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!"