| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1How she sits alone, the city once crowded with people! She who was great among the nations has become like a widow. The princess among the provinces has been put to forced labor. | 1Jerusalem, once so full of people, is now deserted. She who was once great among the nations now sits alone like a widow. Once the queen of all the earth, she is now a slave. |
| 2She weeps bitterly during the night, with tears on her cheeks. There is no one to offer her comfort, not one from all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. | 2She sobs through the night; tears stream down her cheeks. Among all her lovers, there is no one left to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her and become her enemies. |
| 3Judah has gone into exile following affliction and harsh slavery; she lives among the nations but finds no place to rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in narrow places. | 3Judah has been led away into captivity, oppressed with cruel slavery. She lives among foreign nations and has no place of rest. Her enemies have chased her down, and she has nowhere to turn. |
| 4The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the appointed festivals. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she herself is bitter. | 4The roads to Jerusalem are in mourning, for crowds no longer come to celebrate the festivals. The city gates are silent, her priests groan, her young women are crying— how bitter is her fate! |
| 5Her adversaries have become her masters; her enemies are at ease, for the LORD has made her suffer because of her many transgressions. Her children have gone away as captives before the adversary. | 5Her oppressors have become her masters, and her enemies prosper, for the LORD has punished Jerusalem for her many sins. Her children have been captured and taken away to distant lands. |
| 6All the splendor has vanished from Daughter Zion. Her leaders are like stags that find no pasture; they stumble away exhausted before the hunter. | 6All the majesty of beautiful Jerusalem has been stripped away. Her princes are like starving deer searching for pasture. They are too weak to run from the pursuing enemy. |
| 7During the days of her affliction and homelessness Jerusalem remembers all her precious belongings that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into the adversary's hand, she had no one to help. The adversaries looked at her, laughing over her downfall. | 7In the midst of her sadness and wandering, Jerusalem remembers her ancient splendor. But now she has fallen to her enemy, and there is no one to help her. Her enemy struck her down and laughed as she fell. |
| 8Jerusalem has sinned grievously; therefore, she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her nakedness. She herself groans and turns away. | 8Jerusalem has sinned greatly, so she has been tossed away like a filthy rag. All who once honored her now despise her, for they have seen her stripped naked and humiliated. All she can do is groan and hide her face. |
| 9Her uncleanness stains her skirts. She never considered her end. Her downfall was astonishing; there was no one to comfort her. LORD, look on my affliction, for the enemy boasts. | 9She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out. “LORD, see my misery,” she cries. “The enemy has triumphed.” |
| 10The adversary has seized all her precious belongings. She has even seen the nations enter her sanctuary--those you had forbidden to enter your assembly. | 10The enemy has plundered her completely, taking every precious thing she owns. She has seen foreigners violate her sacred Temple, the place the LORD had forbidden them to enter. |
| 11All her people groan while they search for bread. They have traded their precious belongings for food in order to stay alive. LORD, look and see how I have become despised. | 11Her people groan as they search for bread. They have sold their treasures for food to stay alive. “O LORD, look,” she mourns, “and see how I am despised. |
| 12Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see! Is there any pain like mine, which was dealt out to me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of his burning anger? | 12“Does it mean nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see if there is any suffering like mine, which the LORD brought on me when he erupted in fierce anger. |
| 13He sent fire from on high into my bones; he made it descend. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, sick all day long. | 13“He has sent fire from heaven that burns in my bones. He has placed a trap in my path and turned me back. He has left me devastated, racked with sickness all day long. |
| 14My transgressions have been formed into a yoke, fastened together by his hand; they have been placed on my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand. | 14“He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands. |
| 15The Lord has rejected all the mighty men within me. He has summoned an army against me to crush my young warriors. The Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah like grapes in a winepress. | 15“The Lord has treated my mighty men with contempt. At his command a great army has come to crush my young warriors. The Lord has trampled his beloved city like grapes are trampled in a winepress. |
| 16I weep because of these things; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one nearby to comfort me, no one to keep me alive. My children are desolate because the enemy has prevailed. | 16“For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me; any who might encourage me are far away. My children have no future, for the enemy has conquered us.” |
| 17Zion stretches out her hands; there is no one to comfort her. The LORD has issued a decree against Jacob that his neighbors should be his adversaries. Jerusalem has become something impure among them. | 17Jerusalem reaches out for help, but no one comforts her. Regarding his people Israel, the LORD has said, “Let their neighbors be their enemies! Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!” |
| 18The LORD is just, for I have rebelled against his command. Listen, all you people; look at my pain. My young women and young men have gone into captivity. | 18“The LORD is right,” Jerusalem says, “for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere; look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands. |
| 19I called to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while searching for food to keep themselves alive. | 19“I begged my allies for help, but they betrayed me. My priests and leaders starved to death in the city, even as they searched for food to save their lives. |
| 20LORD, see how I am in distress. I am churning within; my heart is broken, for I have been very rebellious. Outside, the sword takes the children; inside, there is death. | 20“LORD, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have rebelled against you. In the streets the sword kills, and at home there is only death. |
| 21People have heard me groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my misfortune; they are glad that you have caused it. Bring on the day you have announced, so that they may become like me. | 21“Others heard my groans, but no one turned to comfort me. When my enemies heard about my troubles, they were happy to see what you had done. Oh, bring the day you promised, when they will suffer as I have suffered. |
| 22Let all their wickedness come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions. For my groans are many, and I am sick at heart. | 22“Look at all their evil deeds, LORD. Punish them, as you have punished me for all my sins. My groans are many, and I am sick at heart.” |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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