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

I have become the laughingstock of all people, ¹  their mocking song ²  all day long. ³ 

Streams ¹  of tears flow from my eyes ²  because my people ³  are destroyed. ⁴ 

י (Yod) The hands of tenderhearted women ¹  cooked their own children, who became their food, ²  when my people ³  were destroyed. ⁴ 

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!

כ (Kaf) All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread. ¹  They exchanged ²  their valuables ³  for ⁴  just enough food to stay alive. ⁵ “Look, O Lord! Consider ⁶  that I have become worthless!”

צ (Tsade) The Lord is right to judge me! ¹  Yes, I rebelled against his commands. ²  Please listen, all you nations, ³  and look at my suffering! My young women and men have gone into exile.

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.

ג (Gimel) Even the jackals ¹  nurse their young at their breast, ²  but my people ³  are cruel, like ostriches ⁴  in the desert.

ו (Vav) The punishment ¹  of my people ²  exceeded that of ³  of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment with no one to help her. ⁴ 

ז (Zayin) Jerusalem ¹  remembers, ²  when ³  she became a poor homeless person, ⁴  all her treasures that she owned in days of old. ⁵  When her people fell into an enemy’s grip, ⁶  none of her allies came to her rescue. ⁷  Her enemies ⁸  gloated over ⁹  her; they sneered at her downfall.