Lament over Jerusalem

א Aleph

How[a] she sits alone,(A)
the city(B) once crowded with people!
She who was great among the nations
has become like a widow.(C)
The princess among the provinces
has been put to forced labor.

ב Beth

She weeps bitterly during the night,(D)
with tears on her cheeks.
There is no one to offer her comfort,
not one from all her lovers.[b](E)
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:1 The stanzas in Lm 1–4 form an acrostic.
  2. 1:2 = Jerusalem’s political allies

[a]How deserted(A) lies the city,
    once so full of people!(B)
How like a widow(C) is she,
    who once was great(D) among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave.(E)

Bitterly she weeps(F) at night,
    tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers(G)
    there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed(H) her;
    they have become her enemies.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

She has fallen;
Virgin Israel(A) will never rise again.(B)
She lies abandoned on her land
with no one to raise her up.(C)

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“Fallen is Virgin(A) Israel,
    never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
    with no one to lift her up.(B)

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