א (Alef)
1Alas! Gold has lost its luster;pure gold loses value.Jewels are scatteredon every street corner.
ב (Bet)
2The precious sons of Zionwere worth their weight in gold –Alas! – but now they are treated like broken clay pots,made by a potter.
ג (Gimel)
3Even the jackals nurse their youngat their breast,but my people are cruel,like ostriches in the desert.
ד (Dalet)
4The infant’s tongue sticksto the roof of its mouth due to thirst;little children beg for bread,but no one gives them even a morsel.
ה (He)
5Those who once feasted on delicaciesare now starving to death in the streets.Those who grew up wearing expensive clothesare now dying amid garbage.
ו (Vav)
6The punishment of my peopleexceeded that of of Sodom,which was overthrown in a momentwith no one to help her.
ז (Zayin)
7Her consecrated ones were brighter than snow,whiter than milk;their bodies more ruddy than corals,their hair like lapis lazuli.
ח (Khet)
8Now their appearance is darker than soot;they are not recognized in the streets.Their skin has shriveled on their bones;it is dried up, like tree bark.
ט (Tet)
9Those who died by the sword are better offthan those who die of hunger,those who waste away,struck down from lack of food.
י (Yod)
10The hands of tenderhearted womencooked their own children,who became their food,when my people were destroyed.
כ (Kaf)
11The Lord fully vented his wrath;he poured out his fierce anger.He started a fire in Zion;it consumed her foundations.
ל (Lamed)
12Neither the kings of the earthnor the people of the lands ever thoughtthat enemy or foe would enterthe gates of Jerusalem.
מ (Mem)
13But it happened due to the sins of her prophetsand the iniquities of her priests,who poured out in her midstthe blood of the righteous.
נ (Nun)
14They wander blindly through the streets,defiled by the blood they shed,while no one daresto touch their garments.
ס (Samek)
15People cry to them, “Turn away! You are unclean!Turn away! Turn away! Don’t touch us!”So they have fled and wander about;but the nations say, “They may not stay here any longer.”
פ (Pe)
16The Lord himself has scattered them;he no longer watches over them.They did not honor the priests;they did not show favor to the elders.
The People of Jerusalem Lament:
ע (Ayin)
17Our eyes continually failed usas we looked in vain for help.From our watchtowers we watchedfor a nation that could not rescue us.
צ (Tsade)
18Our enemies hunted us down at every stepso that we could not walk about in our streets.Our end drew near, our days were numbered,for our end had come!
ק (Qof)
19Those who pursued us were swifterthan eagles in the sky.They chased us over the mountains;they ambushed us in the wilderness.
ר (Resh)
20Our very life breath – the Lord’s anointed king –was caught in their traps,of whom we thought,“Under his protection we will survive among the nations.”
The Prophet Speaks:
ש (Sin/Shin)
21Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom,who reside in the land of Uz.But the cup of judgment will pass to you also;you will get drunk and take off your clothes.
ת (Tav)
22O people of Zion, your punishment will come to an end;he will not prolong your exile.But, O people of Edom, he will punish your sinand reveal your offenses!