared in crimsonEmbrace ash pits.

ו Vav

⁶So the ¹iniquity of the daughter of my peopleIs greater than the ²^,^asin of Sodom,Which was ^boverthrown as in a moment,And no hands ³whirled toward her.

ז Zayin

⁷Her ¹Nazirites were ^apurer than snow;They were whiter than milk;They were more ruddy in ²body than corals,Their polishing was like ³^,^blapis lazuli.

ח Heth

⁸Their form is ^ablacker than soot;They are not recognized in the streets;Their ^bskin is shriveled on their bones;It is withered, it has become like wood.

ט Teth

⁹Better are those ^apierced through with the swordThan those pierced through with hunger;For their life ^bflows away, being strickenFor lack of the produce of ¹the field.

י Yodh

¹⁰The hands of compassionate women^aBoiled their own children;They became ^bfood for themBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

כ Kaph

¹¹Yahweh has ^aspent His wrath;He has poured out His burning anger;And He has ^bkindled a fire in ZionWhich has devoured its foundations.

ל Lamedh

¹²The kings of the earth did not believe,Nor did any of ^athe inhabitants of the world,That the adversary and the enemyCould ^benter the gates of Jerusalem.

מ Mem

¹³Because of the sins of her ^aprophetsAnd the iniquities of her priests,Who have shed in her midstThe ^bblood of the righteous;

נ Nun

¹⁴They wandered, ^ablind, in the streets;They were defiled with ^bbloodSo that no one could touch their ^cgarments.

ס Samekh

¹⁵“Depart! ^aUnclean!” ¹they cried of themselves.“Depart, depart, do not touch!”So they ^bfled and wandered;Men among the nations said,“They shall not continue to sojourn with us.”

פ Pe

¹⁶The presence of Yahweh has eradicated them;He will not continue to look at them;They did not ¹^,^ahonor the priests;They did not favor the elders.

ע Ayin

¹⁷Yet our eyes were spent,Looking for ¹help was ^avanity;In our watching we have watchedFor a ^bnation that could not save.

צ Tsadhe

¹⁸They ^ahunted our stepsSo that we could not walk in our open squares;Our ^bend drew near,Our days were ¹finished,For our end had come.

ק Qoph

¹⁹Our pursuers were ^aswifterThan the eagles of the sky;They hotly pursued us on the mountains;They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.

ר Resh

²⁰The ^abreath of our nostrils, the ^banointed of Yahweh,Was ^ccaptured in their pits,Of whom we had said, “Under his ^dshadowWe shall live among the nations.”

שׂ Sin

²¹Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of ^aEdom,Who inhabits the land of Uz;But the ^bcup will pass on to you as well;You will become drunk and make yourself naked.

ת Tav

²²The punishment of your iniquity has come ^ato an end, O daughter of Zion;He will exile you no longer.But He ^bwill punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;He will expose your sins!

O Yahweh, Remember Us!

5Remember, O Yahweh, what has happened to us;Look, and see our ^areproach!²Our inheritance has been turned over to ^astrangers,Our ^bhouses to foreigners.³We have become orphans ^awithout a father;Our mothers are like widows.⁴We drink our ^awater by means of silver;Our wood comes to us at a price.⁵¹Our pursuers are at our necks;We are worn out; there is ^ano rest for us.⁶We have given over our ¹hands to ^aEgypt and Assyria ²to get enough bread.⁷Our ^afathers sinned; they are no more;It is we who have borne their iniquities.⁸^aSlaves rule over us;There is ^bno one to tear us away from their hand.⁹We get our bread ¹at the ^arisk of our lives²Because of the sword in the wilderness.¹⁰Our skin has become as ^ahot as an ovenBecause of ¹the burning heat of famine.¹¹They violated the ^awomen in Zion,The virgins in the cities of Judah.¹²Princes were hung by their hands;¹^,^aElders were not respected.¹³Young men ^alifted up the stone at the grinding mill,And youths ^bstumbled down under loads of wood.¹⁴Elders have ceased from being at the gate,Young men from their ^amusic.¹⁵The joy of our hearts has ^aceased;Our dancing has been turned into mourning.¹⁶The ^acrown has fallen from our head;^bWoe to us, for we have sinned!¹⁷Because of this our ^aheart is faint;Because of these things our ^beyes are dim;¹⁸Because of ^aMount Zion which lies desolate,^bFoxes walk about in it.¹⁹^aYou, O Yahweh, sit enthroned forever;Your ^bthrone is from generation to generation.²⁰Why do You ^aforget us forever?Why do You forsake us ¹so long?²¹^aCause us to return to You, O Yahweh, that we may be returned;Renew ^bour days as of old,²²Even if ^aYou have utterly rejected usAnd are exceedingly ^bangry with us.