Lamentationes, 1

1. ALEPH. Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo! Facta est quasi vidua domina gentium; princeps provinciarum facta est sub tributo.

1. How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal.

2. BETH. Plorans plorat in nocte, et lacrimae eius in maxillis eius; non est qui consoletur eam ex omnibus caris eius: omnes amici eius spreverunt eam et facti sunt ei inimici.

2. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.

3. GHIMEL. Migravit Iudas prae afflictione et multitudine servitutis; habitat inter gentes nec invenit requiem: omnes persecutores eius apprehenderunt eam inter angustias.

3. Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

4. DALETH. Viae Sion lugent, eo quod non sint qui veniant ad sollemnitatem; omnes portae eius destructae, sacerdotes eius gementes, virgines eius afflictae, et ipsa oppressa amaritudine.

4. The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her maidens have been dragged away, and she herself suffers bitterly.

5. HE. Facti sunt hostes eius in caput, inimici eius in securitate, quia Dominus afflixit eam propter multitudinem iniquitatum eius; parvuli eius ducti sunt captivi ante faciem tribulantis.

5. Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper, because the LORD has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.

6. VAU. Et egressus est a filia Sion omnis decor eius; facti sunt principes eius velut cervi non invenientes pascua et abierunt absque fortitudine ante faciem persequentis.

6. From the daughter of Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like harts that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.

7. ZAIN. Recordata est Ierusalem dierum afflictionis suae et peregrinationis, omnium desiderabilium suorum, quae habuerat a diebus antiquis, cum caderet populus eius in manu hostili, et non esset auxiliator; viderunt eam hostes et deriserunt interitum eius.

7. Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, the foe gloated over her, mocking at her downfall.

8. HETH. Peccatum peccavit Ierusalem, propterea abominabilis facta est; omnes, qui glorificabant eam, spreverunt illam, quia viderunt ignominiam eius: ipsa autem gemens conversa est retrorsum.

8. Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; yea, she herself groans, and turns her face away.

9. TETH. Sordes eius in fimbriis eius, nec recordata est finis sui; deposita est vehementer, non habens consolatorem. “Vide, Domine, afflictionem meam, quoniam erectus est inimicus!”.

9. Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her doom; therefore her fall is terrible, she has no comforter. "O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!"

10. IOD. Manum suam misit hostis ad omnia desiderabilia eius, quia vidit gentes ingressas sanctuarium suum, de quibus praeceperas, ne intrarent in ecclesiam tuam.

10. The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; yea, she has seen the nations invade her sanctuary, those whom thou didst forbid to enter thy congregation.

11. CAPH. Omnis populus eius gemens et quaerens panem; dederunt pretiosa quaeque pro cibo ad refocillandam animam. “Vide, Domine, et considera, quoniam facta sum vilis!

11. All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. "Look, O LORD, and behold, for I am despised."

12. LAMED. O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte, si est dolor sicut dolor meus, quem paravit mihi, quo afflixit me Dominus in die irae furoris sui.

12. "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.

13. MEM. De excelso misit ignem, in ossa mea immisit eum; expandit rete pedibus meis, convertit me retrorsum: posuit me desolatam, tota die maerore confectam.

13. "From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long.

14. NUN. Vigilavit super iniquitates meas, in manu eius convolutae sunt et impositae collo meo; debilitavit virtutem meam: dedit me Dominus in manu, de qua non potero surgere.

14. "My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail; the Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand.

15. SAMECH. Sprevit omnes fortes meos Dominus in medio mei; vocavit adversum me conventum, ut contereret iuvenes meos: torcular calcavit Dominus virgini filiae Iudae.

15. "The LORD flouted all my mighty men in the midst of me; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a wine press the virgin daughter of Judah.

16. AIN. Idcirco ego plorans, et oculus meus deducens aquas, quia longe factus est a me consolator reficiens animam meam; facti sunt filii mei desolati, quoniam invaluit inimicus”.

16. "For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my courage; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed."

17. PHE. Expandit Sion manus suas, non est qui consoletur eam; mandavit Dominus adversum Iacob in circuitu eius hostes eius: facta est Ierusalem quasi polluta menstruis inter eos.

17. Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.

18. SADE. “Iustus est Dominus, quia contra os eius rebellis fui. Audite, obsecro, universi populi, et videte dolorem meum: virgines meae et iuvenes mei abierunt in captivitatem.

18. "The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and behold my suffering; my maidens and my young men have gone into captivity.

19. COPH. Vocavi amicos meos, et ipsi deceperunt me; sacerdotes mei et senes mei in urbe consumpti sunt, quia quaesierunt cibum sibi, ut refocillarent animam suam.

19. "I called to my lovers but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city, while they sought food to revive their strength.

20. RES. Vide, Domine, quoniam tribulor; efferbuerunt viscera mea, subversum est cor meum in memetipsa, quoniam valde rebellis fui; foris orbavit me gladius et domi mors.

20. "Behold, O LORD, for I am in distress, my soul is in tumult, my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death.

21. SIN. Audi, quia ingemisco ego, et non est qui consoletur me; omnes inimici mei audierunt malum meum, laetati sunt quoniam tu fecisti. Adduc diem, quem proclamasti, et fient similes mei.

21. "Hear how I groan; there is none to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it. Bring thou the day thou hast announced, and let them be as I am.

22. THAU. Ingrediatur omne malum eorum coram te, et fac eis, sicut fecisti mihi propter omnes iniquitates meas; multi enim gemitus mei, et cor meum maerens”.

22. "Let all their evil doing come before thee; and deal with them as thou hast dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many and my heart is faint."