Lamentations 1; Lamentations 2; Lamentations 3:36

Lamentations 1

1 Jerusalem once was full of people, but now the city is empty. Jerusalem once was a great city among the nations, but now shen is like a widow. She was like a queen of all the other cities, but now she is a slave.

2 She cries loudly at night, and tears are on her cheeks. There is no one to comfort her; all who loved her are gone. All her friends have turned against her and are now her enemies.

3 Judah has gone into captivity where she suffers and works hard. She lives among other nations, but she has found no rest. Those who chased her caught her when she was in trouble.

4 The roads to Jerusalem are sad, because no one comes for the feasts. No one passes through her gates. Her priests groan, her young women are suffering, and Jerusalem suffers terribly.

5 Her foes are now her masters. Her enemies enjoy the wealth they have taken. for her many sins. Her children have gone away as captives of the enemy.

6 The beauty of Jerusalem has gone away. Her rulers are like deer that cannot find food. They are weak and run from the hunters.

7 Jerusalem is suffering and homeless. She remembers all the good things from the past. But her people were defeated by the enemy, and there was no one to help her. When her enemies saw her, they laughed to see her ruined.

8 Jerusalem sinned terribly, so she has become unclean. Those who honored her now hate her, because they have seen her nakedness. She groans and turns away.

9 She made herself dirty by her sins and did not think about what would happen to her. Her defeat was surprising, and no one could comfort her. She says, "Lord, see how I suffer, because the enemy has won."

10 The enemy reached out and took all her precious things. She even saw foreigners enter her Temple. never to enter the meeting place of his people.

11 All of Jerusalem's people groan, looking for bread. They are trading their precious things for food so they can stay alive. The city says, "Look, Lord, and see. I am hated."

12 Jerusalem says, "You who pass by on the road don't seem to care. Come, look at me and see: Is there any pain like mine? Is there any pain like that he has caused me? on the day of his great anger.

13 "He sent fire from above that went down into my bones. He stretched out a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me so sad and lonely that I am weak all day.

14 "He has noticed my sins; they are tied together by his hands; they hang around my neck. He has turned my strength into weakness. to those who are stronger than I.

15 "The Lord has rejected all my mighty men inside my walls. He brought an army against me to destroy my young men. As if in a winepress, the Lord has crushed the capital city of Judah.

16 "I cry about these things; my eyes overflow with tears. There is no one near to comfort me, no one who can give me strength again. My children are left sad and lonely, because the enemy has won."

17 Jerusalem reaches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. to be surrounded by their enemies. Jerusalem is now unclean like those around her.

18 Jerusalem says, "The Lord is right, but I refused to obey him. Listen, all you people, and look at my pain. My young women and men have gone into captivity.

19 "I called out to my friends, but they turned against me. My priests and my older leaders have died in the city while looking for food to stay alive.

20 "Look at me, Lord. I am upset and greatly troubled. My heart is troubled, because I have been so stubborn. Out in the streets, the sword kills; inside the houses, death destroys.

21 "People have heard my groaning, and there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble, and they are happy you have done this to me. Now bring that day you have announced so that my enemies will be like me.

22 "Look at all their evil. Do to them what you have done to me because of all my sins. I groan over and over again, and I am afraid."

Lamentations 2

1 Look how the Lord in his anger has brought Jerusalem to shame. from the sky to the earth; he did not remember the Temple, his footstool, on the day of his anger.

2 The Lord swallowed up without mercy all the houses of the people of Jacob; in his anger he pulled down the strong places of Judah. He threw her kingdom and its rulers down to the ground in dishonor.

3 In his anger he has removed all the strength of Israel; he took away his power from Israel when the enemy came. that burns up everything around it.

4 Like an enemy, he prepared to shoot his bow, and his hand was against us. Like an enemy, he killed all the good-looking people; he poured out his anger like fire on the tents of Jerusalem.

5 The Lord was like an enemy; he swallowed up Israel. He swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed all her strongholds. He has caused more moaning and groaning for Judah.

6 He cut down his Temple like a garden; he destroyed the meeting place. the set feasts and Sabbath days. He has rejected the king and the priest in his great anger.

7 The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his Temple. He has handed over to the enemy the walls of Jerusalem's palaces. was like that of a feast day.

8 The Lord planned to destroy the wall around Jerusalem. He measured the wall and did not stop himself from destroying it. He made the walls and defenses sad; together they have fallen.

9 Jerusalem's gates have fallen to the ground; he destroyed and smashed the bars of the gates. Her king and her princes are among the nations. The teaching of the Lord has stopped, and the prophets do not have visions from the Lord.

10 The older leaders of Jerusalem sit on the ground in silence. They throw dust on their heads and put on rough cloth to show their sadness. bow their heads to the ground in sorrow.

11 My eyes have no more tears, and I am sick to my stomach. I feel empty inside, because my people have been destroyed. Children and babies are fainting in the streets of the city.

12 They ask their mothers, "Where is the grain and wine?" They faint like wounded soldiers in the streets of the city and die in their mothers' arms.

13 What can I say about you, Jerusalem? What can I compare you to? What can I say you are like? How can I comfort you, Jerusalem? Your ruin is as deep as the sea. No one can heal you.

14 Your prophets saw visions, but they were false and worth nothing. They did not point out your sins to keep you from being captured. They preached what was false and led you wrongly.

15 All who pass by on the road clap their hands at you; they make fun of Jerusalem and shake their heads. They ask, "Is this the city that people called the most beautiful city, the happiest place on earth?"

16 All your enemies open their mouths to speak against you. They make fun and grind their teeth in anger. They say, "We have swallowed you up. This is the day we were waiting for! We have finally seen it happen."

17 The Lord has done what he planned; he has kept his word that he commanded long ago. He has destroyed without mercy, and he has let your enemies laugh at you. He has strengthened your enemies.

18 The people cry out to the Lord. Wall of Jerusalem, let your tears flow like a river day and night. Do not stop or let your eyes rest.

19 Get up, cry out in the night, even as the night begins. Pour out your heart like water in prayer to the Lord. Lift up your hands in prayer to him for the life of your children who are fainting with hunger on every street corner.

20 Jerusalem says: "Look, Lord, and see to whom you have done this. Women eat their own babies, the children they have cared for. Priests and prophets are killed in the Temple of the Lord.

21 "People young and old lie outside on the ground. My young women and young men have been killed by the sword. You killed them on the day of your anger; you killed them without mercy.

22 "You invited terrors to come against me on every side, as if you were inviting them to a feast. No one escaped or remained alive on the day of the Lord's anger. My enemy has killed those I cared for and brought up."

Lamentations 3:36

36 the Lord sees if someone is cheated in his case in court.