Lamentations 1:2-4

The Voice

² Bawling, she weeps without constraint every night,
    cries herself to sleep, bitter tears streaming down her cheeks.
Her former friends ignore her;
    there is no one there to share her sorrow;
Companions contend and have betrayed her;
    friends have been unfaithful and turned against her as enemies.

³ Carried off to a foreign place, Judah is exiled in misery
    and debased by affliction and hard labor;
She cannot find rest living among the pagan nations.
    She tried to run and hide, but in her distress pursuers have overcome her.

⁴ Despair permeates the very dust of Zion’s roads.
    Nobody walks them in anticipation of celebration and worship.
No one enters the city’s desolate gates bringing offerings or sacrifices to God.
    The religious leaders are heavyhearted,
And the virgin women despair.
    It’s so bitter for dear Zion!