Through the Bible – Day 317

₁Jerusalem, once so crowded,

lies deserted and lonely.

This city that was known

all over the world

is now like a widow.

This queen of the nations

has been made a slave.

₂Each night, bitter tears

flood her cheeks.

None of her former lovers

are there to offer comfort;

her friends have betrayed her

and are now her enemies.

₃The people of Judah are slaves,

suffering in a foreign land,

with no rest from sorrow.

Their enemies captured them

and were terribly cruel.

₄The roads to Zion mourn

because no one travels there

to celebrate the festivals.

The city gates are deserted;

priests are weeping.

Young women are raped;

Zion is in sorrow!

₅Enemies now rule the city

and live as they please.

The LORD has punished Jerusalem

because of her awful sins;

he has let her people

be dragged away.

₆Zion's glory has disappeared.

Her leaders are like deer

that cannot find pasture;

they are hunted down

till their strength is gone.

₇Her people recall the good life

that once was theirs;

now they suffer

and are scattered.

No one was there to protect them

from their enemies who sneered

when their city was taken.

₈Jerusalem's horrible sins

have made the city a joke.

Those who once admired her

now hate her instead—

she has been disgraced;

she groans and turns away.

₉Her sins had made her filthy,

but she wasn't worried

about what could happen.

And when Jerusalem fell,

it was so tragic.

No one gave her comfort

when she cried out,

“Help! I'm in trouble, LORD!

The enemy has won.”

₁₀Zion's treasures were stolen.

Jerusalem saw foreigners

enter her place of worship,

though the LORD

had forbidden them

to belong to his people.

₁₁Everyone in the city groans

while searching for food;

they trade their valuables

for barely enough scraps

to stay alive.

Jerusalem shouts to the LORD,

“Please look and see

how miserable I am!”

₁₂No passer-by even cares.

Why doesn't someone notice

my terrible sufferings?

You were fiercely angry, LORD,

and you punished me

worst of all.

₁₃From heaven you sent a fire

that burnt in my bones;

you set a trap for my feet

and made me turn back.

All day long you leave me

in shock from constant pain.

₁₄You have tied my sins

around my neck,

and they weigh so heavily

that my strength is gone.

You have put me in the power

of enemies too strong for me.

₁₅You, LORD, have turned back

my warriors and crushed

my young heroes.

Judah was a woman untouched,

but you let her be trampled

like grapes in a wine-pit.

₁₆Because of this, I mourn,

and tears flood my eyes.

No one is here to comfort

or to encourage me;

we have lost the war—

my people are suffering.

₁₇Zion reaches out her hands,

but no one offers comfort.

The LORD has turned

the neighbouring nations

against Jacob's descendants.

Jerusalem is merely a filthy rag

to her neighbours.

₁₈The LORD was right,

but I refused to obey him.

Now I ask all of you to look

at my sufferings—

even my young people

have been dragged away.

₁₉I called out to my lovers,

but they betrayed me.

My priests and my leaders died

while searching the city

for scraps of food.

₂₀Won't you look and see

how upset I am, our LORD?

My stomach is in knots,

and my heart is broken

because I betrayed you.

In the streets and at home,

my people are slaughtered.

₂₁Everyone heard my groaning,

but no one offered comfort.

My enemies know of the trouble

that you have brought on me,

and it makes them glad.

Hurry and punish them,

as you have promised.

₂₂Don't let their evil deeds

escape your sight.

Punish them as much

as you have punished me

because of my sins.

I never stop groaning—

I've lost all hope!

₁The Lord was angry!

So he disgraced Zion

though it was Israel's pride

and his own place of rest.

In his anger he threw Zion down

from heaven to earth.

₂The LORD had no mercy!

He destroyed the homes

of Jacob's descendants.

In his anger he tore down

every walled city in Judah;

he toppled the nation

together with its leaders,

leaving them in shame.

₃The Lord was so furiously angry

that he wiped out

the whole army of Israel

by not supporting them

when the enemy attacked.

He was like a raging fire

that swallowed up

the descendants of Jacob.

₄He attacked like an enemy

with a bow and arrows,

killing our loved ones.

He has burnt to the ground

the homes on Mount Zion.

₅The Lord was like an enemy!

He left Israel in ruins

with its palaces

and fortresses destroyed,

and with everyone in Judah

moaning and weeping.

₆He shattered his temple

like a hut in a garden;

he completely wiped out

his meeting place,

and did away with festivals

and Sabbaths

in the city of Zion.

In his fierce anger he rejected

our king and priests.

₇The Lord abandoned his altar

and his temple;

he let Zion's enemies

capture her fortresses.

Noisy shouts were heard

from the temple,

as if it were a time

of celebration.

₈The LORD had decided

to tear down the walls of Zion

stone by stone.

So he started destroying

and did not stop

until walls and fortresses

mourned and trembled.

₉Zion's gates have fallen

face down on the ground;

the bars that locked the gates

are smashed to pieces.

Her king and royal family

are prisoners

in foreign lands.

Her priests don't teach,

and her prophets don't have

a message from the LORD.

₁₀Zion's leaders are silent.

They just sit on the ground,

tossing dust on their heads

and wearing sackcloth.

Her young women can do nothing

but stare at the ground.

₁₁My eyes are red from crying,

my stomach is in knots,

and I feel sick all over.

My people are being wiped out,

and children lie helpless

in the streets of the city.

₁₂A child begs its mother

for food and drink,

then blacks out

like a wounded soldier

lying in the street.

The child slowly dies

in its mother's arms.

₁₃Zion, how can I comfort you?

How great is your pain?

Lovely city of Jerusalem,

how can I heal your wounds,

gaping as wide as the sea?

₁₄Your prophets deceived you

with false visions

and lying messages—

they should have warned you

to leave your sins

and be saved from disaster.

₁₅Those who pass by

shake their heads and sneer

as they make fun and shout,

“What a lovely city you were,

the happiest on earth,

but look at you now!”

₁₆Zion, your enemies curse you

and snarl like wild animals,

while shouting,

“This is the day

we've waited for!

At last, we've got you!”

₁₇The LORD has done everything

that he had planned

and threatened long ago.

He destroyed you without mercy

and let your enemies boast about

their powerful forces.

₁₈Zion, deep in your heart

you cried out to the Lord.

Now let your tears overflow

your walls day and night.

Don't ever lose hope

or let your tears stop.

₁₉Get up and pray for help

all through the night.

Pour out your feelings

to the Lord,

as you would pour water

out of a jug.

Beg him to save your people,

who are starving to death

at every street crossing.

₂₀Think about it, LORD!

Have you ever been this cruel

to anyone before?

Is it right for mothers

to eat their children,

or for priests and prophets

to be killed in your temple?

₂₁My people, both young and old,

lie dead in the streets.

Because you were angry,

my young men and women

were brutally slaughtered.

₂₂When you were angry, LORD,

you invited my enemies

like guests for a party.

No one survived that day;

enemies killed my children,

my own little ones.