They said to me, “The remnant that returned from captivity is there in the province enduring great affliction and reproach. Also, the wall of Jerusalem remains broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
O Lord, You who know, remember me, and take notice of me, and take vengeance on my persecutors. Because of your longsuffering, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
All her people groan, as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to restore their strength. Look, O Lord, and consider, for I am despised.
Look, O Lord, for I am in distress; my soul is greatly troubled; my heart is overturned within me, for I have grievously rebelled. In the street the sword bereaves, at home it is like death.
Her uncleanness is in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is astounding; she has no comforter. “O Lord, look upon my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!”
All who pass by clap their hands at you; they hiss and shake their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men call the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?”
Look, O Lord, and consider! To whom have You done this? Should the women eat their offspring, the children who were born healthy? Should the priest and the prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
O Lord, I have heard the report of You, and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of these years make them known; in wrath remember mercy.