3. In his fury he shattered the strength of Israel;He refused to help us when the enemy came.He raged against us like fire, destroying everything.
4. He aimed his arrows at us like an enemy;He killed all those who were our joy and delight.Here in Jerusalem we felt his burning anger.
5. Like an enemy, the Lord has destroyed Israel;He has left her forts and palaces in ruins.He has brought on the people of Judah unending sorrow.
6. He smashed to pieces the Temple where we worshipped him;He has put an end to holy days and Sabbaths.King and priest alike have felt the force of his anger.
7. The Lord rejected his altar and deserted his holy Temple;He allowed the enemy to tear down its walls.They shouted in victory where once we had worshipped in joy.
8. The Lord was determined that the walls of Zion should fall;He measured them off to make sure of total destruction.The towers and walls now lie in ruins together.
9. The gates lie buried in rubble, their bars smashed to pieces.The king and the noblemen now are in exile.The Law is no longer taught, and the prophets have no visions from the Lord.
10. Jerusalem's old men sit on the ground in silence,With dust on their heads and sackcloth on their bodies.Young women bow their heads to the ground.
11. My eyes are worn out with weeping; my soul is in anguish.I am exhausted with grief at the destruction of my people.Children and babies are fainting in the streets of the city.
12. Hungry and thirsty, they cry to their mothers;They fall in the streets as though they were wounded,And slowly die in their mothers' arms.
13. O Jerusalem, beloved Jerusalem, what can I say?How can I comfort you? No one has ever suffered like this.Your disaster is boundless as the ocean; there is no possible hope.