Study Desk

א Alef

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God's wrath.

He has driven me away and forced me to walk in darkness instead of light.^(a)

Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand against me all day long.

ב Bet

He has worn away my flesh and skin;^(b) He has shattered my bones.^(c)

He has laid siege against me,^(d) encircling me with bitterness and hardship.^(e)

He has made me dwell in darkness like those who have been dead for ages.^(f)

ג Gimel

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;^(g) He has weighed me down with chains.

Even when I cry out and plead for help, He rejects my prayer.^(h)

He has walled in my ways with cut stones;⁽ⁱ⁾ He has made my paths crooked.^(j)

ד Dalet

He is^[a] a bear waiting in ambush, a lion in hiding.^(k)

He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces; He left me desolate.

He strung His bow^(l) and set me as the target for His arrow.

ה He

He pierced my kidneys with His arrows.^(m)

I am a laughingstock⁽ⁿ⁾ to all my people,^[b] mocked by their songs^(o) all day long.

He filled me with bitterness, satiated me with wormwood.^(p)

ו Vav

He ground my teeth on gravel^(q) and made me cower^[c] in the dust.

My soul has been deprived^[d] of peace;^(r) I have forgotten what happiness is.

Then I thought: My future^[e] is lost, as well as my hope from the Lord .

ז Zayin

Remember^[f] my affliction and my homelessness,^(s) the wormwood and the poison.^(t)

I continually remember them and have become depressed.^[g](u)

Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:^(v)

ח Khet

Because of the Lord 's faithful love^(w) we do not perish,^[h] for His mercies never end.

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!^(x)

I say: The Lord is my portion,^(y) therefore I will put my hope in Him.

ט Tet

The Lord is good to those who wait^(z) for Him, to the person who seeks Him.

It is good to wait quietly^(aa) for deliverance from the Lord .^(ab)

It is good for a man to bear the yoke^(ac) while he is still young.

י Yod

Let him sit alone and be silent,^(ad) for God has disciplined him.

Let him put his mouth in the dust^(ae)— perhaps there is still hope.

Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him;^(af) let him be filled with shame.

כ Kaf

For the Lord will not reject us forever.

Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to His abundant, faithful love.^(ag)

For He does not enjoy bringing affliction^(ah) or suffering on mankind.

ל Lamed

Crushing all the prisoners of the land^[i] beneath one's feet,

denying justice to a man^(ai) in the presence of the Most High,

or suppressing a person's lawsuit^(aj)— the Lord does not approve of these things.

מ Mem

Who is there who speaks and it happens, unless the Lord has ordained it?^(ak)

Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?^(al)

Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins?

נ Nun

Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord .^(am)

Let us lift up our hearts and our hands^(an) to God in heaven:

We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.^(ao)

ס Samek

You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without compassion.^(ap)

You have covered Yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.^(aq)

You have made us disgusting filth among the peoples.^(ar)

פ Pe

All our enemies open their mouths against us.^(as)

We have experienced panic and pitfall,^(at) devastation and destruction.

My eyes flow with streams of tears because of the destruction of my dear people.

ע Ayin

My eyes overflow unceasingly, without end,^(au)

until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.^(av)

My eyes bring me grief because of the fate of all the women in my city.

צ Tsade

For no apparent reason, my enemies^[j] hunted me like a bird.^(aw)

They dropped me alive into^[k] a pit^(ax) and threw stones at me.

Water flooded over my head,^(ay) and I thought: I'm going to die!^(az)

ק Qof

I called on Your name, Yahweh, from the depths of the Pit.^(ba)

You hear my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief.

You come near when I call on You; You say: "Do not be afraid."

ר Resh

You defend my cause, Lord;^(bb) You redeem my life.^(bc)

Lord , You see the wrong done to me; judge my case.

You see all their malice, all their plots against me.^(bd)

שׂ Sin/ שׁ Shin

Lord , You hear their insults,^(be) all their plots against me.

The slander^[l] and murmuring of my opponents attack me all day long.

When they sit and when they rise, look, I am mocked by their songs.^(bf)

ת Tav

You will pay them back what they deserve, Lord , according to the work of their hands.^(bg)

You will give them a heart filled with anguish.^[m](bh) May Your curse be on them!

You will pursue them in anger and destroy them under Your heavens.^[n][o](bi)

א Alef

How the gold has become tarnished, the fine gold become dull! The stones of the temple^[a] lie scattered at the corner of every street.^(a)

ב Bet

Zion's precious people— once worth their weight in pure gold^(b)— how they are regarded as clay jars, the work of a potter's hands!

ג Gimel

Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my dear people have become cruel like ostriches^(c) in the wilderness.

ד Dalet

The nursing infant's tongue clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst.^(d) Little children beg for bread, but no one gives them any.

ה He

Those who used to eat delicacies are destitute in the streets; those who were reared in purple garments^(e) huddle in garbage heaps.

ו Vav

The punishment of my dear people is greater than that of Sodom,^(f) which was overthrown in an instant without a hand laid on it.

ז Zayin

Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies^[b] were more ruddy than coral, their appearance like sapphire.^[c]

ח Khet

Now they appear darker than soot;^(g) they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become dry like wood.

ט Tet

Those slain by the sword are better off than those slain by hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.

י Yod

The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children;^(h) they became their food during the destruction of my dear people.⁽ⁱ⁾

כ Kaf

The Lord has exhausted His wrath, poured out His burning anger; He has ignited a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.^(j)

ל Lamed

The kings of the earth and all the world's inhabitants did not believe that an enemy or adversary could enter Jerusalem's gates.^(k)

מ Mem

Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous within her.^(l)

נ Nun

Blind, they stumbled in the streets,^(m) defiled by this blood,⁽ⁿ⁾ so that no one dared to touch their garments.

ס Samek

"Stay away! Unclean!" people shouted at them. "Away, away! Don't touch us!"^(o) So they wandered aimlessly.^(p) It was said among the nations, "They can stay here no longer."

פ Pe

The Lord Himself has scattered them; He regards them no more. The priests are not respected; the elders find no favor.

ע Ayin

All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for assistance;^(q) we watched from our towers for a nation^[d] that refused to help.

צ Tsade

Our steps were closely followed so that we could not walk in our streets. Our end drew near;^(r) our time ran out. Our end had come!

ק Qof

Those who chased us were swifter than eagles in the sky;^(s) they relentlessly pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.

ר Resh

The Lord 's anointed,^[e] the breath of our life,^[f](t) was captured in their traps. We had said about him, "We will live under his protection among the nations."

שׂ Sin

So rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,^(u) you resident of the land of Uz!^(v) Yet the cup^(w) will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.

ת Tav

Daughter Zion, your punishment is complete; He will not lengthen your exile.^[g] But He will punish your iniquity, Daughter Edom, and will expose your sins.^(x)

Yahweh, remember what has happened to us. Look, and see our disgrace!^(a)

Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.

We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are widows.

We must pay for the water we drink; our wood comes at a price.

We are closely pursued; we are tired, and no one offers us rest.

We made a treaty with^[a] Egypt and with Assyria, to get enough food.^(b)

Our fathers sinned; they no longer exist, but we bear their punishment.

Slaves rule over us;^(c) no one rescues us from their hands.

We secure our food at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness.

Our skin is as hot^[b] as an oven^(d) from the ravages of hunger.

Women are raped in Zion, girls in the cities of Judah.

Princes are hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect.^(e)

Young men labor at millstones;^(f) boys stumble under loads of wood.

The elders have left the city gate, the young men, their music.^(g)

Joy has left our hearts;^(h) our dancing has turned to mourning.

The crown has fallen from our head.⁽ⁱ⁾ Woe to us, for we have sinned.^(j)

Because of this, our heart is sick; because of these, our eyes grow dim:^(k)

because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate and has jackals prowling in it.^(l)

You, Lord , are enthroned forever; Your throne endures from generation to generation.^(m)

Why have You forgotten us forever,⁽ⁿ⁾ abandoned us for our entire lives?

Lord , restore us to Yourself, so we may return;^(o) renew our days as in former times,

unless You have completely rejected us and are intensely angry with us.