א (Alef)
2:1 Alas!
Daughter Zion
He has thrown down the splendor of Israel
from heaven to earth;
he did not protect
when he displayed his anger.
ב (Bet)
2:2 The Lord
all the homes of Jacob’s descendants.
In his anger he tore down
the fortified cities
He knocked to the ground and humiliated
the kingdom and its rulers.
ג (Gimel)
2:3 In fierce anger
the whole army
He withdrew his right hand
as the enemy attacked.
He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob;
it consumed everything around it.
ד (Dalet)
2:4 He prepared his bow
his right hand was ready to shoot.
Like a foe he killed everyone,
even our strong young men;
he has poured out his anger like fire
on the tent
ה (He)
2:5 The Lord,
destroyed
He destroyed
he ruined her
He made everyone in Daughter Judah
mourn and lament.
ו (Vav)
2:6 He destroyed his temple
he destroyed his appointed meeting place.
The Lord has made those in Zion forget
both the festivals and the Sabbaths.
In his fierce anger
both king and priest.
ז (Zayin)
2:7 The Lord
and abhorred his temple.
He handed over to the enemy
her palace walls;
the enemy
as if it were a feast day.
ח (Khet)
2:8 The Lord was determined to tear down
Daughter Zion’s wall.
He prepared to knock it down;
he did not withdraw his hand from destroying.
He made the ramparts and fortified walls lament;
together they mourned their ruin.
ע (Ayin)
2:17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled
that he threatened
He has overthrown you without mercy
and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;
he has exalted your adversaries’ power.
צ (Tsade)
2:18 Cry out
O wall of Daughter Zion!
Make your tears flow like a river
all day and all night long!
Do not rest;
do not let your tears
ק (Qof)
2:19 Get up! Cry out in the night
when the night watches start!
Pour out your heart
before the face of the Lord!
Lift up your hands
for your children’s lives;
they are fainting
at every street corner.
ר (Resh)
2:20 Look, O Lord! Consider!
Whom have you ever afflicted
Should women eat their offspring,
their healthy infants?
Should priest and prophet
be killed in the Lord’s
ש (Sin/Shin)
2:21 The young boys and old men
lie dead on the ground in the streets.
My young women
have fallen by the sword.
You killed them when you were angry;
you slaughtered them without mercy.
ת (Tav)
2:22 As if it were a feast day, you call
enemies
On the day of the Lord’s anger
no one escaped or survived.
My enemy has finished off
those healthy infants whom I bore
ב (Bet)
2:2 The Lord
all the homes of Jacob’s descendants.
In his anger he tore down
the fortified cities
He knocked to the ground and humiliated
the kingdom and its rulers.
ב (Bet)
1:2 She weeps bitterly at night;
tears stream down her cheeks.
She has no one to comfort her
among all her lovers.
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
ג (Gimel)
1:3 Judah
under
She
she has found no resting place.
All who pursued her overtook her
in
ד (Dalet)
1:4 The roads to Zion
because no one
All her city gates
her priests groan.
Her virgins grieve;
she is in bitter anguish!
א (Alef)
1:1
now sits all alone!
The prominent
has become a widow!
The princess
has become
6:3 Kings will come against it with their armies.
They will encamp in siege all around it.
Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him.
8:8 Israel will be swallowed up among the nations;
they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.