Lamentations 1:1-3

New International Reader's Version

1 The city of Jerusalem is so empty!
    She used to be full of people.
But now she’s like a woman whose husband has died.
    She used to be great among the nations.
She was like a queen among the kingdoms.
    But now she is a slave.

² Jerusalem weeps bitterly at night.
    Tears run down her cheeks.
    None of her friends comforts her.
All those who were going to help her
    have turned against her.
    They have become her enemies.

³ After Judah’s people had suffered greatly,
    they were taken away as prisoners.
Now they live among the nations.
    They can’t find any place to rest.
All those who were chasing them have caught up with them.
    And they can’t get away.