8. Jerusalem has sinned so much that it has become a filthy thing.Everyone who used to honor it now despises it.They’ve seen it naked.Jerusalem groans and turns away.
9. Jerusalem’s own filth ⌊covers⌋ its clothes.It gave no thought to its future.Its downfall was shocking.No one offers it comfort.‘O Lord, look at my suffering,because my enemies have triumphed.’
10. The enemies laid their hands on all of the city’s treasures.Jerusalem has seen the nations enter the holy place.‘O Lord, they are the same peopleyou have forbidden to enter your congregation.’
11. All the people are groaning as they beg for bread.They trade their treasures for food to keep themselves alive.‘O Lord, look and see how despised I am!’ ”
12. “Doesn’t this affect all of you who pass by?Look and see if there’s any painlike the pain that the Lord has caused me,like the pain that he has made me suffer on the day of his fierce anger.
13. He sent fire from above.He made it go deep into my bones.He spread a net for my feet.He made me turn back.He has left me devastated.He has made me sick all day long.
14. My rebellious acts are a heavy burden for me.They were tied together by God’s own hands.They were tied around my neck.He has weakened me ⌊with them⌋.The Lord has handed me over to people I cannot oppose.
15. The Lord has treated all the warriors inside my ⌊walls⌋ with contempt.He called an army to defeat my young men.The Lord trampled the people of Judah in a winepress.
16. I’m crying because of ⌊all⌋ these things.My eyes—my eyes flow with tears.No one can give me the comfort I need to keep me alive.Everyone is too far away from me.My children are devastated because my enemies have won.”
17. Zion holds out its hands.No one offers it comfort.The Lord has given this order about Jacob:His own neighbors will become his opponents.Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.
18. “The Lord is right in what he did,because I rebelled against his word.Please listen, all you people, and look at my pain.My young women and young men have gone into captivity.
19. I called for those who love me, but they betrayed me.My priests and leaders breathed their last breath in the city,looking for food to keep themselves alive.
20. “O Lord, see the distress I’m in!My stomach is churning.My heart is pounding because I’ve been very bitter.In the streets swords kill my children.Inside the houses it’s like death.