Study Desk

How ^(C1)lonely sits the city That once had ^(C2)many people! She has become like a ^(C3)widow Who was once ^(C4)great among the nations! She who was a princess among the ^(F1)provinces Has become a ^(C5)forced laborer!

She ^(C1)weeps bitterly in the night, And her tears are on her cheeks; She has no one to comfort her Among all her ^(C2)lovers. All her friends have ^(C3)dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies.

^(C1)Judah has gone into exile out of affliction And ^(F1)harsh servitude; She lives ^(C2)among the nations, But she has not found a resting place; All those who ^(C3)pursued her have overtaken her In the midst of ^(F2)distress.

The roads ^(F1)of Zion are in mourning Because ^(C1)no one comes to an appointed feast. All her gates are ^(C2)deserted; Her priests groan, Her ^(C3)virgins are worried, And as for Zion herself, it is ^(C4)bitter for her.

Her adversaries have become ^(F1)her masters, Her enemies are ^(F2)secure; For the LORD has ^(F3)(C1)caused her grief Because of the multitude of her wrongdoings; Her little ones have gone away As captives ^(F4)led by the enemy.

All of her ^(C1)splendor Is gone from the daughter of Zion; Her leaders have become like deer That have found no pasture, And they have ^(F1)(C2)fled without strength ^(F2)From the pursuer.

In the days of her affliction and homelessness ^(C1)Jerusalem remembers all her treasures That were hers since the days of old, When her people fell into the hand of the adversary And ^(C2)no one helped her. The adversaries saw her, They ^(C3)laughed at her ^(F1)ruin.

Jerusalem sinned ^(C1)greatly, Therefore ^(C2)she has become an ^(F1)object of ridicule. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Even ^(C3)she herself groans and turns away.

Her ^(C1)uncleanness was in her garment's seams; She ^(F1)did not think of her ^(C2)future. So she has ^(F2)(C3)fallen in an astonishing way; ^(C4)She has no comforter. "^(C5)See, LORD, my affliction, For the enemy has ^(F3)(C6)honored himself!"

The adversary has stretched out his hand Over all her precious things, For she has seen the ^(C1)nations enter her sanctuary, The ones whom You commanded That they were ^(C2)not to enter Your congregation.

All her people groan, ^(C1)seeking bread; They have given their treasures for food To ^(C2)restore their ^(F1)lives. "See, LORD, and look, For I am ^(C3)despised."

"Is it ^(C1)nothing to all you who pass this way? Look and see if there is any pain like my pain Which was inflicted on me, With which the ^(C2)LORD tormented me on the day of His ^(C3)fierce anger.

-"From ^(F1)the height He sent fire into my ^(C1)bones, And it dominated them. He has spread a ^(C2)net for my feet; He has turned me back; He has made me ^(C3)desolate, ^(F2)Faint all day long.

-"The ^(C1)yoke of my wrongdoings is bound; By His hand they are woven together. They have ^(C2)come upon my neck; He has made my strength ^(F1)fail. The Lord ^(C3)has handed me over To those against whom I am not able to stand.

-"The ^(C1)Lord has thrown away all my strong men In my midst; He has called an appointed ^(F1)time against me To crush my ^(C2)young men; The Lord has ^(C3)trodden as in a wine press The virgin daughter of Judah.

-"For these things I ^(C1)weep; ^(F1)My eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a ^(C2)comforter, One to restore my soul. My children are desolate Because the enemy has prevailed."

Zion ^(C1)stretches out with her hands; There is no one to comfort her; The LORD has ^(C2)commanded regarding Jacob That those around him become his adversaries; ^(C3)Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.

"The LORD is ^(C1)righteous, For I have ^(C2)rebelled against His ^(F1)command; Hear now, all peoples, And ^(C3)see my pain; ^(C4)My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity.

-"I ^(C1)called to my lovers, but they deserted me; My ^(C2)priests and my elders perished in the city While they sought food to ^(C3)restore their ^(F1)strength themselves.

-"See, LORD, for I am in distress; My ^(F1)(C1)spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is overturned within me, For I have been very ^(C2)rebellious. In the street the sword has made women childless; In the house it is like death.

-"They have heard that I ^(C1)groan; There is no one to comfort me, All my enemies have heard of my disaster; They are ^(C2)joyful that You have done it. Oh, that You would bring the day which You have proclaimed, So that they will become ^(C3)like me.

-"May all their wickedness come before You; And ^(C1)deal with them just as You have dealt with me For all my wrongdoings. For my groans are many and my heart is faint."

How the Lord has ^(F1)(C1)covered the daughter of Zion With a cloud in His anger! He has ^(C2)hurled The ^(C3)glory of Israel from heaven to earth, And has not remembered His ^(C4)footstool In the day of His anger.

The Lord has ^(F1)(C1)destroyed; He has not spared All the settlements of Jacob. In His wrath He has ^(C2)overthrown The strongholds of the daughter of Judah, He has ^(C3)hurled them down to the ground; He has ^(C4)profaned the kingdom and its leaders.

In fierce anger He has cut off ^(F1)All the ^(C1)strength of Israel; He has ^(C2)pulled back His right hand From the enemy. And He has ^(C3)burned in Jacob like a flaming fire Consuming on all sides.

He has bent His ^(C1)bow like an enemy; His right hand is positioned like an adversary, And He has killed everything that was ^(C2)pleasant to the eye. In the tent of the daughter of Zion He has ^(C3)poured out His wrath like fire.

The Lord has become like an ^(C1)enemy. He has ^(C2)engulfed Israel; He has engulfed all its ^(C3)palaces, He has destroyed its strongholds And ^(C4)caused great mourning and grieving in the daughter of Judah.

And He has treated His ^(F1)tabernacle violently, like a despised garden; He has ^(C1)destroyed His appointed ^(F2)meeting place. The LORD has ^(C2)caused The appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion to be forgotten, And He has ^(C3)despised king and priest In the indignation of His anger.

The Lord has ^(C1)rejected His altar, He has ^(F1)repudiated His sanctuary; He ^(C2)has handed over The walls of her palaces to the enemy. They have made a ^(C3)noise in the house of the LORD As on the day of an appointed feast.

The LORD determined to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has ^(C1)stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from ^(F1)destroying, And He has ^(C2)caused rampart and wall to mourn; They have languished together.

Her ^(C1)gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her leaders are among the nations; The ^(C2)Law is gone. Her prophets, too, find ^(C3)No vision from the LORD.

The elders of the daughter of Zion ^(C1)Sit on the ground and ^(F1)(C2)are silent. They have thrown ^(C3)dust on their heads; They have put on ^(C4)sackcloth. The ^(C5)virgins of Jerusalem Have bowed their heads to the ground.

My ^(C1)eyes fail because of tears, My ^(F1)(C2)spirit is greatly troubled; My ^(F2)(C3)heart is poured out on the earth ^(C4)Because of the ^(F3)destruction of the daughter of my people, When ^(C5)little ones and infants languish In the streets of the city.

They say to their mothers, "^(C1)Where is grain and wine?" As they faint like a wounded person In the streets of the city, As their ^(C2)lives are poured out ^(F1)In their mothers' arms.

How shall I admonish you? What ^(C1)shall I compare to you, Daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I liken to you as I comfort you, ^(C2)Virgin daughter of Zion? For your collapse is as vast as the sea; Who can ^(C3)heal you?

Your ^(C1)prophets have seen for you Worthless and deceptive visions; And they have not ^(C2)exposed your wrongdoing So as to restore you from captivity, But they have ^(C3)seen for you worthless and misleading pronouncements.

All who pass along the way ^(C1)Clap their hands in ridicule at you; They ^(C2)(F1)hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city of which they said, '^(C3)Perfect in beauty, ^(C4)A joy to all the earth'?"

All ^(C1)your enemies Have opened their mouths wide against you; They ^(F1)hiss and ^(C2)gnash their teeth. They say, "We have ^(C3)engulfed her! This certainly is the ^(C4)day which we awaited; We have reached it, we have seen it!"

The LORD has ^(C1)done what He determined; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old. He has torn down ^(C2)without sparing, And He has helped the enemy to ^(C3)rejoice over you; He has ^(C4)exalted the ^(F1)might of your adversaries.

Their ^(C1)heart cried out to the Lord: "You ^(C2)wall of the daughter of Zion, Let your ^(C3)tears stream down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief, Let ^(F1)your eyes have no rest.

-"Arise, whimper in the ^(C1)night At the beginning of the night watches; ^(C2)Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Raise your hands to Him For the ^(C3)life of your little ones Who ^(C4)languish because of hunger At the head of every street.

-"See, LORD, and look! With ^(C1)whom have You dealt this way? Should women really ^(C2)eat their ^(F1)children, The little ones who were ^(F2)born healthy? Should ^(C3)priest and prophet really be killed In the sanctuary of the Lord?

-"On the ground in the streets Lie ^(C1)young and old; My ^(C2)virgins and my young men Have fallen by the sword. You have put them to death on the day of Your anger, You have slaughtered, ^(C3)without sparing.

-"You called as on the day of an appointed feast My ^(C1)terrors on every side; And there was ^(C2)no one who survived or escaped On the day of the LORD'S anger. As for those ^(C3)whom I brought forth healthy and whom I raised, My enemy annihilated them."

I am the man who has ^(C1)seen misery Because of the rod of His wrath.

He has driven me and made me walk In ^(C1)darkness and not in light.

Indeed, He has ^(C1)turned His hand against me Repeatedly all the day.

He has consumed my ^(C1)flesh and my skin, He has ^(C2)broken my bones.

He has ^(F1)(C1)besieged and surrounded me with ^(F2)(C2)bitterness and hardship.

He has made me live in ^(C1)dark places, Like those who have long been dead.

He has ^(C1)walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my ^(F1)(C2)chain heavy.

Even when I cry out and call for help, He ^(C1)shuts out my prayer.

He has ^(C1)blocked my ways with cut stone; He has twisted my paths.

He is to me like a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in secret places.

He has made my ways deviate, and ^(C1)torn me to pieces; He has made me desolate.

He ^(C1)bent His bow And ^(C2)took aim at me as a target for the arrow.

He made the ^(F1)arrows of His ^(C1)quiver Enter my ^(F2)inward parts.

I have become a ^(C1)laughingstock to all my people, Their ^(C2)song of ridicule all the day.

He has ^(C1)filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink plenty of wormwood.

He has also ^(C1)made my teeth grind with ^(C2)gravel; He has made me cower in the ^(C3)dust.

My soul has been excluded ^(C1)from peace; I have forgotten ^(F1)happiness.

So I say, "My ^(F1)strength has failed, And so has my ^(C1)hope from the LORD."

Remember my misery and my homelessness, the ^(C1)wormwood and ^(F1)bitterness.

^(C1)My soul certainly remembers, And ^(F1)is ^(C2)bent over within me.

I recall this to my mind, Therefore I ^(F1)(C1)wait.

^(F1)The LORD'S ^(C1)acts of mercy indeed do not end, ^(C2)For His compassions do not fail.

They are new ^(C1)every morning; Great is ^(C2)Your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my ^(C1)portion," says my soul, "Therefore I ^(F1)(C2)wait for Him."

The LORD is good to those who ^(F1)(C1)await Him, To the ^(F2)person who ^(C2)seeks Him.

It is good that he ^(C1)waits silently For the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth.

Let him ^(C1)sit alone and keep quiet, Since He has laid it on him.

Let him ^(F1)put his mouth in the ^(C1)dust; Perhaps there is ^(C2)hope.

Let him give his ^(C1)cheek to the one who is going to strike him; Let him be filled with shame.

For the Lord will ^(C1)not reject forever,

For if He causes grief, Then He will have ^(C1)compassion In proportion to His abundant mercy.

For He ^(C1)does not ^(F1)afflict ^(F2)willingly Or ^(F3)grieve the sons of mankind.

To crush under ^(F1)one's feet All the prisoners of the ^(F2)land,

To ^(F1)deprive a man of ^(C1)justice In the presence of the Most High,

To ^(F1)(C1)defraud someone in his lawsuit— Of these things the Lord does not ^(F2)approve.

Who is ^(F1)there who speaks and it ^(C1)comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it?

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That ^(F1)(C1)both adversity and good proceed?

Of what can any living ^(F1)mortal, or any man, ^(C1)Complain ^(F2)in view of his sins?

Let's ^(C1)examine and search out our ways, And let's return to the LORD.

We ^(C1)raise our heart ^(F1)and hands Toward God in heaven;

We have ^(C1)done wrong and rebelled; You have ^(C2)not pardoned.

You have covered Yourself with ^(C1)anger And ^(C2)pursued us; You have slain and ^(C3)have not spared.

You have ^(C1)veiled Yourself with a cloud So that ^(C2)no prayer can pass through.

You have made us mere ^(C1)refuse and rubbish In the midst of the peoples.

All our enemies have ^(C1)opened their mouths against us.

^(C1)Panic and pitfall have come upon us, Devastation and destruction;

My ^(F1)(C1)eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

My eyes flow ^(C1)unceasingly, Without stopping,

Until the LORD ^(C1)looks down And sees from heaven.

My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city.

My enemies ^(C1)without reason Hunted me down ^(C2)like a bird;

They have silenced ^(F1)me ^(C1)in the pit And have ^(F2)(C2)thrown stones on me.

Waters flowed ^(C1)over my head; I said, "I am ^(F1)cut off!"

I ^(C1)called on Your name, LORD, Out of the lowest pit.

You have ^(C1)heard my voice, "^(C2)Do not cover Your ear from my plea for relief, From my cry for help."

You ^(C1)came near on the day I called to You; You said, "^(C2)Do not fear!"

Lord, You ^(C1)have pleaded my soul's cause; You have ^(C2)redeemed my life.

LORD, You have ^(C1)seen my oppression; ^(C2)Judge my case.

You have seen all their vengeance, All their ^(C1)schemes against me.

You have heard their ^(C1)reproach, LORD, All their schemes against me.

The ^(C1)lips of my assailants and their talk Are against me all day long.

Look at their ^(F1)(C1)sitting and their rising; ^(C2)I am their mocking song.

You will ^(C1)repay them, LORD, In accordance with the work of their hands.

You will give them ^(F1)(C1)shamelessness of heart, Your curse will be on them.

You will ^(C1)pursue them in anger and eliminate them From under the ^(C2)heavens of the LORD!

How ^(C1)dark the gold has become, How the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones are spilled out At the ^(F1)corner of every street.

The precious sons of Zion, Weighed against pure gold, How they are regarded as ^(C1)earthenware jars, The work of a potter's hands!

Even ^(C1)jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has proved herself ^(C2)cruel, Like ^(C3)ostriches in the wilderness.

The ^(C1)tongue of the infant clings To the roof of its mouth because of ^(C2)thirst; The children ^(C3)ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them.

Those who used to eat ^(C1)delicacies Are made to tremble in the streets; Those who were raised in crimson clothing Embrace garbage heaps.

For the ^(F1)wrongdoing of the daughter of my people Is greater than the ^(F2)(C1)sin of Sodom, Which was ^(C2)overthrown as in a moment, ^(F3)And no hands were turned toward her.

Her ^(F1)consecrated ones were ^(C1)purer than snow, They shined more than milk; They were more ruddy in ^(F2)body than pearls of coral, Their form was like ^(F3)(C2)lapis lazuli.

Their appearance is ^(C1)darker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their ^(C2)skin is shriveled on their bones, It is dry, it has become like wood.

Better off are those ^(C1)killed by the sword Than those killed by hunger; For they ^(F1)(C2)waste away, ^(F2)stricken By the lack of the produce of the field.

The hands of compassionate women ^(C1)Boiled their own children; They became ^(C2)food for them Due to the destruction of the daughter of my people.

The LORD has ^(C1)expended His wrath, He has poured out His fierce anger; And He has ^(C2)kindled a fire in Zion, And it has consumed its foundations.

The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of ^(C1)the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy Would ^(C2)enter the gates of Jerusalem.

Because of the sins of her ^(C1)prophets And the wrongdoings of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The ^(C2)blood of the righteous,

They wandered, ^(C1)blind, in the streets; They were defiled with ^(C2)blood, Such that no one could touch their ^(C3)garments.

"Keep away! ^(C1)Unclean!" ^(F1)they cried out of themselves. "Keep away, keep away, do not touch!" For they ^(C2)distanced themselves as well as wandered; People among the nations said, "They shall not continue to reside with us."

The presence of the LORD has scattered them, He will not continue to look at them; They did not ^(F1)(C1)honor the priests, They did not favor the elders.

Yet our eyes failed, Looking for ^(F1)help was ^(C1)useless; At our observation point we have watched For a ^(C2)nation that could not save.

They ^(C1)hunted our steps So that we could not walk in our streets; Our ^(C2)end drew near, Our days were ^(F1)finished For our end had come.

Our pursuers were ^(C1)swifter Than the eagles of the sky; They chased us on the mountains, They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.

The ^(C1)breath of our nostrils, the ^(C2)LORD'S anointed, Was ^(C3)captured in their pits, Of whom we had said, "^(F1)In his ^(C4)shadow We shall live among the nations."

Rejoice and be joyful, daughter of ^(C1)Edom, Who lives in the land of Uz; But the ^(C2)cup will pass to you as well, You will become drunk and expose yourself.

The punishment of your wrongdoing has been ^(C1)completed, daughter of Zion; He will no longer exile you. But He ^(C2)will punish your wrongdoing, daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins!

Remember, LORD, what has come upon us; Look, and see our ^(C1)disgrace!

Our inheritance has been turned over to ^(C1)strangers, Our ^(C2)houses to foreigners.

We have become orphans, ^(C1)without a father; Our mothers are like widows.

^(F1)We have to pay for our drinking ^(C1)water, Our wood comes to us at a price.

^(F1)Our pursuers are at our necks; We are worn out, we are given ^(C1)no rest.

We have ^(F1)submitted to ^(C1)Egypt and Assyria ^(F2)to get enough bread.

Our ^(C1)fathers sinned, and are gone; It is we who have been burdened with the punishment for their wrongdoings.

^(C1)Slaves rule over us; There is ^(C2)no one to rescue us from their hand.

We get our bread ^(F1)at the ^(C1)risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness.

Our skin has become as ^(C1)hot as an oven, Because of the ravages of hunger.

They violated the ^(C1)women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah.

Leaders were hung by their hands; ^(F1)(C1)Elders were not respected.

Young men ^(F1)(C1)worked at the grinding mill, And youths ^(C2)staggered under loads of wood.

Elders are absent from the gate, Young men from their ^(C1)music.

The joy of our hearts has ^(C1)ended; Our dancing has been turned into mourning.

The ^(C1)crown has fallen from our head; ^(C2)Woe to us, for we have sinned!

Because of this our ^(C1)heart is faint, Because of these things our ^(C2)eyes are dim;

Because of ^(C1)Mount Zion which lies desolate, ^(C2)Jackals prowl in it.

^(C1)You, LORD, ^(F1)rule forever; Your ^(C2)throne is from generation to generation.

Why will You ^(C1)forget us forever? Why do You abandon us for ^(F1)so long?

^(C1)Restore us to You, LORD, so that we may be restored; Renew ^(C2)our days as of old,

Unless ^(C1)You have utterly rejected us And are exceedingly ^(C2)angry with us.