VerseAI

NIV

Lamentations 1

  1. 1<pb/><t><f>[1]</f>How deserted lies the city,</t> <t>once so full of people!</t> <t>How like a widow is she,</t> <t>who once was great among the nations!</t> <t>She who was queen among the provinces</t> <t>has now become a slave. <pb/></t>
  2. 2<t>Bitterly she weeps at night,</t> <t>tears are on her cheeks.</t> <t>Among all her lovers</t> <t>there is no one to comfort her.</t> <t>All her friends have betrayed her;</t> <t>they have become her enemies. <pb/></t>
  3. 3<t>After affliction and harsh labor,</t> <t>Judah has gone into exile.</t> <t>She dwells among the nations;</t> <t>she finds no resting place.</t> <t>All who pursue her have overtaken her</t> <t>in the midst of her distress. <pb/></t>
  4. 4<t>The roads to Zion mourn,</t> <t>for no one comes to her appointed festivals.</t> <t>All her gateways are desolate,</t> <t>her priests groan,</t> <t>her young women grieve,</t> <t>and she is in bitter anguish. <pb/></t>
  5. 5<t>Her foes have become her masters;</t> <t>her enemies are at ease.</t> <t>The LORD has brought her grief</t> <t>because of her many sins.</t> <t>Her children have gone into exile,</t> <t>captive before the foe. <pb/></t>
  6. 6<t>All the splendor has departed</t> <t>from Daughter Zion.</t> <t>Her princes are like deer</t> <t>that find no pasture;</t> <t>in weakness they have fled</t> <t>before the pursuer. <pb/></t>
  7. 7<t>In the days of her affliction and wandering</t> <t>Jerusalem remembers all the treasures</t> <t>that were hers in days of old.</t> <t>When her people fell into enemy hands,</t> <t>there was no one to help her.</t> <t>Her enemies looked at her</t> <t>and laughed at her destruction. <pb/></t>
  8. 8<t>Jerusalem has sinned greatly</t> <t>and so has become unclean.</t> <t>All who honored her despise her,</t> <t>for they have all seen her naked;</t> <t>she herself groans</t> <t>and turns away. <pb/></t>
  9. 9<t>Her filthiness clung to her skirts;</t> <t>she did not consider her future.</t> <t>Her fall was astounding;</t> <t>there was none to comfort her.</t> <t>“Look, LORD, on my affliction,</t> <t>for the enemy has triumphed.” <pb/></t>
  10. 10<t>The enemy laid hands</t> <t>on all her treasures;</t> <t>she saw pagan nations</t> <t>enter her sanctuary—</t> <t>those you had forbidden</t> <t>to enter your assembly. <pb/></t>
  11. 11<t>All her people groan</t> <t>as they search for bread;</t> <t>they barter their treasures for food</t> <t>to keep themselves alive.</t> <t>“Look, LORD, and consider,</t> <t>for I am despised.” <pb/></t>
  12. 12<t>“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?</t> <t>Look around and see.</t> <t>Is any suffering like my suffering</t> <t>that was inflicted on me,</t> <t>that the LORD brought on me</t> <t>in the day of his fierce anger? <pb/></t>
  13. 13<t>“From on high he sent fire,</t> <t>sent it down into my bones.</t> <t>He spread a net for my feet</t> <t>and turned me back.</t> <t>He made me desolate,</t> <t>faint all the day long. <pb/></t>
  14. 14<t>“My sins have been bound into a yoke<f>[2]</f>;</t> <t>by his hands they were woven together.</t> <t>They have been hung on my neck,</t> <t>and the Lord has sapped my strength.</t> <t>He has given me into the hands</t> <t>of those I cannot withstand. <pb/></t>
  15. 15<t>“The Lord has rejected</t> <t>all the warriors in my midst;</t> <t>he has summoned an army against me</t> <t>to<f>[3]</f> crush my young men.</t> <t>In his winepress the Lord has trampled</t> <t>Virgin Daughter Judah. <pb/></t>
  16. 16<t>“This is why I weep</t> <t>and my eyes overflow with tears.</t> <t>No one is near to comfort me,</t> <t>no one to restore my spirit.</t> <t>My children are destitute</t> <t>because the enemy has prevailed.” <pb/></t>
  17. 17<t>Zion stretches out her hands,</t> <t>but there is no one to comfort her.</t> <t>The LORD has decreed for Jacob</t> <t>that his neighbors become his foes;</t> <t>Jerusalem has become</t> <t>an unclean thing among them. <pb/></t>
  18. 18<t>“The LORD is righteous,</t> <t>yet I rebelled against his command.</t> <t>Listen, all you peoples;</t> <t>look on my suffering.</t> <t>My young men and young women</t> <t>have gone into exile. <pb/></t>
  19. 19<t>“I called to my allies</t> <t>but they betrayed me.</t> <t>My priests and my elders</t> <t>perished in the city</t> <t>while they searched for food</t> <t>to keep themselves alive. <pb/></t>
  20. 20<t>“See, LORD, how distressed I am!</t> <t>I am in torment within,</t> <t>and in my heart I am disturbed,</t> <t>for I have been most rebellious.</t> <t>Outside, the sword bereaves;</t> <t>inside, there is only death. <pb/></t>
  21. 21<t>“People have heard my groaning,</t> <t>but there is no one to comfort me.</t> <t>All my enemies have heard of my distress;</t> <t>they rejoice at what you have done.</t> <t>May you bring the day you have announced</t> <t>so they may become like me. <pb/></t>
  22. 22<t>“Let all their wickedness come before you;</t> <t>deal with them</t> <t>as you have dealt with me</t> <t>because of all my sins.</t> <t>My groans are many</t> <t>and my heart is faint.”</t>