Because of this, our hearts are sick; because of these things, we can hardly see through our tears.

He has besieged and surrounded me with bitter hardship.

I continually think about this, and I am depressed.

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

פ (Pe) All our enemies have gloated over us;

The waters closed over my head; I thought I was about to die.

ש (Sin/Shin) You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me.

My assailants revile and conspire against me all day long.

But this I call to mind; therefore I have hope:

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

Why should any living person complain when punished for his sins?

Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.

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

For wild animals are prowling over Mount Zion, which lies desolate.

unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

ה (He) 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.

ק (Qof) Those who pursued us were swifter than eagles in the sky. They chased us over the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness.

ס (Samek) All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem. “Ha! Is this the city they called ‘The perfection of beauty, the source of joy of the whole earth!’?”

ב (Bet) 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.

ה (He) Her foes subjugated her; her enemies are at ease. For the Lord afflicted her because of her many acts of rebellion. Her children went away captive before the enemy.