Lamentations 1
1 How hath she sat alone, The city abounding with people! She hath been as a widow, The mighty among nations! Princes among provinces, She hath become tributary!
How desolate sits the city of Jerusalem, once filled with people! She has become like a widow, she who was once great among the nations. The queen of all the world has become a slave-laborer.
2 She weepeth sore in the night, And her tear [is] on her cheeks, There is no comforter for her out of all her lovers, All her friends dealt treacherously by her, They have been to her for enemies.
She cries bitterly through the night, tears rolling down her cheeks. Despite all her many lovers, no one comes to comfort her. Betrayed by all her friends, they are now her enemies.
3 Removed hath Judah because of affliction, And because of the abundance of her service; She hath dwelt among nations, She hath not found rest, All her pursuers have overtaken her between the straits.
Judah has been dragged off into captivity, suffering miserably under brutal slavery; she lives among the nations but has no place of her own where she can rest. Those chasing her have brought her down and she cannot escape.
4 The ways of Zion are mourning, Without any coming at the appointed time, All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted — and she hath bitterness.
Even the roads to Zion are in mourning because no one travels on them to go to the religious festivals. All her gates are empty. Her priests groan in sadness. Her girls are suffering. She herself is in bitter distress.
5 Her adversaries have become chief, Her enemies have been at ease, For Jehovah hath afflicted her, For the abundance of her transgressions, Her infants have gone captive before the adversary.
Those who hated her now control her; her enemies enjoy life, because the Lord has made her suffer due to all her sins of rebellion. Her children have been taken away as prisoners of the enemy.
6 And go out from the daughter of Zion doth all her honour, Her princes have been as harts — They have not found pasture, And they go powerless before a pursuer.
All the glory has left the Daughter of Zion. Her leaders are like deer that can't find any grass to eat. They don't even have the strength to run away when the hunter comes after them!
7 Remembered hath Jerusalem [In] the days of her affliction and her mournings, all her desirable things that were from the days of old, In the falling of her people into the hand of an adversary, And she hath no helper; Seen her have adversaries, They have laughed at her cessation.
As she wanders around in her misery, Jerusalem thinks back to all the wonderful things she once had in the old days. When her enemies conquered her people, she didn't receive any help. Her enemies gloated over her, and laughed at her downfall.
8 A sin hath Jerusalem sinned, Therefore impure she hath become, All who honoured her have esteemed her lightly, For they have seen her nakedness, Yea, she herself hath sighed and turneth backward.
Jerusalem sinned terribly which is why she is now treated as someone unclean. Everyone who used to honor her now despise her, because they've seen her naked and ashamed. She herself groans as she turns away.
9 Her uncleanness [is] in her skirts, She hath not remembered her latter end, And she cometh down wonderfully, There is no comforter for her. See, O Jehovah, mine affliction, For exerted himself hath an enemy.
Her uncleanness contaminates her skirts. She didn't think about what would happen. Her fall was a shock, and no one was there to comfort her. “Please, Lord, see how much I'm suffering, because the enemy has won!” she says.
10 His hand spread out hath an adversary On all her desirable things, For she hath seen — Nations have entered her sanctuary, Concerning which Thou didst command, 'They do not come into the assembly to thee.'
The invader has stolen all her treasures. She even had to watch as heathen nations went into her sanctuary, people you had forbidden to enter.
11 All her people are sighing — seeking bread, They have given their desirable things For food to refresh the body; See, O Jehovah, and behold attentively, For I have been lightly esteemed.
All her people groan, looking for bread. They have spent what they value the most to buy food so they can stay alive. “Please, Lord, look and see what's happening to me,” she says. “It's as if I'm worthless!
12 [Is it] nothing to you, all ye passing by the way? Look attentively, and see, If there is any pain like my pain, That He is rolling to me? Whom Jehovah hath afflicted In the day of the fierceness of His anger.
Don't you care anything about it, all you people passing by? Take a look and see! Is there any suffering as bad as mine, punished by the Lord when he became angry?
13 From above He hath sent fire into my bone, And it subdueth it, He hath spread a net for my feet, He hath turned me backward, He hath made me desolate — all the day sick.
He sent down fire from heaven that destroyed my bones. He spread out a net to catch my feet, tripping me over. He abandoned me, leaving me sick all day long.
14 Bound hath been the yoke of my transgressions by His hand, They are wrapped together, They have gone up on my neck, He hath caused my power to stumble, The Lord hath given me into hands, I am not able to rise.
He took my rebellious sins and twisted them together into a yoke that he tied to my neck. He took away all my strength, and handed me over defenseless to my enemies.
15 Trodden down all my mighty ones hath the Lord in my midst, He proclaimed against me an appointed time, To destroy my young men, A wine-press hath the Lord trodden, To the virgin daughter of Judah.
The Lord brushed aside all my strong soldiers defending me. He called up an army to attack me, to crush my young men. The Lord has trampled down the virgin Daughter of Judah like grapes in a winepress.
16 For these I am weeping, My eye, my eye, is running down with waters, For, far from me hath been a comforter, Refreshing my soul, My sons have been desolate, For mighty hath been an enemy.
This is why I'm weeping, tears flowing from my eyes, because there's is no one here to comfort me, no one to make me feel better. There's nothing left for my children because the enemy has conquered us.”
17 Spread forth hath Zion her hands, There is no comforter for her, Jehovah hath charged concerning Jacob, His neighbours [are] his adversaries, Jerusalem hath become impure among them.
Zion holds out her hands in distress, but there's no one to comfort her. The Lord issued orders against Jacob, and his neighbors became his enemies. Jerusalem is to them something disgusting.
18 Righteous is Jehovah, For His mouth I have provoked. Hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and see my pain, My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.
“The Lord has done what's right, because I rebelled against his instructions. Listen, everyone everywhere; look at what I'm suffering. My young women and young men have been taken off into captivity.
19 I called for my lovers, they — they have deceived me, My priests and my elders in the city have expired; When they have sought food for themselves, Then they give back their soul.
I called out for help to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and elders starved to death in the city as they tried to find food to keep themselves alive.
20 See, O Jehovah, for distress [is] to me, My bowels have been troubled, Turned hath been my heart in my midst, For I have greatly provoked, From without bereaved hath the sword, In the house [it is] as death.
Can't you see, Lord, how upset I am? inside I am in turmoil; my heart is breaking because I've been so rebellious. Outside, the sword kills those I love; inside, it's like I'm living in the house of death.
21 They have heard that I have sighed, There is no comforter for me, All my enemies have heard of my calamity, They have rejoiced that Thou hast done [it], Thou hast brought in the day Thou hast called, And they are like to me.
People hear me groaning, but no one comes to comfort me. All my enemies have heard about the bad things that have happened to me, and they're delighted that it was you who did it. Please bring about the day of judgment that you promised so they can end up like me.
22 Come in doth all their evil before Thee, And one is doing to them as Thou hast done to me, For all my transgressions, For many [are] my sighs, and my heart [is] sick!
May you see all the evil things they've done! Treat them the same way as you've treated me as a result of all my rebellious sins, for I'm groaning all the time, and I'm sick at heart.”
