¹ How has the daughter of Zion been covered with a cloud by the Lord in his wrath! he has sent down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, and has not kept in memory the resting-place of his feet in the day of his wrath.

² The Lord has given up to destruction all the living-places of Jacob without pity; pulling down in his wrath the strong places of the daughter of Judah, stretching out on the earth the wounded, even her king and her rulers.

³ In his burning wrath every horn of Israel has been cut off; his right hand has been turned back before the attacker: he has put a fire in Jacob, causing destruction round about.

⁴ His bow has been bent for the attack, he has taken his place with his hand ready, in his hate he has put to death all who were pleasing to the eye: on the tent of the daughter of Zion he has let loose his passion like fire.

⁵ The Lord has become like one fighting against her, sending destruction on Israel; he has sent destruction on all her great houses, making waste his strong places: increasing the grief and the sorrow of the daughter of Judah.

⁶ And he has violently taken away his tent, as from a garden; he has made waste his meeting-place: the Lord has taken away the memory of feast and Sabbath in Zion, and in the passion of his wrath he is against king and priest.

⁷ The Lord has given up his altar and has been turned in hate from his holy place; he has given up into the hands of the attacker the walls of her great houses: their voices have been loud in the house of the Lord as in the day of a holy meeting.

⁸ It is the Lord's purpose to make waste the wall of the daughter of Zion; his line has been stretched out, he has not kept back his hand from destruction: he has sent sorrow on tower and wall, they have become feeble together.

⁹ Her doors have gone down into the earth; he has sent destruction on her locks: her king and her princes are among the nations where the law is not; even her prophets have had no vision from the Lord.

¹⁰ The responsible men of the daughter of Zion are seated on the earth without a word; they have put dust on their heads, they are clothed in haircloth: the heads of the virgins of Jerusalem are bent down to the earth.

¹¹ My eyes are wasted with weeping, the inmost parts of my body are deeply moved, my inner parts are drained out on the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because of the young children and babies at the breast who are falling without strength in the open squares of the town.

¹² They say to their mothers, Where is grain and wine? when they are falling like the wounded in the open squares of the town, when their life is drained out on their mother's breast.

¹³ What example am I to give you? what comparison am I to make for you, O daughter of Jerusalem? what am I to make equal to you, so that I may give you comfort, O virgin daughter of Zion? for your destruction is great like the sea: who is able to make you well?

¹⁴ The visions which your prophets have seen for you are false and foolish; they have not made clear to you your sin so that your fate might be changed: but they have seen for you false words, driving you away.

¹⁵ All who go by make a noise with their hands at you; they make hisses, shaking their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem, and saying, Is this the town which was the crown of everything beautiful, the joy of all the earth?

¹⁶ All your haters are opening their mouths wide against you; making hisses and whistling through their teeth, they say, We have made a meal of her: certainly this is the day we have been looking for; it has come, we have seen it.

¹⁷ The Lord has done that which was his purpose; he has put into force the orders which he gave in the days which are past; pulling down without pity, he has made your hater glad over you, lifting up the horn of those who were against you.

¹⁸ Let your cry go up to the Lord: O wall of the daughter of Zion, let your weeping be flowing down like a stream day and night; give yourself no rest, let not your eyes keep back the drops of sorrow.

¹⁹ Up! give cries in the night, at the starting of the night-watches; let your heart be flowing out like water before the face of the Lord, lifting up your hands to him for the life of your young children who are falling down, feeble for need of food, at the top of every street.

²⁰ Look! O Lord, see to whom you have done this! Are the women to take as their food the fruit of their bodies, the children who are folded in their arms? are the priest and the prophet to be put to death in the holy place of the Lord?

²¹ The young men and the old are stretched on the earth in the streets; my virgins and my young men have been put to the sword: you have sent death on them in the day of your wrath, causing death without pity.

²² As in the day of a holy meeting you have made fears come round me on every side, and no one got away or was kept safe in the day of the Lord's wrath: those who were folded in my arms, whom I took care of, have been sent to their destruction by my hater.

¹ (To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah Maschil.) It has come to our ears, O God, our fathers have given us the story, of the works which you did in their days, in the old times,

² Uprooting the nations with your hand, and planting our fathers in their place; cutting down the nations, but increasing the growth of your people.

³ For they did not make the land theirs by their swords, and it was not their arms which kept them safe; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you had pleasure in them.

⁴ You are my King and my God; ordering salvation for Jacob.

⁵ Through you will we overcome our haters; by your name will they be crushed under our feet who are violent against us.

⁶ I will not put faith in my bow, my sword will not be my salvation.

⁷ But it is you who have been our saviour from those who were against us, and have put to shame those who had hate for us.

⁸ Our pride is in God at all times, to his name we give praise for ever. (Selah.)

⁹ But now you have sent us away from you, and put us to shame; you do not go out with our armies.

¹⁰ Because of this we are turned back by the attacker: those who have hate for us take our goods for themselves.

¹¹ You have made us like sheep which are taken for meat; we are put to flight among the nations.

¹² You let your people go for nothing; your wealth is not increased by their price.

¹³ You have made us to be looked down on by our neighbours, we are laughed at and shamed by those who are round about us.

¹⁴ Our name is a word of shame among the nations, a sign for the shaking of heads among the peoples.

¹⁵ My downfall is ever before me, and I am covered with the shame of my face;

¹⁶ Because of the voice of him who says sharp and bitter words; because of the hater and him who is the instrument of punishment.

¹⁷ All this has come on us, but still we have kept you in our memory; and we have not been false to your word.

¹⁸ Our hearts have not gone back, and our steps have not been turned out of your way;

¹⁹ Though you have let us be crushed in the place of jackals, though we are covered with darkest shade.

²⁰ If the name of our God has gone out of our minds, or if our hands have been stretched out to a strange God,

²¹ Will not God make search for it? for he sees the secrets of the heart.

²² Truly, because of you we are put to death every day; we are numbered like sheep for destruction.

²³ Why are you sleeping, O Lord? awake! and come to our help, do not give us up for ever.

²⁴ Why is your face covered, and Why do you give no thought to our trouble and our cruel fate?

²⁵ For our souls are crushed down to the dust: our bodies are stretched out on the earth.

²⁶ Up! and come to our help, and give us salvation because of your mercy.