Lamentations 1:1

Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version

Jerusalem once was a city full of people, but now the city is so empty. She was one of the greatest cities in the world, but now she is like a poor widow. She was once a princess among cities, but now she has been made a slave.

Cross References

Isaiah 3:26

There will be crying and sadness in the meeting places by the city gates. Jerusalem will sit there empty, like a woman who has lost everything to thieves and robbers and now just sits on the ground and cries.

Ezra 4:20

Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over it and over the whole area west of the Euphrates River. Their kings received taxes, customs, fees, and tribute.

1 Kings 4:21

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

Isaiah 54:4

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

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 it will be destroyed! It will be an empty place where only wild animals go to rest. People who pass by will whistle and shake their heads when they see how badly the city was destroyed.

Lamentations 5:16

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

Isaiah 22:2

This city was so happy, but now there is a terrible uproar. There are bodies lying everywhere, but they were not killed with swords. The people died, but not while fighting.

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 everyone paid their share of silver and gold, and King Jehoiakim gave the money to Pharaoh Neco.

Revelation 18:7

She gave herself much glory and rich living. Give her that much suffering and sadness. She says to herself, ‘I am a queen sitting on my throne. I am not a widow; I will never be sad.’

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 and their beautiful clothes. Then they will put on their ‘clothes of shaking.’ They will sit on the ground and shake with fear. They will be shocked at how quickly you were destroyed.

Lamentations 4:1

See how the gold has grown dark, how the pure gold has changed. There are jewels scattered all around at every street corner.

Lamentations 2:10

The elders of Zion sit on the ground. They sit on the ground and are quiet. They pour dust on their heads. They put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground in sorrow.

Lamentations 2:1

Look how the Lord has covered daughter Zion with the cloud of his anger. He has thrown her, the glory of Israel, from the sky to the ground. In his anger he showed no care even for the Temple where he rests his feet.

Jeremiah 50:23

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

Jeremiah 40:9

Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, made an oath to make the soldiers and their men feel more secure. This is what he 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 9:11

The Lord says, “I will make the city of Jerusalem a pile of garbage. It will be a home for jackals. I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah, so no one will live there.”

Isaiah 52:7

How wonderful it is to see someone coming over the hills to tell good news. How wonderful to hear him announce, “There is peace! We have been saved!” and to hear him say to Zion, “Your God is the king!”

Isaiah 52:2

Jerusalem, get up and shake off the dust! Daughter Zion, you were a prisoner, but take the chains off your neck.

Isaiah 14:12

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

Psalm 122:4

This is where the tribes come, the tribes who belong to the Lord. The people of Israel come here to praise the Lord’s name.

Nehemiah 9:37

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

Nehemiah 5:4

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

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 7500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold.

Isaiah 50:5

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

2 Chronicles 9:26

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

Isaiah 49:21

Then you will say to yourself, ‘Who gave me all these children? I was sad and lonely. My children were taken away. They were gone. So who gave me these children? Look, I was the only one left. Where did all these children come from?’”

Jeremiah 31:7

This is what the Lord says: “Be happy and sing for Jacob! Shout for Israel, the greatest of the nations! Sing your praises and shout: ‘Lord, save your people! Save those who are left alive from the nation of Israel.’

Jeremiah 42:2

They said to him, “Jeremiah, please listen to what we ask. Pray to the Lord your God for all those who are survivors 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.

Ezekiel 5:5

Then the Lord GOD said to me, “The brick is a picture of Jerusalem. I put Jerusalem in the middle of other nations with 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.

Jeremiah 44:2

“This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘You people saw the disasters that I brought on the city of Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. The towns are empty piles of stones today.

Jeremiah 44:6

So I showed my anger against them. 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.’

Lamentations 1:19

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

Ezekiel 26:2

“Son of man, Tyre said bad things about Jerusalem: ‘Hurray! The city gate protecting the people is destroyed! The city gate is open for me. The city of Jerusalem is ruined, so I can get plenty of valuable things out of it!’”