Lamentations 1-4 extracts

voice 1:

How deserted lies the city,
once so full of people!
How like a widow is she,
who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
has now become a slave.

Bitterly she weeps at night,
tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers
there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.

Her foes have become her masters;
her enemies are at ease.
The LORD has brought her grief
because of her many sins.
Her children have gone into exile,
captive before the foe.

The enemy laid hands
on all her treasures;
she saw pagan nations
enter her sanctuary —
those you had forbidden
to enter your assembly.

All her people groan
as they search for bread;
they barter their treasures for food
to keep themselves alive.
"Look, LORD, and consider,
for I am despised."

Voice 2:

"I called to my allies
but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
perished in the city
while they searched for food
to keep themselves alive.

The visions of our prophets
were false and worthless;
they did not expose our sin
to ward off our captivity.
The prophecies they gave us
were false and misleading."

Voice 3:

How the gold has lost its lustre,
the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
at every street corner.

Those who once ate delicacies
are destitute in the streets.
Those brought up in royal purple
now lie on ash heaps.

The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.

But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
the blood of the righteous.

Now they grope through the streets
as if they were blind.
They are so defiled with blood
that no one dares to touch their garments.

The LORD’s anointed, our very life breath,
was caught in their traps.
We thought that under his shadow
we would live among the nations.

Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,
you who live in the land of Uz.
But to you also the cup will be passed;
you will be drunk and stripped naked.

Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion;
he will not prolong your exile.
But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom,
and expose your wickedness.