The elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped playing their music.

ל (Lamed) Neither the kings of the earth nor the people of the lands ¹  ever thought ²  that enemy or foe would enter the gates ³  of Jerusalem. ⁴ 

to deprive a person ¹  of his rights ²  in the presence of the Most High,

ב (Bet) The Lord ¹  destroyed ²  mercilessly ³  all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. ⁴  In his anger he tore down the fortified cities ⁵  of Daughter Judah. He knocked to the ground and humiliated the kingdom and its rulers. ⁶ 

At the risk ¹  of our lives ²  we get our food ³  because robbers lurk ⁴  in the countryside. ⁵ 

You make us like filthy scum ¹  in the estimation ²  of the nations.

מ (Mem) But it happened ¹  due to the sins of her prophets ²  and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous.

פ (Pe) The Lord himself ¹  has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. They did not honor the priests; ²  they did not show favor to the elders. ³ 

ק (Qof) Those who pursued us were swifter than eagles ¹  in the sky. ²  They chased us over the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness.

א (Alef) ¹  I am the man ²  who has experienced ³  affliction from the rod ⁴  of his wrath.

א (Alef) ^{1  2} Alas! ³  The city once full of people ⁴  now sits all alone! ⁵  The prominent ⁶  lady among the nations has become a widow! ⁷  The princess ⁸  who once ruled the provinces ⁹  has become a forced laborer!

What my eyes see ¹  grieves me ²  – all the suffering of the daughters in my city. ³ 

ז (Zayin) The Lord ¹  rejected ²  his altar and abhorred his temple. ³  He handed over to the enemy ⁴  her palace walls; the enemy ⁵  shouted ⁶  in the Lord’s temple as if it were a feast day. ⁷ 

כ (Kaf) For the Lord ¹  will not reject us forever. ² 

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 

They raped ¹  women in Zion, virgins in the towns of Judah.

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.

ט (Tet) The Lord is good to those who trust ¹  in him, to the one ²  who seeks him.

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes – both calamity and blessing? ¹ 

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