for there our captors ask us to compose songs; ¹  those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: ²  “Sing for us a song about Zion!” ³ 

נ (Nun) They ¹  wander blindly ²  through the streets, defiled by the blood they shed, ³  while no one dares ⁴  to touch their garments.

Then ¹  seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind. ¹ 

Foreigners lose their courage; ¹  they shake with fear ²  as they leave ³  their strongholds. ⁴ 

Surely now he ¹  has worn me out, you have devastated my entire household.

It eats away parts of his skin; ¹  the most terrible death ²  devours his limbs.

They die ¹  in their youth, and their life ends among the male cultic prostitutes. ² 

My eyes ¹  grow dim ²  from suffering; they grow weak ³  because of all my enemies. ⁴ 

How desolate they become in a mere moment! Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! ¹ 

So he caused them to die unsatisfied ¹  and filled with terror. ² 

Because of the anxiety that makes me groan, my bones protrude from my skin. ¹ 

I collapse ¹  from grief. Sustain me by your word! ² 

I keep your commands eagerly and without delay. ¹ 

How deserted will that once-famous city ¹  be, that city that was once filled with ²  joy! ³ 

When they invaded ¹  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ²  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ³  They came to devour ⁴  the land.

They will say, “This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; the ruined, desolate, and destroyed cities are now fortified and inhabited.”

The roar of battle will rise against your people; all your fortresses will be devastated, just as Shalman devastated ¹  Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

Then ¹  seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

But now we ¹  are dried up, ²  and there is nothing at all before us ³  except this manna!”