because the palaces have been forsaken, the populated city is forsaken. The forts and towers shall be caves forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks,
How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How she has become like a widow, who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave!
The roads to Zion mourn because no one comes to the solemn feasts. All her gates are desolate; her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly.
Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations; the Law is no more, and her prophets find no vision from the Lord.