Jerusalem in Affliction
1 How lonely sits the city
Thatwasfull of people!
# Howlike a widow is she,
Whowasgreat among the nations!
# Theprincess among the provinces
Has become a slave!
2 Sheweeps bitterly in thenight,
Her tearsareon her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comforther.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
# She dwells among the nations,
# She finds norest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.
4 The roads to Zion mourn
Because no one comes to the set feasts.
# All her gates aredesolate;
Her priests sigh,
Her virgins are afflicted,
And sheisin bitterness.
5 Her adversarieshave become the master,
Her enemies prosper;
For theLordhas afflicted her
# Because of the multitude of her transgressions.
# Herchildren have gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion
All her splendor has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
Thatfind no pasture,
That flee without strength
Before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and roaming,
# Jerusalemremembers all her pleasant things
That she had in the days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
With no one to help her,
The adversaries saw her
Andmocked at her downfall.
8 Jerusalem has sinned gravely,
Therefore she has become vile.
All who honored her despise her
# Becausethey have seen her nakedness;
Yes, she sighs and turns away.
9 Her uncleannessisin her skirts;
# Shedid not consider her destiny;
Therefore her collapse was awesome;
She had no comforter.
“OLord, behold my affliction,
Fortheenemy is exalted!”
10 The adversary has spread his hand
Over all her pleasant things;
# For she has seenthe nations enter her sanctuary,
Those whom You commanded
# Not to enter Your assembly.
11 All her people sigh,
# They seek bread;
They have given their valuables for food to restore life.
“See, OLord, and consider,
For I am scorned.”
12 “Isitnothing to you, all you who pass by?
Behold and see
# If there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
Which has been brought on me,
Which theLordhas inflicted
In the day of His fierce anger.
13 “From above He has sent fire into my bones,
And it overpowered them;
# He hasspread a net for my feet
And turned me back;
He has made me desolate
Andfaint all the day.
14 “Theyoke of my transgressions was bound;
They were woven together by His hands,
Andthrust upon my neck.
He made my strength fail;
The Lord delivered me into the hands ofthosewhomI am not able to withstand.
15 “The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mightymenin my midst;
He has called an assembly against me
To crush my young men;
# The Lord trampledasin a winepress
The virgin daughter of Judah.
16 “For thesethingsI weep;
# My eye,my eye overflows with water;
Because the comforter, who should restore my life,
Is far from me.
My children are desolate
Because the enemy prevailed.”
17 Zion spreads out her hands,
Butno one comforts her;
TheLordhas commanded concerning Jacob
# Thatthosearound himbecomehis adversaries;
Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.
18 “TheLordisrighteous,
# For Irebelled against His commandment.
Hear now, all peoples,
And behold my sorrow;
My virgins and my young men
Have gone into captivity.
19 “I called for my lovers,
Butthey deceived me;
My priests and my elders
Breathed their last in the city,
While they sought food
To restore their life.
20 “See, OLord, that Iamin distress;
# Mysoul is troubled;
My heart is overturned within me,
For I have been very rebellious.
# Outside the sword bereaves,
At homeitislike death.
21 “They have heard that I sigh,
Butno one comforts me.
All my enemies have heard of my trouble;
# They areglad that You have doneit.
# Bring onthe day You have announced,
That they may become like me.
22 “Letall their wickedness come before You,
And do to them as You have done to me
For all my transgressions;
For my sighsaremany,
And my heartisfaint.”