ו (Vav)
1:6 All of Daughter Zion’s splendor
has departed.
Her leaders became like deer;
they found no pasture,
so they were too exhausted to escape
from the hunter.
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!”
ק (Qof)
1:19 I called for my lovers,
but they had deceived me.
My priests and my elders
perished in the city.
Truly they had searched for food
to keep themselves alive.
י (Yod)
2:10 The elders of Daughter Zion
sit on the ground in silence.
They have thrown dirt on their heads;
They have dressed in sackcloth.
Jerusalem’s young women stare down at the ground.
ל (Lamed)
2:12 Children say to their mothers,
“Where are food and drink?”
They faint like a wounded warrior
in the city squares.
They die slowly
in their mothers’ arms.
נ (Nun)
2:14 Your prophets saw visions for you
that were worthless lies.
They failed to expose your sin
so as to restore your fortunes.
They saw oracles for you
that were worthless lies.
פ (Pe)
2:16 All your enemies
gloated over you.
They sneered and gnashed their teeth;
they said, “We have destroyed her!
Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.
We have lived to see it!”
ס (Samek)
4:15 People 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.”