<p class="poetry">&#8220;Take up your battle positions all around Babylon,p> <p class="poetry">all you soldiers who are armed with bows.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Shoot<n id="2" /> all your arrows at her! Do not hold any back!<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">For she has sinned against the <sc>Lordsc>.p>

<p class="poetry">Destructive forces will come against her horses and her<n id="1" /> chariots.p> <p class="poetry">Destructive forces will come against all the foreign troops within her;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">they will be as frightened as women!<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Destructive forces will come against her treasures;p> <p class="poetry">they will be taken away as plunder!p>

<p class="poetry">Do not give her archers time to string their bowsp> <p class="poetry">or to put on their coats of armor.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Do not spare any of her young men.p> <p class="poetry">Completely destroy<n id="2" /> her whole army.p>

<p class="poetry">Babylonia had been a gold cup in the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s hand.p> <p class="poetry">She had made the whole world drunk.p> <p class="poetry">The nations had drunk from the wine of her wrath.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">So they have all gone mad.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;But I will repay Babylonp> <p class="poetry">and all who live in Babyloniap> <p class="poetry">for all the wicked things they did in Zionp> <p class="poetry">right before the eyes of you Judeans,&#8221;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">says the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The towns of Babylonia have become heaps of ruins.p> <p class="poetry">She has become a dry and barren desert.p> <p class="poetry">No one lives in those towns any more.p> <p class="poetry">No one even passes through them.<n id="1" />p>

The king of Babylon had Zedekiah&#8217;s sons put to death while Zedekiah was forced to watch. He also had all the nobles of Judah put to death there at Riblah.

They also took the pots, shovels,<n id="1" /> trimming shears,<n id="2" /> basins, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests.<n id="3" />

He was given daily provisions by the king of Babylon for the rest of his life until the day he died.p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1489; (<i>Beti>)p> <p class="poetry">She weeps bitterly at night;p> <p class="poetry">tears stream down her cheeks.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">She has no one to comfort herp> <p class="poetry">among all her lovers.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">All her friends have betrayed her;p> <p class="poetry">they have become her enemies.p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1490; (<i>Gimeli>)p> <p class="poetry">Judah<n id="1" /> has departed into exilep> <p class="poetry">under<n id="2" /> affliction and harsh oppression.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">She<n id="4" /> lives among the nations;p> <p class="poetry">she has found no resting place.p> <p class="poetry">All who pursued her overtook herp> <p class="poetry">in<n id="5" /> narrow straits.<n id="6" />p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1491; (<i>Daleti>)p> <p class="poetry">The roads to Zion<n id="1" /> mourn<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">because no one<n id="3" /> travels to the festivals.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">All her city gates<n id="5" /> are deserted;<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">her priests groan.<n id="7" />p> <p class="poetry">Her virgins grieve;<n id="8" />p> <p class="poetry">she is in bitter anguish!<n id="9" />p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1493; (<i>Vavi>)p> <p class="poetry">All of Daughter Zion&#8217;s<n id="1" /> splendor<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">has departed.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Her leaders became like deer;p> <p class="poetry">they found no pasture,p> <p class="poetry">so they were too exhausted to escape<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">from the hunter.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1495; (<i>Kheti>)p> <p class="poetry">Jerusalem committed terrible sin;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">therefore she became an object of scorn.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">All who admired<n id="3" /> her have despised her<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">because they have seen her nakedness.<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">She groans aloud<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">and turns away in shame.<n id="7" />p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1497; (<i>Yodi>)p> <p class="poetry">An enemy grabbed<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">all her valuables.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Indeed she watched in horror<n id="3" /> as Gentiles<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">invaded her holy temple<n id="5" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">those whom you<n id="6" /> had commanded:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;They must not enter<n id="7" /> your assembly place.&#8221;<n id="8" />p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1499; (<i>Kafi>)p> <p class="poetry">All her people groanedp> <p class="poetry">as they searched for a morsel of bread.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">They exchanged<n id="2" /> their valuables<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">for<n id="4" /> just enough foodp> <p class="poetry">to stay alive.<n id="5" />p><t /><p class="poetry">&#8220;Look, O <sc>Lordsc>! Consider<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">that I have become worthless!&#8221;p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1502; (<i>Memi>)p> <p class="poetry">He sent down fire<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">into my bones, and it overcame<n id="2" /> them.p> <p class="poetry">He spread out a trapper&#8217;s net<n id="3" /> for my feet;p> <p class="poetry">he made me turn back.p> <p class="poetry">He has made me desolate;p> <p class="poetry">I am faint all day long.p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1505; (<i>Sameki>)p> <p class="poetry">He rounded up<n id="1" /> all my mighty ones;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">The Lord<n id="3" /> did this<n id="4" /> in<n id="5" /> my midst.p> <p class="poetry">He summoned an assembly<n id="6" /> against mep> <p class="poetry">to shatter my young men.p> <p class="poetry">The Lord has stomped like grapes<n id="7" />p> <p class="poetry">the virgin daughter, Judah.<n id="8" />p>

<t /><p class="lamhebrew">&#1510; (<i>Tsadei>)p> <p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> is right to judge me!<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Yes, I rebelled against his commands.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Please listen, all you nations,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and look at my suffering!p> <p class="poetry">My young women and menp> <p class="poetry">have gone into exile.p>

<p class="lamhebrew">&#1490; (<i>Gimeli>)p> <p class="poetry">In fierce anger<n id="1" /> he destroyed<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the whole army<n id="3" /> of Israel.p> <p class="poetry">He withdrew his right hand<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">as the enemy attacked.<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob;<n id="6" />p> <p class="poetry">it consumed everything around it.<n id="7" />p>