Yes, I hear the cry, like that of a woman in labor, like the anguish of a mother bearing her first child— The cry of daughter Zion gasping, as she stretches out her hands: “Ah, woe is me! I sink exhausted before my killers!”
How the Lord in his wrath has abhorred daughter Zion, Casting down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, Not remembering his footstool on the day of his wrath!
To what can I compare you—to what can I liken you— O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I give in order to comfort you, virgin daughter Zion? For your breach is vast as the sea; who could heal you?
The most fastidious woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, so refined and fastidious is she, will begrudge her beloved husband and her son and daughter