1. Jerusalem, once so full of people,is now deserted.She who was once great among the nationsnow sits alone like a widow.Once the queen of all the earth,she is now a slave.
2. She 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 herand become her enemies.
3. Judah has been led away into captivity,oppressed with cruel slavery.She lives among foreign nationsand has no place of rest.Her enemies have chased her down,and she has nowhere to turn.
4. The 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!
5. Her oppressors have become her masters,and her enemies prosper,for the lord has punished Jerusalemfor her many sins.Her children have been capturedand taken away to distant lands.
6. All the majesty of beautiful Jerusalemhas been stripped away.Her princes are like starving deersearching for pasture.They are too weak to runfrom the pursuing enemy.
7. In 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 downand laughed as she fell.