ק (Qof) I have called on your name, O Lord, from the deepest pit. ¹ 

You came near ¹  on the day I called to you; you said, ²  “Do not fear!”

Give them a distraught heart; ¹  may your curse be on them!

י (Yod) The elders of Daughter Zion sit ¹  on the ground in silence. ²  They have thrown dirt on their heads; They have dressed in sackcloth. ³  Jerusalem’s young women ⁴  stare down at the ground. ⁵ 

ל (Lamed) Is it nothing to you, ¹  all you who pass by on the road? ²  Look and see! Is there any pain like mine? The Lord ³  has afflicted me, ⁴  he ⁵  has inflicted it on me when ⁶  he burned with anger. ⁷ 

You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord; pronounce judgment on my behalf! ¹ 

¹ O Lord, reflect on ²  what has happened to us; consider ³  and look at ⁴  our disgrace.

Why do you keep on forgetting ¹  us? Why do you forsake us so long?

ה (He) Those who once feasted on delicacies ¹  are now starving to death ²  in the streets. Those who grew up ³  wearing expensive clothes ⁴  are now dying ⁵  amid garbage. ⁶ 

Though he causes us ¹  grief, he then has compassion on us ²  according to the abundance of his loyal kindness. ³ 

א (Alef) ¹ Alas! ²  Gold has lost its luster; ³  pure gold loses value. ⁴  Jewels ⁵  are scattered on every street corner. ⁶ 

ת (Tav) As if it were a feast day, you call ¹  enemies ²  to terrify me ³  on every side. ⁴  On the day of the Lord’s anger no one escaped or survived. My enemy has finished off those healthy infants whom I bore ⁵  and raised. ⁶ 

ח (Khet) Now their appearance ¹  is darker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it is dried up, like tree bark.

כ (Kaf) My eyes are worn out ¹  from weeping; ²  my stomach is in knots. ³  My heart ⁴  is poured out on the ground due to the destruction ⁵  of my helpless people; ⁶  children and infants faint in the town squares.

ש (Sin/Shin) The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women ¹  and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; ²  you slaughtered them without mercy. ³ 

ד (Dalet) He prepared his bow ¹  like an enemy; his right hand was ready to shoot. ²  Like a foe he killed everyone, even our strong young men; ³  he has poured out his anger like fire on the tent ⁴  of Daughter Zion.

נ (Nun) My sins are bound around my neck like a yoke; ¹  they are fastened together by his hand. He has placed his yoke ²  on my neck; ³  he has sapped my strength. ⁴  The Lord ⁵  has handed me over ⁶  to those whom I cannot resist.

ט (Tet) Her menstrual flow ¹  has soiled ²  her clothing; ³  she did not consider ⁴  the consequences of her sin. ⁵  Her demise ⁶  was astonishing, ⁷  and there was no one to comfort her. She cried, “Look, ⁸  O Lord, on my ⁹  affliction because my enemy boasts!”

ס (Samek) All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. ¹  They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem. “Ha! Is this the city they called ²  ‘The perfection of beauty, ³  the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ⁴ 

י (Yod) Let a person ¹  sit alone in silence, when the Lord ²  is disciplining him. ³