Study Desk

The roads to Jerusalem are in mourning, for crowds no longer come to celebrate the festivals. The city gates are silent, her priests groan, her young women are crying— how bitter is her fate!

Her oppressors have become her masters, and her enemies prosper, for the Lord has punished Jerusalem for her many sins. Her children have been captured and taken away to distant lands.

All the majesty of beautiful Jerusalem has been stripped away. Her princes are like starving deer searching for pasture. They are too weak to run from the pursuing enemy.

Jerusalem has sinned greatly, so she has been tossed away like a filthy rag. All who once honored her now despise her, for they have seen her stripped naked and humiliated. All she can do is groan and hide her face.

Her people groan as they search for bread. They have sold their treasures for food to stay alive. "O Lord , look," she mourns, "and see how I am despised.

"For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me; any who might encourage me are far away. My children have no future, for the enemy has conquered us."

Jerusalem reaches out for help, but no one comforts her. Regarding his people Israel, the Lord has said, "Let their neighbors be their enemies! Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!"

"The Lord is right," Jerusalem says, "for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere; look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands.

"I begged my allies for help, but they betrayed me. My priests and leaders starved to death in the city, even as they searched for food to save their lives.

" Lord , see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have rebelled against you. In the streets the sword kills, and at home there is only death.

"Look at all their evil deeds, Lord . Punish them, as you have punished me for all my sins. My groans are many, and I am sick at heart."

The Lord was determined to destroy the walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He made careful plans for their destruction, then did what he had planned. Therefore, the ramparts and walls have fallen down before him.

They cry out to their mothers, "We need food and drink!" Their lives ebb away in the streets like the life of a warrior wounded in battle. They gasp for life as they collapse in their mothers' arms.

What can I say about you? Who has ever seen such sorrow? O daughter of Jerusalem, to what can I compare your anguish? O virgin daughter of Zion, how can I comfort you? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?

All your enemies mock you. They scoff and snarl and say, "We have destroyed her at last! We have long waited for this day, and it is finally here!"

Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in every street they are faint with hunger.

He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.

I cry out, "My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!"

The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord .