Following the fall of Jerusalem and the horrendous things that took place there, be-

lievers try to understand. They are not complaining; they see the ruins as deserved punish-
ment for their many excesses and constant rejection of God’s warnings. Yet, they know that
the Lord loves his people: they believe this, feel it and proclaim it.
When the exiles returned to Jerusalem, they may have gathered to pray together on the
ruins of what had been the Temple, and taken turns with these laments. Later they continued
yearly to pray them on the date of the catastrophe, and much later the Church adopted the
custom of using them in the days she remembers the death of Jesus.
In the Lord’s Passion, the believer sees the sum total of the suffering and anxiety of hu-
mankind. These poems help us to look with the same compassion on the suffering of Christ
and the suffering of the destitute. They will help us to unite the vision of universal pain with
the sense of human sinfulness and responsibility.
A Jewish tradition attributes these poems to Jeremiah. They do seem to manifest a spirit
very similar to his.

First lamentation but she finds no rest among the nations

where she sojourns;
1
How forlorn the city lies,
1 once teeming with people!
her pursuers have overtaken her
where there is no way of escape.
How like a widow is she,
once mistress of the nations! 4
All roads to Zion are in mourning;
A princess among the cities, no one comes to her feasts.
she has now become a slave. Her gates are deserted,
her priests groan,
2
She spends her nights weeping, her virgins grieve.
drenching her cheeks with tears. What bitter anguish she suffers!
Who is there to comfort her
among all her lovers?
5
She is at the mercy of her foes
All her friends have betrayed her who enjoy prosperity and power.
and have become her enemies. Yahweh himself has made her suffer
for all her iniquity.
3
Humiliated, exhausted, Her children, driven into captivity,
Judah has gone into exile take the lonely road to exile.
 1069 LAMENTATIONS 1
6
Gone from the daughter of Zion and left me in pain
is all her majestic splendor. the whole day long.
Her rulers, like harts
that find no pasture, 14
He bound my sins into a yoke
have fled helplessly and fastened them together,
before the oppressors. then set them upon my neck
7
Jerusalem recalls her days and caused my strength to fail.
of wandering and affliction, Yahweh gave me into the hands
her people fell into the hands of her foes of those I cannot withstand.
and there was no help.
Haters gloated over her downfall 15
Yahweh has spurned Is 63:2
and laughed at her destruction. the bravest of my fighters;
he has summoned an army
8
Greatly has Jerusalem sinned; to crush my young warriors.
she has become as a thing unclean. Yahweh has trodden in his winepress
Honored before, Judah’s virgin daughter.
but now despised by those who have
seen her naked, 16
This is what I weep about, Jer 13:17;
14:17
she herself groans in dismay what makes my tears well up.
and turns her face away. No one is near to restore my spirit,
no one at hand to console me.
Is 47:7
9
Her filth clings to her skirt. My children are desolate,
She gave no thought to her doom, for the enemy has triumphed.
and so her fall came suddenly,
with no one to offer comfort. 17
Zion stretches out her hands,
“Look, O Yahweh, upon my misery, but there is no one to give comfort.
for my enemy has overcome me.” Yahweh has decreed for Jacob
that his neighbors become his foes.
10
She has seen how the enemy As an unclean thing among them
has laid hands on her treasures. has Jerusalem become.
She has seen how the nations
have defiled her sanctuary— 18
Yahweh acts justly,
those peoples you have not allowed for I have defied his order.
to come into your assembly. Listen, all you peoples,
and see how I suffer.
11
All her people groan My young men and maidens
as they search for bread; have all gone into exile.
just to keep themselves alive,
they give their jewels for food. 19
I cried for help to my lovers, Jer
30:14
Look, Yahweh, and mark but they betrayed me.
how I have been despised. My priests and my elders
perished in the city
12
All you who pass by,
they sought anything to eat,
look and see.
but finally they had to die.
Is there any calamity
like this, inflicted on me 20
Look, Yahweh, upon my distress: Dt 32:35
by Yahweh on the day all within me is in anguish.
of his burning anger. My heart recoils within me:
I know that I have been rebellious.
From above he sent a fire
13
See, outside the sword that kills,
down into my very bones,
and within, death that stalks.
he ensnared my feet
and threw me down, 21
People have heard my moaning Am 5:18
 LAMENTATIONS 1 1070

but no one comes to comfort me. He has handed over the walls of her
My foes have known of my suffering, tower to the enemy,
they rejoice at what you have done. whose triumphant shouts are heard
in the temple of Yahweh.
Hasten the day you have proclaimed,
that they may be even as I am. 8
Yahweh resolved to tear down
the ramparts of Zion’s daughter.
Let their evil come
22
He stretched out the measuring line,
before you, and deal with them and did not relent from bringing ruin.
as you have dealt with me He made both wall and rampart mourn,
on account of my sins. till together they crumbled down.
Great indeed is my groaning. 9
Her gates have sunk into the ground; Dt 28:36
How sick at heart I am! broken and removed are their bars.
Her king and rulers
Second lamentation live in exile among the nations.
1
Oh, how Yahweh in his anger No more message for their prophets,
2 has despised the daughter of Zion! no more visions from Yahweh.
Israel’s glory he has flung 10
The elders of the daughter of Zion Jer 6:26
from heaven down to earth;
sit in silence upon the ground,
unmindful of his footstool
their heads sprinkled with dust,
on the day of his wrath.
their bodies wrapped in sackcloth,
2
Without pity Yahweh has shattered while Jerusalem’s young women
in Jacob every dwelling. bow their heads to the ground.
He has torn down in his anger 11
With weeping my eyes are spent;
the ramparts of Judah’s daughter.
my soul is in torment
He has thrown her rulers and her king
because of the downfall
to the ground, dishonored.
of the daughter of my people,
3
He has cut down in his anger because children and infants faint
the horn of Israel’s might. in the open spaces of the town.
He has withdrawn his right hand 12
To their mothers they say,
at the approach of the enemy.
“Where is the bread and wine?”
In Jacob, he has blazed like a fire,
as they faint like wounded men
he has devoured all around.
in the streets and public squares,
4
Like an enemy he has bent his bow, as their lives ebb away
his right hand steadying the arrow. in their mothers’ arms.
All our pride of manhood he slew
To what can I compare you,
13
as he took his stand as a foe,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
pouring out fury like fire
Who can save or comfort you,
upon the tent of Zion’s daughter.
O virgin daughter of Zion?
5
The Lord has become an enemy Deep as the sea is your affliction,
who has laid Israel in ruins. and who can possibly heal you?
He has destroyed all her palaces
and laid waste her fortresses.
14
Your prophets’ visions Ezk
13:10
He has multiplied the tears were worthless and false.
of the daughter of Judah. Had they warned of your sins,
your fate might have been averted.
6
Yahweh has wrecked her dwelling, But what they gave you instead
laid waste her place of meeting. were false, misleading signs.
He has made Zion forget
her appointed feasts and sabbaths;
15
Passers-by shudder;
he has spurned in his fierce wrath some clap their hands at the sight;
king and prophet and priest. others wag their heads at the fate
of the daughter of Jerusalem.
Ezk 7
The Lord has rejected his altar, “Is this the city that was called
24:21 has forsaken his sanctuary. the loveliest, the joy of the world?”
 1071 LAMENTATIONS 3

Mt 27:39;
16
All your enemies open wide 3
He turns his hand against me alone,
Ezk their mouths against you;
16:37 all the day long, again and again.
they gnash their teeth, they hiss,
they crow: “We have destroyed her! 4
He has worn away my flesh and skin; Job
30:30
This is the day we have waited for; he has broken all my bones.
we have lived to see it happen.” 5
He assails me and surrounds me
17
Yahweh has accomplished his with tribulation and bitterness.
purpose; 6
He leaves me to dwell in darkness,
he has fulfilled his word like those who have long been dead.
which he decreed in the days of old;
he overthrew you merciless. 7
He has walled me in without escape; Job 3:23
He made your enemies joyful he has weighed me down with chains.
and gave them power to crush you. 8
I could not even cry for help,
18
Cry out to the Lord, O wall for he has stopped my prayer.
of the daughter of Zion! 9
He bars my way with stones
Oh, let your tears flow and left me helplessly alone.
day and night, like a river.
Give yourself no relief; 10
Like a bear lying in ambush, Hos 13:7
grant your eyes no respite. like a lion waiting for its prey,
19
Get up, cry out in the night,
11
he lunged at me, tore me to pieces,
as the evening watches start; and left me alone and helpless.
pour out your heart like water 12
Then he drew his bow
in the presence of the Lord. and aimed his arrow at me.
Lift up your hands to him 13
He pierced my sides
for the lives of your children, with arrows from his quiver.
who faint with hunger
at the corner of every street.
14
I have become a laughingstock, Ps 69:
12-13
a topic of songs for all the peoples.
20
Look, Yahweh, and answer: 15
He has sated me with bitter food;
Why have you treated us like this? he has made me drunk with
Why must women eat their little ones,
whom they have nursed in their arms? wormwood.
Why must priest and prophet be 16
He has broken my teeth with gravel
slaughtered
in the sanctuary of the Lord?
and thrown me down in the ashes.
21
In the dust of the streets
17
He has deprived my soul of peace,
lie the young and the old, till I have forgotten happiness.
both virgins and young men— 18
Now I say, “Gone are my hopes
all fallen by the sword. and all my confidence in the Lord.”
You have killed on the day of your
fury; 19
Recalling my affliction and home-
you have slaughtered without mercy. lessness is wormwood and gall.
22
As for a feast day, you bade
20
Thinking it over and over
terrors to come from every side. makes my soul downcast.
There was, on the day of your anger, 21
But this, when I ponder,
neither fugitive nor survivor. is what gives me hope:
My enemy has murdered
all whom I bore and reared. 22
Yahweh’s love abides unceasingly.
His compassion is never consumed;
Third lamentation 23
every morning it is renewed.
1
I am a man who has known And his love remains ever faithful.
3 calamity from the rod of his wrath; 24
“My portion is Yahweh,” says my Mic 7:7;
Ps 73:26
Am 5:18
2
he has driven and brought me soul.
into darkness, not into the light. “On him shall I rely.”
 LAMENTATIONS 3 1072
25
Yahweh is good to those who 47
Terror is our lot:
hope in him, pitfall, ruin and desolation.
to souls who search for him. 48
Great is my grief over the downfall
26
It is rewarding to wait in silence of the daughter of my people.
for the Lord’s salvation. 49
No respite, no relief,
27
It is good for man to bear the
as my tears flow ceaselessly,
yoke from his youth. 50
till the Lord looks down
Jer 15:17
28
Let him sit alone in silence from heaven and sees.
when Yahweh fastens the yoke on him. 51
My soul will grieve in torment
29
Let him put his lips to the dust for the women of my city.
there may still be hope. 52
Like a bird I have been hunted
Is 50:6;
30
Let him offer his cheek to be struck; by my foes without cause.
Mt 5:39
let him be overwhelmed with insult.
53
They flung me alive into a pit
and cast stones at me.
31
For it is not forever 54
As the waters closed over my head,
that the Lord rejects man. I thought I would never again live.
Is 63:7
32
In the abundance of his love 55
Out of the depths I called
he punishes, but has compassion. on your name, O Yahweh.
33
For he does not willingly abase 56
You heard; you have not been deaf
or afflict the human race. to my cry for relief.
57
When I called, you even came near Jer 1:8
Am 1:6
34
To trample underfoot and told me not to fear.
the prisoners of the land, 58
O Lord, you took up my case
Am 5:7
35
to deny a man his rights and redeemed my life.
in the presence of the Most High, 59
You have seen the wrong they did me,
36
to deprive people of justice— uphold my cause!
the Lord does not approve of this.
60
You have seen how resentfully
they plotted to destroy my life.
37
Who can command and execute 61
O Yahweh, you have heard the
what the Lord has not willed? insults
38
From the mouth of the Most High hurled at me, their insidious plots;
come all things, good or bad. 62
You have been aware of their
39
Why should then mortals complain thoughts,
when punished for their sin? their muttering against me all day long.
63
Look at them—sitting or standing—
Jl 2:12;
40
Let us search and examine our mocking me in their song!
Hos 6:1
ways and return to the Lord.
64
Repay them as they deserve,
according to their deeds, O Yahweh.
Is 55:7
41
Let us lift up our hearts and hands 65
Harden their hearts;
to God in heaven, and say: hold them under your curse.
42
“We have sinned and rebelled, 66
Pursue and destroy them in fury
and you have not forgiven us. from under the heavens, O Yahweh.
43
Clothed in anger you have Fourth lamentation
pursued us without mercy. 1
How tarnished the gold has become.
44
You have wrapped yourself in clouds 4 The fine gold has lost its luster.
so that no prayer can reach you. Why, the sacred stones lie strewn
45
You have reduced us to dust at every street corner!
and refuse among the nations. 2
Oh, the precious sons of Zion,
once worth their weight in gold—
46
Our foes have opened wide but now reckoned no more
their mouths against us. than earthen jars from a potter’s mold!
 1073 LAMENTATIONS 5

Job 3
Even jackals bare their breasts “Go away!” people cried at them.
15
Is 52:11
39:13
to suckle their young, “Do not touch us! You are unclean!”
but my people have become heartless, They became fugitives wandering
like ostriches in the desert land. about,
4
In thirst the infant’s tongue but even the nations would drive
cleaves to the roof of its mouth. them out.
Children are begging for alms, 16
Yahweh himself has dispersed them;
but there is no one to help them. no longer does he watch over them.
5
Those accustomed to fine food The priests are shown no honor;
now lie dying in the streets. the elders are given no favor.
Those accustomed to wear purple
now lie destitute upon the ash heaps.
17
Our watchmen strained their eyes, Jer 37:7
looking for help in vain.
Is 1:9;
6
The punishment of my people We anxiously waited for an ally,
Ezk is greater than that of Sodom,
16:46 who failed to save us.
which was overthrown in an instant, 18
Like dogs our enemies hounded us
without a helping hand. and kept us off the streets.
7
Brighter than snow were their rulers, As our end drew near,
even whiter than milk; we knew our days were numbered.
their bodies rosier than coral, 19
Swifter were our pursuers,
their beauty as radiant as sapphires. than the eagles in the sky.
8
Now they look blacker than soot, Over the hills they chased us,
unrecognized in the streets. they waylaid us in the wilderness.
Their emaciated form shows lack of Our life’s breath, Yahweh’s anointed,
20
food, was taken captive in their pit—
their skin shriveled and dry as wood. he of whom we said, “In his protection
9
Better to have died by the sword we shall live among the nations.”
than to have perished in hunger. 21
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Is 51:17;
Edom, Heb 2:15
The famine-stricken people perish,
and slowly, wretchedly, pass away. you who dwell in the land of Uz.
But you shall be drunk and stripped bare,
10
Once loving mothers, our women for to you also the cup will pass.
have cooked their own children 22
Your ordeal, daughter of Zion, will end;
and made them their food: for your exile will not be prolonged.
such has been the crash of my people! But Edom’s daughter will be chastised,
11
Yahweh has given full vent to his and her wickedness will be exposed.
wrath;
pouring out his fierce anger. Fifth lamentation
He has kindled a fire in Zion, 1
Remember, Yahweh, what has
which has consumed her foundation. 5 befallen us. Look, and see our
12
Never had kings believed disgrace,
nor the world thought possible 2
our home handed over to strang-
that the enemy could break ers, our inheritance to foreigners.
through the gates of Jerusalem. 3
We are as orphans, fatherless,
Jer 5:31; 13
But this happened because of the and early widowed are our mothers.
Ezk 7:23
priests, who sinned, 4
Our drinking water we must buy; Is 55:1
because of the prophets who
transgressed,
for our own wood we have to pay.
shedding in her midst the blood of the
5
With the yoke stifling our breath,
just. without rest we work to death.
14
They wandered like blind men,
6
We have bowed down to Egypt, Jer 2:18

groping through the streets, and to Assyria, just to subsist.

so defiled with blood
7
Our ancestors who sinned are no
that none could touch their garments. more but we bear their guilt.
LAMENTATIONS 5 1074
8
Slaves rule us, and there is no 16
The garlands have fallen from
one to rescue us from their hands. our heads. Woe upon us, for we have
9
We brave the desert heat and the sinned!
sword just to get our hard-earned 17
Over all this our hearts are sick;
food. and our eyes have grown weak:
10
Our skin is hot like a furnace, 18
for we see Mount Zion desolate; Mic 3:12
dried up and shriveled by hunger. the jackals prowl within.
11
Ravished are the wives in Zion, 19
You, O Yahweh, forever reign; Ps 102:13
the virgins in the towns of Judah. your throne endures from age to age.
12
Princes are hung up by their 20
Why, then, should you abandon
hands; elders shown no respect. us, why forget us for so long a time?
13
Young men toil at the millstones, 21
Lead us to you again, O Lord,
boys stagger under heavy loads. that we may be restored; renew our
14
The old have shunned the city days as of old.
gate, the young, their music. 22
Have you utterly rejected us? Is Jer
14:19
15
From our hearts joy is gone; we there no end to your wrath against
danced then, but now we lament. us?