How hath the Lordcovered the daughter of Zionwith a cloud in his anger, and castdownfromheavenunto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!
The Lordhathswallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he haththrowndown in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he hathbroughtthemdown to the ground: he hathpolluted the kingdom and the princesthereof.
He hath cut off in his fierceanger all the horn of Israel: he hathdrawnback his righthandfrombefore the enemy, and he burnedagainstJacoblike a flamingfire, whichdevourethroundabout.
He hathbent his bow like an enemy: he stoodwith his righthand as an adversary, and slew all thatwerepleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his furylikefire.
The Lord was as an enemy: he hathswallowed up Israel, he hathswallowed up all her palaces: he hathdestroyed his strongholds, and hathincreased in the daughter of Judahmourning and lamentation.
And he hathviolentlytakenaway his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hathdestroyed his places of the assembly: the LORDhathcaused the solemnfeasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hathdespised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
The Lordhathcast off his altar, he hathabhorred his sanctuary, he hathgiven up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; theyhavemade a noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemnfeast.
The LORDhathpurposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hathstretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his handfromdestroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; theylanguishedtogether.
Her gates are sunkinto the ground; he hathdestroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophetsalsofind no visionfrom the LORD.
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and keepsilence: theyhavecast up dustupontheirheads; theyhavegirdedthemselveswithsackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalemhangdowntheirheads to the ground.
Mineeyes do failwithtears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is pouredupon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklingsswoon in the streets of the city.
They say to theirmothers, Where is corn and wine? whentheyswooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, whentheirsoul was poured out intotheirmothers’bosom.
Whatthingshall I take to witness for thee? whatthingshall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? whatshall I equal to thee, that I may comfortthee, O virgindaughter of Zion? for thy breach is greatlike the sea: who can healthee?
Thy prophetshaveseenvain and foolishthings for thee: and theyhave not discoveredthineiniquity, to turnaway thy captivity; but haveseen for theefalseburdens and causes of banishment.
All thatpass by claptheirhands at thee; theyhiss and wag theirhead at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the citythat men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the wholeearth?
All thineenemieshaveopenedtheirmouthagainstthee: theyhiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We haveswallowed her up: certainlythis is the day that we looked for; we havefound, we haveseen it.
The LORDhathdonethatwhich he had devised; he hathfulfilled his wordthat he had commanded in the days of old: he haththrowndown, and hath not pitied: and he hathcausedthineenemy to rejoiceoverthee, he hath set up the horn of thineadversaries.
Theirheartcriedunto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run downlike a river day and night: givethyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watchespour out thineheartlikewaterbefore the face of the Lord: lift up thy handstoward him for the life of thy youngchildren, thatfaint for hunger in the top of everystreet.
Behold, O LORD, and consider to whomthouhastdonethis. Shall the women eat theirfruit, and children of a spanlong? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thouhastslainthem in the day of thineanger; thouhastkilled, and not pitied.
Thouhastcalled as in a solemn day my terrorsroundabout, so that in the day of the LORD’Sangernoneescaped nor remained: thosethat I haveswaddled and brought up hathmineenemyconsumed.