Lamentations 1:1

Easy To Read Version

Jerusalem once was a city full of people.\par But now the city is so deserted!\par Jerusalem was one of the greatest cities\par in the world.\par But now she {\cf2\super [1]} has become like a widow.\par She was once a princess among cities.\par But now she has been made a slave.\par

Cross References

1 Kings 4:21

Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistine people. His kingdom went as far as the border of Egypt. These countries sent gifts to Solomon and they obeyed him all of his life. [19]

2 Kings 23:33

Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Jehoahaz could not rule in Jerusalem. Pharaoh Neco forced Judah to pay 7,500 pounds [313] of silver and 75 pounds [314] of gold.

2 Kings 23:35

Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh. But Jehoiakim made the common people pay taxes and used that money to give to Pharaoh Neco. So each person paid his share of silver and gold. And King Jehoiakim gave the money to Pharaoh Neco.

2 Chronicles 9:26

Solomon was the king over all the kings from the Euphrates River all the way to the land of the Philistine people, and to the border of Egypt.

Ezra 4:20

Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over it and over the whole area west of the Euphrates River. Taxes and money to honor kings, and duty taxes have been paid to those kings.

Nehemiah 5:4

And still other people were saying, “We have to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. But we can’t afford to pay, so we are having to borrow money to pay the tax.

Nehemiah 9:37

The harvest is big in this land.\par But we sinned, so that harvest\par goes to the kings you put over us.\par Those kings control us and our cattle.\par They do anything they want.\par We are in a lot of trouble.\par

Psalm 122:4

That is where the family groups go.\par The people of Israel go there\par to praise the Lord’s name.\par They are the family groups\par that belong to the Lord\par

Isaiah 14:12

You were like the morning star,\par but you have fallen from the sky.\par In the past, all the nations on earth\par bowed down before you.\par But now you have been cut down.\par

Isaiah 22:2

\{In the past,\} this city was a very busy city.\par This city was very noisy—\par and very happy.\par \{But now, things have changed.\}\par Your people have been killed—\par but not with swords.\par The people died—\par but not while fighting.\par

Isaiah 49:21

Then you will say to yourself,\par ‘Who gave me all these children?\par This is very good!\par I was sad and lonely.\par I was defeated and away from my people.\par So who gave me these children?\par Look, I was left alone.\par Where did all these children come from?’”\par

Isaiah 50:5

The Lord my Master helps me learn, and I have not turned against him. I will not stop following him.

Isaiah 52:2

Shake off the dust!\par Put on your wonderful clothes!\par Jerusalem, Daughter of Zion, {\cf2\super [422]} \par you were a prisoner.\par But now, free yourself from the chains\par that are around your neck!\par

Isaiah 52:7

It is a wonderful thing to see a messenger come over the hills with good news. It is wonderful to hear a messenger announce, “There is peace! We have been saved! Your God is king!”

Isaiah 54:4

Don’t be afraid!\par You will not be disappointed.\par People will not say bad things against you.\par You will not be embarrassed.\par When you were young, you felt shame.\par But you will forget that shame now.\par You will not remember the shame that\par you felt when you lost your husband.\par

Jeremiah 31:7

The Lord says:\par “Be happy and sing for Jacob {\cf2\super [248]} !\par Shout for Israel,\par the greatest of the nations!\par Sing your praises and shout:\par ‘The Lord saved his people! {\cf2\super [249]} \par He has saved the people that are left alive\par from the nation of Israel.’\par

Jeremiah 40:9

Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, made an oath to make those soldiers and their men feel more secure. This is what Gedaliah said: “You soldiers, don’t be afraid to serve the Babylonian people. Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon. If you do this, things will go well for you.

Jeremiah 42:2

All those people said to him, “Jeremiah, please listen to what we ask. Pray to the Lord your God for all these people that are survivors {\cf2\super [344]} from the family of Judah. Jeremiah, you can see that there are not many of us left. At one time there were many of us.

Jeremiah 44:2

The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says, “You people saw the terrible happenings that I brought on the city of Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Those towns are empty piles of stones today.

Jeremiah 44:6

So, I showed my anger against those people. I punished the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. My anger made Jerusalem and the towns of Judah the empty piles of stone they are today.”

Jeremiah 50:23

Babylon was called\par ‘The Hammer of the Whole Earth.’\par But now the ‘Hammer’ is shattered.\par Babylon is the most ruined of the nations.\par

Jeremiah 9:11

“I (the Lord) will make the city of Jerusalem\par a pile of garbage.\par It will be a home for jackals. {\cf2\super [75]} \par I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah,\par so no one will live there.”\par

Lamentations 1:19

I called out to my lovers.\par But they tricked me.\par My priests and my elders\par have died in the city.\par They were looking for food for themselves.\par They wanted to keep themselves alive.\par

Lamentations 2:1

Look how the Lord has set\par the Daughter of Zion {\cf2\super [8]} under a cloud.\par He has thrown the glory of Israel\par from the sky to the ground.\par The Lord didn’t keep in mind that Israel was his footstool,\par on the day of his anger.\par

Lamentations 2:10

The elders of Zion {\cf2\super [16]} sit on the ground.\par They sit on the ground and are quiet.\par They pour dust on their heads.\par They put on sackcloth. {\cf2\super [17]} \par The young women of Jerusalem\par bow their heads to the ground in sorrow.\par

Lamentations 4:1

See how the gold has grown dark.\par See how the good gold is changed.\par There are jewels {\cf2\super [25]} scattered all around.\par They are scattered at every street corner.\par

Lamentations 5:16

The crown has fallen from our head.\par Things have gone bad for us\par because we sinned.\par

Ezekiel 26:16

Then all the leaders of the countries by the sea will step down from their thrones \{and show their sadness\}. They will take off their special robes. They will take off their beautiful clothes. Then they will put on their ‘clothes of shaking’ (fear). They will sit on the ground and shake with fear. They will be shocked at how quickly you were destroyed.

Ezekiel 26:2

“Son of man, {\cf2\super [211]} Tyre said bad things about Jerusalem: ‘Hurray! The city gate protecting the people is destroyed! The city gate is open for me. The city (Jerusalem) is ruined, so I can get plenty of valuable things out of it!’”

Ezekiel 5:5

Then the Lord my Master said to me, “That \{brick\} is a picture of Jerusalem. I put Jerusalem in the middle of other nations. And there are countries all around her.

Leviticus 26:31

I will destroy your cities. I will make your holy places empty. I will stop smelling your offerings.

Leviticus 26:33

I will scatter you among the nations. I will pull out my sword and destroy you. Your land will become empty and your cities will be destroyed.

Zephaniah 2:15

Nineveh is so proud now. It is such a happy city. The people think they are safe. They think Nineveh is the greatest place in the world. But that city will be destroyed! It will be an empty place where only wild animals go to rest. People that pass that place will whistle and shake their heads \{when they see how badly the city was destroyed\}.

Revelation 18:7

She (Babylon) gave herself much glory\par and rich living.\par Give her that much suffering and sadness.\par She says to herself, ‘I am a queen\par sitting \{on my throne\}.\par I am not a widow {\cf2\super [131]} ;\par I will never be sad.’\par