She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.

The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate; her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly.

Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. “O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!”

“For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.”

Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the Lord has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.

“They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am.

“Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.”

What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is vast as the sea; who can heal you?

The Lord has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?

Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?

panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction;

The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

They dogged our steps so that we could not walk in our streets; our end drew near; our days were numbered, for our end had come.

Young men are compelled to grind at the mill, and boys stagger under loads of wood.