Lamentations 2

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 In his anger, with what darkness has the Lord enveloped the daughter of Zion! He has flung the beautyof Israel from heaven to the ground, without regard for his footstool on the day of his anger.	1 How the Lord in his wrath has detested daughter Zion! He has cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, Unmindful of his footstool on the day of his wrath.
2 The Lord pitilessly engulfed all the homes of Jacob; in his fury he tore down the fortresses of thedaughter of Judah; he threw to the ground, he desecrated the kingdom and its princes.	2 The Lord has consumed without pity all the dwellings of Jacob; He has torn down in his anger the fortresses of daughter Judah; He has brought to the ground in dishonor her king and her princes.
3 In his burning anger he broke al the might of Israel, withdrew his protecting right hand at the coming ofthe enemy, and blazed against Jacob like a fire that burns up everything near it.	3 He broke off, in fiery wrath, the horn that was Israel's whole strength; He withheld the support of his right hand when the enemy approached; He blazed up in Jacob like a flaming fire devouring all about it.
4 Like an enemy he bent his bow, and his right hand held firm; like a foe he slaughtered all those whowere a delight to see; on the tent of the daughter of Zion he poured out his fury like fire.	4 Like an enemy he made taut his bow; with his arrows in his right hand He took his stand as a foe, and slew all on whom the eye doted; Over the tent of daughter Zion he poured out his wrath like fire.
5 The Lord behaved like an enemy; he engulfed Israel, he engulfed all its citadels, he destroyed itsfortresses and for the daughter of Judah multiplied weeping on wailing.	5 The Lord has become an enemy, he has consumed Israel: Consumed all her castles and destroyed her fortresses; For daughter Judah he has multiplied moaning and groaning.
6 He wrecked his domain like a garden, destroyed his assembly-points, Yahweh erased the memory offestivals and Sabbaths in Zion; in the heat of his anger he treated king and priest with contempt.	6 He has demolished his shelter like a garden booth, he has destroyed his dwelling; In Zion the LORD has made feast and sabbath to be forgotten; He has scorned in fierce wrath both king and priest.
7 The Lord has rejected his altar, he has come to loathe his sanctuary and has given her palace wallsinto the clutches of the enemy; from the uproar they made in Yahweh's temple it might have been a festival day!	7 The Lord has disowned his altar, rejected his sanctuary; The walls of her towers he has handed over to the enemy, Who shout in the house of the LORD as on a feast day.
8 Yahweh has resolved to destroy the wal s of the daughter of Zion, stretching out the line, not stayinghis hand until he has engulfed everything, thus bringing mourning on wall and rampart; alike they crumbled.	8 The LORD marked for destruction the wall of daughter Zion: He stretched out the measuring line; his hand brought ruin, yet he did not relent-- He brought grief on wall and rampart till both succumbed.
9 Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has broken and shattered their bars. Her king and her princesare among the gentiles, there is no instruction, furthermore her prophets cannot find any vision from Yahweh.	9 Sunk into the ground are her gates; he has removed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the pagans; priestly instruction is wanting, And her prophets have not received any vision from the LORD.
10 Mute, they sit on the ground, the elders of the daughter of Zion; they have put dust on their heads andwrapped themselves in sackcloth. The young girls of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.	10 On the ground in silence sit the old men of daughter Zion; They strew dust on their heads and gird themselves with sackcloth; The maidens of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.
11 My eyes are worn out with weeping, my inmost being is in ferment, my heart plummets at thedestruction of my young people, as the children and babies grow faint in the streets of the city.	11 Worn out from weeping are my eyes, within me all is in ferment; My gall is poured out on the ground because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, As child and infant faint away in the open spaces of the town.
12 They keep saying to their mothers, 'Where is some food?' as they faint like wounded men in thestreets of the city, as they breathe their last on their mothers' breasts.	12 They ask their mothers, "Where is the cereal?"--in vain, As they faint away like the wounded in the streets of the city, And breathe their last in their mothers' arms.
13 To what can I compare or liken you, daughter of Jerusalem? Who can rescue and comfort you, youngdaughter of Zion? For huge as the sea is your ruin: who can heal you?	13 To what can I liken or compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I show you for your comfort, virgin daughter Zion? For great as the sea is your downfall; who can heal you?
14 The visions your prophets had for you were deceptive whitewash; they did not lay bare your guilt soas to change your fortunes: the visions they told you were deceptive.	14 Your prophets had for you false and specious visions; They did not lay bare your guilt, to avert your fate; They beheld for you in vision false and misleading portents.
15 Al who pass your way clap their hands at the sight; they whistle and shake their heads over thedaughter of Jerusalem, 'Is this the city they cal Perfection of Beauty, the joy of the whole world?'	15 All who pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and wag their heads over daughter Jerusalem: "Is this the all-beautiful city, the joy of the whole earth?"
16 Your enemies open their mouths in chorus against you; they whistle and grind their teeth; they say,'We have swallowed her up. This is the day we were waiting for; at last we have seen it!'	16 All your enemies open their mouths against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, "We have devoured her. This at last is the day we hoped for; we have lived to see it!"
17 Yahweh has done what he planned, has carried out his threat, as he ordained long ago: he hasdestroyed without pity, increasing the might of your foes -- and letting your foes get the credit.	17 The LORD has done as he decreed: he has fulfilled the threat He set forth from days of old; he has destroyed and had no pity, Letting the enemy gloat over you and exalting the horn of your foes.
18 Cry then to the Lord, rampart of the daughter of Zion; let your tears flow like a torrent, day and night;al ow yourself no respite, give your eyes no rest!	18 Cry out to the Lord; moan, O daughter Zion! Let your tears flow like a torrent day and night; Let there be no respite for you, no repose for your eyes.
19 Up, cry out in the night-time as each watch begins! Pour your heart out like water in Yahweh'spresence! Raise your hands to him for the lives of your children (who faint with hunger at the end of everystreet)!	19 Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones (Who faint from hunger at the corner of every street).
20 Look, Yahweh, and consider: whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their littleones, the children they have nursed? Should priest and prophet be slaughtered in the Lord's sanctuary?	20 "Look, O LORD, and consider: whom have you ever treated thus? Must women eat their offspring, their well-formed children? Are priest and prophet to be slain in the sanctuary of the LORD?
21 Children and old people are lying on the ground in the streets; my young men and young girls havefal en by the sword; you have kil ed them, on the day of your anger, you have slaughtered them pitilessly.	21 "Dead in the dust of the streets lie young and old; My maidens and young men have fallen by the sword; You have slain on the day of your wrath, slaughtered without pity.
22 As though to a festival you cal ed together terrors from al sides, so that, on the day of Yahweh'sanger, none escaped and none survived. Those whom I had nursed and reared, my enemy has annihilated themal .	22 "You summoned as for a feast day terrors against me from all sides; There was not, on the day of your wrath, either fugitive or survivor; Those whom I bore and reared my enemy has utterly destroyed."