Lamentations 4:5

ה (He)

4:5 Those who once feasted on delicacies

are now starving to death in the streets.

Those who grew up wearing expensive clothes

are now dying amid garbage.

Lamentations 4:8

ח (Khet)

4:8 Now their appearance is darker than soot;

they are not recognized in the streets.

Their skin has shriveled on their bones;

it is dried up, like tree bark.

Lamentations 4:2

ב (Bet)

4:2 The precious sons of Zion

were worth their weight in gold –

Alas! – but now they are treated like broken clay pots,

made by a potter.

Lamentations 1:1

The Prophet Speaks:

א (Alef)

1:1 Alas! The city once full of people

now sits all alone!

The prominent lady among the nations

has become a widow!

The princess who once ruled the provinces

has become a forced laborer!

Lamentations 1:18

Jerusalem Speaks:

צ (Tsade)

1:18 The Lord is right to judge me!

Yes, I rebelled against his commands.

Please listen, all you nations,

and look at my suffering!

My young women and men

have gone into exile.

Lamentations 5:2

5:2 Our inheritance is turned over to strangers;

foreigners now occupy our homes.

Lamentations 5:8

5:8 Slaves rule over us;

there is no one to rescue us from their power.

Lamentations 4:11

כ (Kaf)

4:11 The Lord fully vented his wrath;

he poured out his fierce anger.

He started a fire in Zion;

it consumed her foundations.

Lamentations 1:3

ג (Gimel)

1:3 Judah has departed into exile

under affliction and harsh oppression.

She lives among the nations;

she has found no resting place.

All who pursued her overtook her

in narrow straits.

Lamentations 1:8

ח (Khet)

1:8 Jerusalem committed terrible sin;

therefore she became an object of scorn.

All who admired her have despised her

because they have seen her nakedness.

She groans aloud

and turns away in shame.

Lamentations 3:56

3:56 You heard my plea:

“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief!”

Lamentations 4:14

נ (Nun)

4:14 They wander blindly through the streets,

defiled by the blood they shed,

while no one dares

to touch their garments.

Lamentations 1:2

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.

Lamentations 1:9

ט (Tet)

1:9 Her menstrual flow has soiled her clothing;

she did not consider the consequences of her sin.

Her demise was astonishing,

and there was no one to comfort her.

She cried, “Look, O Lord, on my affliction

because my enemy boasts!”

Lamentations 2:16

פ (Pe)

2:16 All your enemies

gloated over you.

They sneered and gnashed their teeth;

they said, “We have destroyed her!

Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.

We have lived to see it!”

Lamentations 4:21

The Prophet Speaks:

ש (Sin/Shin)

4:21 Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom,

who reside in the land of Uz.

But the cup of judgment will pass to you also;

you will get drunk and take off your clothes.

Lamentations 1:7

ז (Zayin)

1:7 Jerusalem remembers,

when she became a poor homeless person,

all her treasures

that she owned in days of old.

When her people fell into an enemy’s grip,

none of her allies came to her rescue.

Her enemies gloated over her;

they sneered at her downfall.

Lamentations 1:21

ש (Sin/Shin)

1:21 They have heard that I groan,

yet there is no one to comfort me.

All my enemies have heard of my trouble;

they are glad that you have brought it about.

Bring about the day of judgment that you promised

so that they may end up like me!