I am deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is.

I continually think about this, and I am depressed.

ט (Tet) The Lord is good to those who trust in him, to the one who seeks him.

What my eyes see grieves me – all the suffering of the daughters in my city.

ר (Resh) O Lord, you championed my cause, you redeemed my life.

At the risk of our lives we get our food because robbers lurk in the countryside.

“My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself, so I will put my hope in him.

כ (Kaf) All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread. They exchanged their valuables for just enough food to stay alive.“Look, O Lord! Consider that I have become worthless!”

ק (Qof) I called for my lovers, but they had deceived me. My priests and my elders perished in the city. Truly they had searched for food to keep themselves alive.

ל (Lamed) Children say to their mothers, “Where are food and drink?” They faint like a wounded warrior in the city squares. They die slowly in their mothers’ arms.

ע (Ayin) I weep because of these things; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one in sight who can comfort me or encourage me. My children are desolated because an enemy has prevailed.

ק (Qof) Get up! Cry out in the night when the night watches start! Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord! Lift up your hands to him for your children’s lives; they are fainting at every street corner.