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Lonely Jerusalem

The Prophet Speaks:

(A) Jerusalem, once so crowded,
    lies deserted and lonely.
This city that was known
all over the world
    is now like a widow.
This queen of the nations
    has been made a slave.
Each night, bitter tears
    flood her cheeks.
None of her former lovers
    are there to offer comfort;
her friends[a] have betrayed her
    and are now her enemies.

The people of Judah are slaves,
suffering in a foreign land,
    with no rest from sorrow.
Their enemies captured them
    and were terribly cruel.[b]
The roads to Zion mourn
because no one travels there
    to celebrate the festivals.
The city gates are deserted;
    priests are weeping.
Young women are raped;[c]
    Zion is in sorrow!
Enemies now rule the city
    and live as they please.
The Lord has punished Jerusalem
    because of her awful sins;
he has let her people
    be dragged away.

Zion's glory has disappeared.
Her leaders are like deer
    that cannot find pasture;
they are hunted down
    till their strength is gone.
Her people recall the good life
    that once was theirs;
now they suffer
    and are scattered.
No one was there to protect them
from their enemies who sneered
    when their city was taken.

Jerusalem's horrible sins
    have made the city a joke.
Those who once admired her
    now hate her instead—
she has been disgraced;
    she groans and turns away.

Her sins had made her filthy,
but she wasn't worried
    about what could happen.
And when Jerusalem fell,
    it was so tragic.
No one gave her comfort
    when she cried out,
“Help! I'm in trouble, Lord!
    The enemy has won.”

10 Zion's treasures were stolen.
Jerusalem saw foreigners
    enter her place of worship,
though the Lord
had forbidden them
    to belong to his people.[d]
11 Everyone in the city groans
    while searching for food;
they trade their valuables
for barely enough scraps
    to stay alive.

Jerusalem Speaks:

Jerusalem shouts to the Lord,
“Please look and see
    how miserable I am!”
12 No passerby even cares.[e]
Why doesn't someone notice
    my terrible sufferings?
You were fiercely angry, Lord,
and you punished me
    worst of all.
13 From heaven you sent a fire
    that burned in my bones;
you set a trap for my feet
    and made me turn back.
All day long you leave me
    in shock from constant pain.
14 You have tied my sins
    around my neck,[f]
and they weigh so heavily
    that my strength is gone.
You have put me in the power
    of enemies too strong for me.

15 You, Lord, have turned back
my warriors and crushed
    my young heroes.
Judah was a woman untouched,
but you let her be trampled
    like grapes in a wine pit.
16 Because of this, I mourn,
    and tears flood my eyes.
No one is here to comfort
    or to encourage me;
we have lost the war—
    my people are suffering.

The Prophet Speaks:

17 Zion reaches out her hands,
    but no one offers comfort.
The Lord has turned
the neighboring nations
    against Jacob's descendants.
Jerusalem is merely a filthy rag
    to her neighbors.

Jerusalem Speaks:

18 The Lord was right,
    but I refused to obey him.
Now I ask all of you to look
    at my sufferings—
even my young people
    have been dragged away.
19 I called out to my lovers,
    but they betrayed me.
My priests and my leaders died
while searching the city
    for scraps of food.

20 Won't you look and see
    how upset I am, our Lord?
My stomach is in knots,
and my heart is broken
    because I betrayed you.
In the streets and at home,
    my people are slaughtered.

21 Everyone heard my groaning,
    but no one offered comfort.
My enemies know of the trouble
that you have brought on me,
    and it makes them glad.
Hurry and punish them,
    as you have promised.
22 Don't let their evil deeds
    escape your sight.
Punish them as much
as you have punished me
    because of my sins.
I never stop groaning—
    I've lost all hope!

The Lord Was Like an Enemy

The Prophet Speaks:

The Lord was angry!
    So he disgraced[g] Zion
though it was Israel's pride
    and his own place of rest.
In his anger he threw Zion down
    from heaven to earth.
The Lord had no mercy!
He destroyed the homes
    of Jacob's descendants.
In his anger he tore down
    every walled city in Judah;
he toppled the nation
together with its leaders,
    leaving them in shame.

The Lord was so furiously angry
that he wiped out
    the whole army[h] of Israel
by not supporting them
    when the enemy attacked.
He was like a raging fire
that swallowed up
    the descendants of Jacob.
He attacked like an enemy
with a bow and arrows,
    killing our loved ones.
He has burned to the ground
    the homes on Mount Zion.[i]

The Lord was like an enemy!
    He left Israel in ruins
with its palaces
    and fortresses destroyed,
and with everyone in Judah
    moaning and weeping.
He shattered his temple
    like a hut in a garden;[j]
he completely wiped out
    his meeting place,
and did away with festivals
and Sabbaths
    in the city of Zion.
In his fierce anger he rejected
    our king and priests.

The Lord abandoned his altar
    and his temple;
he let Zion's enemies
    capture her fortresses.
Noisy shouts were heard
    from the temple,
as if it were a time
    of celebration.

The Lord had decided
to tear down the walls of Zion
    stone by stone.
So he started destroying
    and did not stop
until walls and fortresses
    mourned and trembled.
Zion's gates have fallen
    facedown on the ground;
the bars that locked the gates
    are smashed to pieces.
Her king and royal family
are prisoners
    in foreign lands.
Her priests don't teach,
and her prophets don't have
    a message from the Lord.

10 Zion's leaders are silent.
    They just sit on the ground,
tossing dirt on their heads
    and wearing sackcloth.
Her young women can do nothing
    but stare at the ground.

11 My eyes are red from crying,
my stomach is in knots,
    and I feel sick all over.
My people are being wiped out,
and children lie helpless
    in the streets of the city.
12 A child begs its mother
    for food and drink,
then blacks out
like a wounded soldier
    lying in the street.
The child slowly dies
    in its mother's arms.

13 Zion, how can I comfort you?
    How great is your pain?[k]
Lovely city of Jerusalem,
how can I heal your wounds,
    gaping as wide as the sea?
14 Your prophets deceived you
with false visions
    and lying messages—
they should have warned you
to leave your sins
    and be saved from disaster.
15 Those who pass by
shake their heads and sneer
    as they make fun and shout,
“What a lovely city you were,
the happiest on earth,
    but look at you now!”

16 Zion, your enemies curse you
and snarl like wild animals,
    while shouting,
“This is the day
we've waited for!
    At last, we've got you!”

17 The Lord has done everything
that he had planned
    and threatened long ago.
He destroyed you without mercy
and let your enemies boast
    about their powerful forces.[l]

18 Zion, deep in your heart
    you cried out to the Lord.
Now let your tears overflow
    your walls day and night.
Don't ever lose hope
    or let your tears stop.
19 Get up and pray for help
    all through the night.
Pour out your feelings
    to the Lord,
as you would pour water
    out of a jug.
Beg him to save your people,
who are starving to death
    at every street crossing.

Jerusalem Speaks:

20 Think about it, Lord!
Have you ever been this cruel
    to anyone before?
Is it right for mothers
    to eat their children,
or for priests and prophets
    to be killed in your temple?
21 My people, both young and old,
    lie dead in the streets.
Because you were angry,
my young men and women
    were brutally slaughtered.
22 When you were angry, Lord,
you invited my enemies
    like guests for a party.
No one survived that day;
enemies killed my children,
    my own little ones.

There Is Still Hope

The Prophet Speaks:

I have suffered much
    because God was angry.
He chased me into a dark place,
    where no light could enter.
I am the only one he punishes
over and over again,
    without ever stopping.
God caused my skin and flesh
to waste away,
    and he crushed my bones.
He attacked and surrounded me
    with hardships and trouble;
he forced me to sit in the dark
    like someone long dead.

God built a fence around me
that I cannot climb over,
    and he chained me down.
Even when I shouted
and prayed for help,
    he refused to listen.
God put big rocks in my way
and made me follow
    a crooked path.
10 God was like a bear or a lion
    waiting in ambush for me;
11 he dragged me from the road,
    then tore me to shreds.[m]
12 God took careful aim
and shot his arrows
13     straight through my heart.

14 I am a joke to everyone—
no one ever stops
    making fun of me.
15 God has turned my life sour.
16 He made me eat gravel
    and rubbed me in the dirt.
17 I cannot find peace
    or remember happiness.

18 I tell myself, “I am finished!
I can't count on the Lord
    to do anything for me.”
19 Just thinking of my troubles
and my lonely wandering
    makes me miserable.
20 That's all I ever think about,
    and I am depressed.[n]
21 Then I remember something
    that fills me with hope.
22 The Lord's kindness never fails!
If he had not been merciful,
    we would have been destroyed.[o]
23 The Lord can always be trusted
    to show mercy each morning.
24 Deep in my heart I say,
“The Lord is all I need;
    I can depend on him!”

25 The Lord is kind to everyone
    who trusts and obeys him.
26 It is good to wait patiently
    for the Lord to save us.
27 When we are young,
    it is good to struggle hard
28 and to sit silently alone,
if this is what
    the Lord intends.
29 Being rubbed in the dirt
    can teach us a lesson;[p]
30 we can also learn from insults
    and hard knocks.

31 The Lord won't always reject us!
32     He causes a lot of suffering,
but he also has pity
    because of his great love.
33 The Lord doesn't enjoy
    sending grief or pain.

34 Don't trample prisoners
    under your feet
35 or cheat anyone out of
    what is rightfully theirs.
God Most High sees everything,
36 and he knows when you refuse
    to give someone a fair trial.
37 No one can do anything
    without the Lord's approval.
38 Good and bad each happen
at the command
    of God Most High.
39 We're still alive!
    We shouldn't complain
when we are being punished
    for our sins.
40 Instead, we should think
about the way we are living,
    and turn back to the Lord.

41 When we lift our hands
    in prayer to God in heaven,
we should offer him our hearts
and say, 42     “We've sinned!
We've rebelled against you,
    and you haven't forgiven us!
43 Anger is written all over you,
as you pursue and slaughter us
    without showing pity.
44 You are behind a wall of clouds
    that blocks out our prayers.
45 You allowed nations
to treat us like garbage;
46     our enemies curse us.
47 We are terrified and trapped,
    caught and crushed.”

48 My people are destroyed!
Tears flood my eyes,
49     and they won't stop
50 until the Lord looks down
    from heaven and helps.
51 I am horrified when I see
    what enemies have done
to the young women of our city.

52 No one had reason to hate me,
but I was hunted down
    like a bird.
53 Then they tried to kill me
by tossing me into a pit
    and throwing stones at me.
54 Water covered my head—
    I thought I was gone.

55 From the bottom of the pit,
    I prayed to you, Lord.
56 I begged you to listen.
    “Help!” I shouted. “Save me!”
You answered my prayer
57 and came when I was in need.
    You told me, “Don't worry!”
58 You rescued me
    and saved my life.
59 You saw them abuse me, Lord,
    so make things right.
60 You know every plot
    they have made against me.
61 Yes, you know their insults
    and their evil plans.
62 All day long they attack
    with words and whispers.
63 No matter what they are doing,
    they keep on mocking me.

64 Pay them back for everything
    they have done, Lord!
65 Put your curse on them
    and make them suffer.[q]
66 Get angry and go after them
until not a trace is left
    under the heavens.

The Punishment of Jerusalem

The Prophet Speaks:

The purest gold is ruined
    and has lost its shine;
jewels from the temple
    lie scattered in the streets.
These are Zion's people,
    worth more than purest gold;
yet they are counted worthless
    like dishes of clay.

Even jackals[r] nurse their young,
but my people are like ostriches
    that abandon their own.
Babies are so thirsty
that their tongues are stuck
    to the roof of the mouth.
Children go begging for food,
    but no one gives them any.
All who ate expensive foods
    lie starving in the streets;
those who grew up in luxury
    now sit on trash heaps.

(B) My nation was punished worse
    than the people of Sodom,
whose city was destroyed
in a flash without the help
    of human hands.[s]
The leaders of Jerusalem
were purer than snow
    and whiter than milk;
their bodies were healthy
    and glowed like jewels.[t]
Now they are blacker than tar,
    and no one recognizes them;
their skin clings to their bones
    and is drier than firewood.
Being killed with a sword
is better than slowly
    starving to death.
10 (C) Life in the city is so bad
that loving mothers have boiled
    and eaten their own children.

11 The Lord was so fiercely angry
that he burned the city of Zion
    to the ground.
12 Not a king on this earth
    or the people of any nation
believed enemies could break
    through her gates.

13 Jerusalem was punished because
    her prophets and her priests
had sinned and caused the death
    of innocent victims.
14 Yes, her prophets and priests
    were covered with blood;
no one would come near them,
as they wandered
    from street to street.
15 Instead, everyone shouted,
    “Go away! Don't touch us!
You're filthy and unfit
    to belong to God's people!”

So they had to leave
    and become refugees.
But foreign nations told them,
    “You can't stay here!”[u]
16 The Lord is the one
who sent them scattering,
    and he has forgotten them.
No respect or kindness
will be shown
    to the priests or leaders.
17 Our eyes became weary,
    hopelessly looking
for help from a nation[v]
    that could not save us.
18 Enemies hunted us down
    on every public street.
Our time was up;
    our doom was near.
19 They swooped down faster
    than eagles from the sky.
They hunted for us in the hills
and set traps to catch us
    out in the desert.
20 The Lord's chosen leader[w]
    was our hope for survival!
We thought he would keep us safe
    somewhere among the nations,
but even he was caught
    in one of their traps.

21 You people of Edom
    can celebrate now!
But your time will come
to suffer and stagger
    around naked.
22 The people of Zion
    have paid for their sins,
and the Lord will soon
    let them return home.
But, people of Edom,
you will be punished,
    and your sins exposed.

A Prayer for Mercy

The People of Jerusalem Pray:[x]

Our Lord, don't forget
how we have suffered
    and been disgraced.
Foreigners and strangers
have taken our land
    and our homes.
We are like children
    whose mothers are widows.
The water we drink
and the wood we burn
    cost far too much.
We are terribly mistreated;[y]
we are worn out
    and can find no rest.
We had to surrender
to[z] Egypt and Assyria
    because we were hungry.

Our ancestors sinned,
    but they are dead,
and we are left to pay
    for their sins.
Slaves are now our rulers,
and there is no one
    to set us free.
We are in danger
    from brutal desert tribes;
we must risk our lives
    just to bring in our crops.[aa]
10 Our skin is scorched
    from fever and hunger.

11 On Zion and everywhere in Judah
our wives and daughters
    are being raped.
12 Our rulers are strung up
    by their arms,
and our nation's advisors
    are treated shamefully.
13 Young men are forced
    to do the work of slaves;
boys must carry
    heavy loads of wood.
14 Our leaders are not allowed
    to decide cases in court,
and young people
    no longer play music.

15 Our hearts are sad;
instead of dancing,
    we mourn.
16 Zion's glory has disappeared!
And we are doomed
    because of our sins.
17 We feel sick all over
    and can't even see straight;
18 our city is in ruins,
    overrun by wild dogs.

19 You will rule forever, Lord!
    You are King for all time.
20 Why have you forgotten us
    for so long?
21 Bring us back to you!
    Give us a fresh start.
22 Or do you despise us so much
    that you don't want us?

Footnotes

  1. 1.2 lovers … friends: Israel's former allies.
  2. 1.3 Their … cruel: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 1.4 raped: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 1.10 to … people: Or “to enter his temple.”
  5. 1.12 No … cares: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 1.14 You … neck: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 2.1 disgraced: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  8. 2.3 army: The Hebrew text has “horn,” which refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Palestine.
  9. 2.4 the homes on Mount Zion: Or “the temple on Mount Zion.”
  10. 2.6 He … garden: Or “He shattered the temple walls, as if they were the walls of a garden.”
  11. 2.13 How great … pain: Or “What are you really like?” or “What can I say about you?”
  12. 2.17 powerful forces: The Hebrew text has “horn,” which refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Palestine.
  13. 3.11 shreds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 11.
  14. 3.20 I am depressed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  15. 3.22 destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 22.
  16. 3.29 lesson: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 29.
  17. 3.65 make them suffer: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  18. 4.3 jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller.
  19. 4.6 hands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 6.
  20. 4.7 jewels: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7.
  21. 4.15 here: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 15.
  22. 4.17 nation: Egypt, a former ally of Judah.
  23. 4.20 chosen leader: Probably Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, taken away to Babylonia in 586 b.c.
  24. 5.1 The People of Jerusalem Pray: Or “The Prophet Prays.”
  25. 5.5 We … mistreated: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  26. 5.6 surrender to: Or “make treaties with.”
  27. 5.9 crops: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 9.

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