פ (Pe) The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. They did not honor the priests; they did not show favor to the elders.

ח (Khet) The Lord’s loyal kindness never ceases; his compassions never end.

He drove me into captivity and made me walk in darkness and not light.

ג (Gimel) He has walled me in so that I cannot get out; he has weighted me down with heavy prison chains.

כ (Kaf) For the Lord will not reject us forever.

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

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes – both calamity and blessing?

“We have blatantly rebelled; you have not forgiven.”

ס (Samek) You shrouded yourself with anger and then pursued us; you killed without mercy.

ע (Ayin) Tears flow from my eyes and will not stop; there will be no break

ו (Vav) All of Daughter Zion’s splendor has departed. Her leaders became like deer; they found no pasture, so they were too exhausted to escape from the hunter.

For he is not predisposed to afflict or to grieve people.

מ (Mem) Whose command was ever fulfilled unless the Lord decreed it?

We are pursued – they are breathing down our necks; we are weary and have no rest.

Princes were hung by their hands; elders were mistreated.

נ (Nun) They wander blindly through the streets, defiled by the blood they shed, while no one dares to touch their garments.

ג (Gimel) 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.

ט (Tet) 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!”

י (Yod) An enemy grabbed all her valuables. Indeed she watched in horror as Gentiles invaded her holy temple – those whom you had commanded: “They must not enter your assembly place.”

נ (Nun) My sins are bound around my neck like a yoke; they are fastened together by his hand. He has placed his yoke on my neck; he has sapped my strength. The Lord has handed me over to those whom I cannot resist.