He drew ¹  his bow and made me ²  the target for his arrow.

ה (He) He shot ¹  his arrows ²  into my heart. ³ 

Let him offer his cheek to the one who hits him; ¹  let him have his fill of insults.

א (Alef) Alas! ¹  The Lord ²  has covered Daughter Zion ³  with his anger. ⁴  He has thrown down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth; he did not protect ⁵  his temple ⁶  when he displayed his anger. ⁷ 

כ (Kaf) The Lord fully vented ¹  his wrath; he poured out his fierce anger. ²  He started a fire in Zion; it consumed her foundations. ³ 

He repeatedly ¹  attacks me, he turns his hand ²  against me all day long. ³ 

Let him bury his face in the dust; ¹  perhaps there is hope.

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.

ח (Khet) The Lord’s loyal kindness ¹  never ceases; ²  his compassions ³  never end.

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

Why should any living person ¹  complain when punished for his sins? ² 

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

ו (Vav) He destroyed his temple ¹  as if it were a vineyard; ²  he destroyed his appointed meeting place. The Lord has made those in Zion forget both the festivals and the Sabbaths. ³  In his fierce anger ⁴  he has spurned ⁵  both king and priest.

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

פ (Pe) Zion spread out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob; his neighbors ¹  have become his enemies. Jerusalem has become like filthy garbage ²  in their midst. 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 

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.

ג (Gimel) In fierce anger ¹  he destroyed ²  the whole army ³  of Israel. He withdrew his right hand ⁴  as the enemy attacked. ⁵  He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob; ⁶  it consumed everything around it. ⁷ 

ר (Resh) Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king ¹  – was caught in their traps, ²  of whom we thought, ³  “Under his protection ⁴  we will survive among the nations.”

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.