ה (He)
1:5 Her foes subjugated her;
her enemies are at ease.
For the Lord afflicted her
because of her many acts of rebellion.
Her children went away
captive before the enemy.
כ (Kaf)
1:11 All her people groaned
as they searched for a morsel of bread.
They exchanged their valuables
for just enough food
to stay alive.
“Look, O Lord! Consider
that I have become worthless!”
ל (Lamed)
1:12 Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by on the road?
Look and see!
Is there any pain like mine?
The Lord has afflicted me,
he has inflicted it on me
when he burned with anger.
פ (Pe)
1:17 Zion spread out her hands,
but there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob;
his neighbors have become his enemies.
Jerusalem has become
like filthy garbage in their midst.
צ (Tsade)
1:18 The Lord is right to judge me!
Yes, I rebelled against his commands.
Please listen, all you nations,
and look at my suffering!
My young women and men
have gone into exile.
א (Alef)
2:1 Alas! The Lord has covered
Daughter Zion with his anger.
He has thrown down the splendor of Israel
from heaven to earth;
he did not protect his temple
when he displayed his anger.
ב (Bet)
2:2 The Lord destroyed mercilessly
all the homes of Jacob’s descendants.
In his anger he tore down
the fortified cities of Daughter Judah.
He knocked to the ground and humiliated
the kingdom and its rulers.
ע (Ayin)
2:17 The Lord has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled his promise
that he threatened long ago:
He has overthrown you without mercy
and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;
he has exalted your adversaries’ power.
צ (Tsade)
2:18 Cry out from your heart to the Lord,
O wall of Daughter Zion!
Make your tears flow like a river
all day and all night long!
Do not rest;
do not let your tears stop!
ר (Resh)
4:20 Our 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.”