to defraud a person in a lawsuit – the Lord does not approve of such things!

ד (Dalet) To me he is like a bear lying in ambush, like a hidden lion stalking its prey.

to deprive a person of his rights in the presence of the Most High,

You shrouded yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.

צ (Tsade) For no good reason my enemies hunted me down like a bird.

It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.

They shut me up in a pit and threw stones at me.

א (Alef)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!

Give them a distraught heart; may your curse be on them!

We must pay money for our own water; we must buy our own wood at a steep price.

ז (Zayin) Remember my impoverished and homeless condition, which is a bitter poison.

י (Yod) Let a person sit alone in silence, when the Lord is disciplining him.

Our skin is hot as an oven due to a fever from hunger.

ו (Vav) The punishment of my people exceeded that of of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her.

כ (Kaf) The Lord fully vented his wrath; he poured out his fierce anger. He started a fire in Zion; it consumed her foundations.

He has blocked every road I take with a wall of hewn stones; he has made every path impassable.

ע (Ayin) Our eyes continually failed us as we looked in vain for help. From our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not rescue us.

ב (Bet) 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.

ז (Zayin) The Lord rejected his altar and abhorred his temple. He handed over to the enemy her palace walls; the enemy shouted in the Lord’s temple as if it were a feast day.

ג (Gimel) In fierce anger he destroyed the whole army of Israel. 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.