不认识圣经，就是不认识基督，不认识基督，就是不认识基督所建立的天主教会。
旧约·耶肋米亚哀歌
共5章:
小引
第一章(22)
耶城遭浩劫
1:1
怎么！这个人烟稠密的京都，却孤坐独处!从前是万民的主母，现在好象成了寡妇；往日是诸郡的王后，如今竟然成奴仆！
1:2
她夜间痛哭饮泣，眼泪流满双颊；她所有的爱人，却没有一个前来安慰她；她的亲友都背弃了她，成了她的冤家!
1:3
犹大已经流亡远去，备受压迫奴役；散居在异民中间，再不得安息；她处于绝境之中，所有迫害她的人，尽来相逼!
1:4
熙雍的到街道悲惨凄凉，因无人前来过节!她的城门零落萧条，司祭哀叹，处女惆怅；她已忧苦备尝!
1:5
她的敌人得了优势，仇人获得胜利，都因她犯罪多端，而遭受了上主的惩罚；她的幼儿被掳去，在敌人面前作囚徒。
1:6
一切华丽，已经都由熙雍女郎身上消失；她的首长好象找不到牧场的公羊，受追逐者驱使，无力前行。
1:7
耶路撒冷在困苦和患难的时日，回忆昔日享有的一切荣华；现在呢﹖当她的人民陷入敌人手中时，竟然没有人来施救!仇人看见了她，都嘲笑她的灭亡。
1:8
耶路撒冷犯罪作恶，因而成了可憎恶的；昔日尊重她的人，今日一见到她的裸体，都予以轻视；而她自己只有饮泣，转身退去。
1:9
她的污秽沾满了她的衣裙，她从未想到会有如此的结局，以致一落千丈，却没有人安慰。「上主，求你怜视我的痛苦，因为敌人正在意气高扬。
1:10
暴徒伸手劫掠了她所有的珍宝：你虽然严禁异民进入你的集会，她却眼看着他们闯进圣所。
1:11
她所有的人民都在叹息，搜求食粮；而应交出珍宝，换取食物，以维持生活。上主，求你垂视眷顾，我怎样受人轻慢!」
耶京的哀号
1:12
一切过路的人啊!请你们细细观察，看看有没有痛苦能象我所受的痛苦﹖因为上主在他盛怒之日，折磨了我!
1:13
他从上降下火来，深入我的骨骸；他在我脚下设下罗网，使我陷落；他使我终日孤寂，惆怅不已。
1:14
上主亲手把我罪过的轭，紧缚在我的颈上，使我筋疲力竭；他将我交于我不能抵抗的人手中。
1:15
上主拋弃了我中间的勇士，召集盛会，与我为敌，粉碎我的精锐；上主好象践踏酒醡一样，践踏原是处女的犹大女郎。
1:16
我之所以痛苦，满眼流泪，是因为鼓舞我心灵的安慰者，已经离我远去；我的子女已经孤独无援，而敌人却正在得势。
1:17
熙雍虽然伸开双手，却无人予以安慰；上主召唤四周的人与雅各伯为敌；耶路撒冷在人眼中，成了可憎的污秽之物。
1:18
唯有上主是公义的，因为我违背了他的训示。一切民族!请你们听一听，看一看我的痛苦:我的处女和壮丁，都已充军去了。
1:19
我向爱人求救，但他们都舍弃了我，我的司祭和长老，虽然寻觅食粮以求活命，但他们却在城中气绝丧命。
1:20
上主，求你怜视，因为我实在痛苦：五内恐惧，心如倒悬，因为我常背命顽抗。外边有刀剑使我丧子，在家里有人死亡。
1:21
人们都听到我叹息，却没有人安慰我；仇人听到我遭难，无不庆幸你的所为；但是到了你所规定的日子，他们必然与我相同。
1:22
愿他们的罪恶摆在你眼前!你怎样为了我的各种罪恶，对待了我，也愿怎样对待他们!因为我屡次叹息，我的心已萎靡不振。
第二章(22)
2:上主怀怒降罚
2:1 怎么!上主竟然发怒，使熙雍女郎暗淡无光!将以色列的荣华由高天拋在地上!在他震怒之日，不再想念自己的脚凳！
2:2
上主毫不留情地破坏了雅各伯所有的牧场；他满含怒气，夷平了犹大女郎的一切堡垒，将她的君王及首长推倒在地，加以侮辱。
2:3
他怒火炎炎，粉碎了以色列的一切势力；在仇人前，抽回他的右手；他象吞灭四周的烈火，焚烧了雅各伯；
2:4
他象敌人一样，安稳地举起自己的右手,拉开他的弓。象敌人似的,屠杀了一切英俊的少年；在熙雍女郎的帐幕内，发泄了他似火的烈怒。
2:5
上主好象一个仇人，毁灭了以色列，毁灭了她所有的宫室，荡平了她的一切堡垒，增加犹大女郎的哀哭。
2:6
上主象破坏园圃一样，破坏了他自己的帷幔，毁灭了自己的会幕，使人在熙雍忘却庆节和安息日；他在烈怒下，废弃了君王和司祭。
2:7
上主厌弃了自己的祭坛，嫌恶了自己的圣所；将宫殿的墙垣交在敌人手中，让他们在上主的殿宇内，叫嚣喧嚷，好象节日一样。
2:8
上主已经决意毁坏熙雍女郎的墙垣，既展开了绳索，决不抽回自己的手，直到将它完全推翻，使城郭和堡垒哀哭，一同倾覆。
2:9
城门已陷于地中，上主已折断她的门闩，她的君王首长，流落异乡，再没有法律；她的众先知也不再获得上主的神视。
2:10
熙雍女郎的众长老，坐在地上默然不语，头上撒上灰土，腰间束着麻衣；耶路撒冷的处女都俯首至地。
幼儿的悲惨命运
2:11 我的眼痛哭，至于失明，五内沸腾，肝脑涂地。眼见我的女儿──人民遭受摧残，眼看着幼童乳儿昏厥在城中的街道上。
2:12
他们对母亲说：「那里有饼有酒﹖」他们在城中的街道上，正奄奄一息，有如受伤的人，在母亲的怀中，气绝夭折！
痛苦无可比拟
2:13 耶路撒冷女郎!我可用什么来譬喻你，拿什么来比拟你呢﹖处女，熙雍女郎!我可用什么来帮助你，拿什么来安慰你呢﹖因为你的创伤，浩大如海，又有谁能够治愈你﹖
2:14
你的众先知有关你的神视，尽是虚幻欺诈；他们从未揭露你的罪恶，以挽回你的命运；他们关于你所提供的神谕，尽是虚幻和骗局。
2:15
所有过路的人，都向你鼓掌，向耶路撒冷女郎嘘唏，且摇头说：「难道这就是人人所说美丽无比，全世界的喜悦﹖」
2:16
你的仇人都向你张开口，嘘唏而切齿说：「我们终于吞灭了她!这就是我们所期待的一日，我们终于得到手，终于看见了!」
2:17
上主实践了自己的计划，完成了他昔日所宣告的断语；实行破坏，毫无怜悯，使仇人幸灾乐祸，使敌人高举他的角。
耶京的哀祷
2:18 处女，熙雍女郎!你应该从心里呼号上主；白天黑夜，让眼泪象江河般地涌流，不要歇息,也不要让你的眼睛休息。
2:19
夜间每到交更时分，你该起来哀祷，象倾水似的，向上主倾诉你心；应为了你婴儿的性命，向上主举起你的双手，因为他们因饥饿而昏迷街头!
2:20
上主，请你回目怜视!你这样做，究竟是对付谁呢﹖难道妇女应该吃掉自己的儿子﹖吃掉自己孕育的婴儿﹖难道在上主的圣所里，应该杀死司祭和先知﹖
2:21
街上遍地躺卧的，尽是孩童和老人；丧身刀下的，尽是我的处女和少年；在你震怒之日，你斩杀诛戮，毫不留情。
2:22
你由四方给我召来施行恐怖的人，好象过节一样；在上主发怒之日，无人能够逃脱，或者幸免；我孕育抚养的，我的仇人都杀尽灭绝。
第三章(66)
天主的惩罚
3:1 在上主盛怒的鞭责下，我成了受尽痛苦的人；
3:2
他引我走入黑暗，不见光明；
3:3
且终日再三再四，伸手与我为敌；
3:4
他使我肌肤枯瘦，折断我的骨头；
3:5
他在我四周筑起围墙，用毒草和痛苦环绕我，
3:6
让我居住在黑暗之中，好象久已死去的人。
3:7
他用垣墙围困我，不能逃脱；并且加重我的桎梏；
3:8
我呼吁求救时，他却掩耳不听我的祈祷。
3:9
他用方石堵住了我的去路，阻塞了我的行径。
3:10
上主之于我，象是一只潜伏的狗熊，是一头藏匿的狮子，
3:11
他把我拖到路旁，扑捉撕裂，加以摧残；
3:12
又拉开他的弓，瞄准我，把我当作众矢之的。
3:13
他用箭囊的箭，射穿了我的双腰；
3:14
使我成了万民的笑柄，终日受他们的嘲笑；
3:15
他使我饱食苦菜，醉饮苦酒。
3:16
他用砂砾破碎我的牙齿，用灰尘给我充饥。
3:17
他除去了我心中的平安，我已经忘记了一切幸福；
3:18
于是我说：「我的光荣已经消逝，对上主的希望也已经幻灭。」
哀求天主怜悯
3:19 我回忆着我的困厄和痛苦，尽是茹苦含辛！
3:20
我的心越回想，越觉沮丧。
3:21
但是我必要追念这事，以求获得希望：
3:22
上主的慈爱，永无止境；他的仁慈，无穷无尽。
3:23
你的仁慈，朝朝常新；你的忠信，浩大无垠!
3:24
我心中知道：上主是我的福分；因此，我必信赖他。
3:25
上主对信赖他和寻求他的人，是慈善的。
3:26
最好是静待上主的救援，
3:27
人最好是自幼背负上主的重轭，
3:28
默然独坐，因为是上主加于他的轭；
3:29
他该把自己的口贴近尘埃，这样或者还有希望；
3:30
向打他的人，送上面颊，饱受凌辱。
因人犯罪天主降罚
3:31 因为上主决不会永远把人遗弃；
3:32
纵使惩罚，他必按照自己丰厚的慈爱，而加以怜悯。
3:33
因为他苛待和惩罚世人，原不是出于他的心愿。
3:34
将世上所有的俘虏，都践踏在脚下，
3:35
在至上者前剥夺人的权利,
3:36
与人争讼时，欺压他人：难道上主看不见﹖
3:37
若非上主有命，谁能言出即成呢﹖
3:38
吉凶祸福，难道不是出自至上者之口﹖
3:39
人生在世，为自己的罪受罚，为什么还叫苦﹖
劝罪人悔改
3:40 我们应检讨考察我们的行为，回头归向上主!
3:41
应向天上的大主，双手奉上我们的心!
3:42
正因为我们犯罪背命，你才没有宽恕。
3:43
你藏在盛怒之中，追击我们，杀死我们，毫不留情。
3:44
你隐在浓云深处，哀祷不能上达。
3:45
你使我们在万民中，成了尘垢和废物。
3:46
我们所有的仇人，都向我们大张其口。
3:47
为我们只有恐怖和陷阱，破坏和灭亡。
3:48
为了我女儿──人民的灭亡，我的眼泪涌流如江河。
3:49
我的眼泪涌流不止，始终不停，
3:50
直到上主从天垂顾怜视，
3:51
因我城中的一切女儿，使我触目伤心。
痛苦中的依靠
3:52 我的仇人无故追捕我，象猎取飞鸟一样；
3:53
他们将我投入坑穴之中，把石块掷在我身上；
3:54
水淹没了我的头顶，我想：「我要死了!」
3:55
上主，我从坑穴深处，呼号你的圣名；
3:56
你曾俯听过我的呼声，对我的哀祷，不要掩耳不闻。
3:57
在我呼号你的那一天，愿你走近而对我说：「不要害怕!」
3:58
上主，你辩护了我的案件，赎回我的性命。
3:59
上主，你见我遭受冤屈，你替我伸了冤，
3:60
你看见了他们对我的种种仇恨和阴谋。
3:61
上主，你听见了他们加于我的种种侮辱和阴谋，
3:62
你也听见了反对我者的诽谤，和他们终日对我的企图。
3:63
你看!他们或坐或立，我始终是他们嘲笑的对象。
3:64
上主，求你按照他们双手的作为，报复他们；
3:65
求你使他们的心思顽固，并诅咒他们。
3:66
上主，求你愤怒地追击他们，将他们由普天之下除掉。
第四章(22)
抚今追昔忧国忧民
4:1 怎么!黄金竟暗淡无光，纯金竟变了色!圣所的石头都散乱在街头!
4:2
熙雍的子女，原比纯金尊贵，怎么现在竟被看作瓦器，被看作陶人的出品!
4:3
豺狼尚且露出乳房，哺养自己的幼儿；我的女儿──人民，竟然残暴不仁，好似旷野中的鸵鸟!
4:4
婴儿的舌头，干渴得紧贴上颚；幼童饥饿求食，却无人分给他们。
4:5
昔日饱享山珍海味，今日竟饿死街道；一向衣饰华丽，而今却满身粪土。
4:6
我的女儿──人民的罪罚，比索多玛的还重，索多玛顷刻间倾覆了，并非假手于人。
4:7
昔日，她的少年，比雪还洁白，比乳还皎洁；他们的皮肤，比珊瑚还红润，他们的身体好似一片青玉。
4:8
而今，他们的容貌，比炭还黑，在街上已辨认不出，皮包骨头，枯瘦如柴；
4:9
死于刀下的，比死于饥饿的，即因缺乏田产，日渐衰弱而死的，更为幸运。
4:10
柔情的妇女竟要亲手烹食自己的子女；在我的女儿──人民遭受浩劫时，子女竟成了母亲的食物。
4:11
上主大发震怒，倾泄了他的怒火，火烧熙雍，焚毁了他的基础。
4:12
地上的君王和世上的居民，谁也不相信：仇敌能进入耶路撒冷的城门。
不义首领遭受惩罚
4:13 这是由于她先知们的罪恶，和她司祭们的过犯：他们在城中心，倾流了义人的血；
4:14
他们身染血污，象瞎子一样，徘徊街头，叫人不能触摸他们的衣服。「
4:15
不洁!退避!」人们喊说：「退避!不可接近!」如果他们逃亡，漂流异邦，异邦人又说：「不要让他们留居此地。」
4:16
上主的怒容驱散他们，不再垂顾他们；人也不再尊敬司祭，不再敬重长老。
4:17
我们还在望眼欲穿，幻想着我们的救援；我们仍在了望台上，期望着那不能施救的异邦。
4:18
敌人正在追踪我们的足迹，阻止我们在街上行走；我们的结局已近，我们的日子已满；的确，我们的终期已到。
4:19
追捕我们的人，比凌空的飞鸟还要快速；他们在山上搜索我们，在旷野里窥伺我们。
4:20
连我们的气息──上主的受傅者，也落在他们的陷阱中：我们原希望在他的福荫下，生活在异邦人中。
4:21
住在胡兹地的厄东女郎!你欢欣喜乐罢!苦爵也要轮到你喝，你将要醉倒，而赤身裸体。
4:22
熙雍女郎!你的罪债已经偿还，上主不再使你流徙；厄东女郎!他必要惩罚你的过犯，揭露你的罪恶。
第五章(22)
耶肋米亚的祈祷
5:1 上主，求你眷念我们的遭遇，垂顾怜视我们受的耻辱。
5:2
我们的产业，转入外人手中；我们的房舍，归属了异邦人。
5:3
我们自己变成了无父的孤儿，我们的母亲好象寡妇一样。
5:4
我们自己的水，必须用钱买来喝；我们自己的木柴，需要用款换来。
5:5
重轭加在我们的颈项上，受人折磨迫害；我们困惫疲乏，不得安息。
5:6
我们向埃及伸手，向亚述乞食充饿。
5:7
我们的祖先犯了罪，已不存在；我们却要承担他们的罪债；
5:8
原是奴隶的人，竟然统治我们，但没有人解救我们，脱离他们的手。
5:9
我们面临旷野刀剑的威胁，该冒性命的危险，才能得到食粮。
5:10
我们的皮肤因饥饿而发炎，发热有如火炉。
5:11
妇女们在熙雍被人强奸，处女们在犹大遭人奸污。
5:12
王臣被人缚手吊起，长老的仪容受人凌辱，
5:13
青年人应该服役推磨，幼童倒在柴捆之下。
5:14
长老们不再安坐城门口，青年们不再奏乐高歌。
灾祸中的哀鸣
5:15 我们心中已毫无乐趣，我们的歌舞反而变成悲愁。
5:16
我们头上的花冠已经堕地。我们犯罪的人，确是有祸的!
5:17
我们的心神所以彷徨，我们的眼睛所以模糊；
5:18
因为熙雍山已经荒芜，狐狸成群出没其间。
祈求复兴
5:19 上主，至于你，你永远常存，你的宝座万世不替。
5:20
为什么你常忘记我们﹖为什么你常拋弃我们﹖
5:21
上主，求你叫我们归向你，我们必定回心转意；求你重整我们的时代，如同往昔一样。
5:22
你岂能完全摈弃我们，岂能向我们愤怒到底﹖
BOOK ENDS. Seraphim, April 2009.
JB LAMENTATIONS
Chapter 1
FIRST LAMENTATION
Aleph
1:1 Oh, how lonely she sits,
the city once thronged with people, as if suddenly widowed. Though once great
among the nations, she, the princess among provinces, is now reduced to
vassalage.
Beth
1:2 She
passes her nights weeping; the tears run down her cheeks. Not one of all her
lovers remains to comfort her. Her friends have all betrayed her and become her
enemies.
Ghimel
1:3 Judah is exiled after her
downfall and harsh enslavement. She dwells among the nations now, but finds no
relief there. Her pursuers all overtake her in places where there is no way
out.
Daleth
1:4 The
roads to Zion are in mourning; no one comes to her festivals now. Her gateways
are all deserted; her priests groan; her virgins are grief-stricken; she
suffers bitterly.
He
1:5 Her
oppressors now have the upper hand, her enemies enjoy prosperity; Yahweh
himself has made her suffer for her many, many sins; her little children have
left her as prisoners driven in front of the oppressor.
Waw
1:6 From
the daughter of Zion all her glory has departed. Her leaders were like rams
that find no pasture. Listlessly they took the road, driven by the drover.
Zain
1:7 Jerusalem remembers her
days of misery and distress, when her people fell before the enemy and no one
came to help her. Her oppressors looked at her and laughed at her downfall.
Heth
1:8 Jerusalem has sinned
grievously and she has become a thing unclean. All those who used to honour her despise her; they have seen her nakedness. While she herself groans and turns her face away.
Teth
1:9 Her
filth clings to the hem of her clothes. She had never thought of ending like
this, sinking as low as this. She has no one to comfort her. 'Yahweh, look on
my degradation; my enemy is triumphant.'
Yod
1:10 The
oppressor has laid his hands on all she treasured; she has seen the pagans
enter her sanctuary, men whom you had forbidden to attend your Assembly.
Kaph
1:11 All
her people groan as they search for bread; they barter their valuables for
food, to keep life in them. 'Look, Yahweh, and mark how despised I am.'
Lamed
1:12 All
you who pass this way, look and see: is any sorrow like the sorrow that
afflicts me, with which Yahweh has struck me on the day of his burning anger?
Mem
1:13 He has sent a fire from
on high down into my bones; he has laid a snare underneath my feet; he has
brought me down; he has left me deserted, and ill all day long.
Nun
1:14 The
yoke of my sins weighs down on me, his, the hand that knotted them; their yoke is
on my neck, he makes my energy fail. The Lord has put me at their mercy, I have
no strength left to resist.
Samek
1:15 Yahweh has spurned the
bravest fighters I had; he has summoned a host against me to destroy the flower
of my army. In his winepress the Lord has trampled the virgin daughter of
Judah.
Ain
1:16 And
that is why I weep; my eyes dissolve in tears, since the comforter who could
revive me is far away. My sons are in despair, the enemy has proved too strong.
Pe
1:17 Zion stretches out her
hands; no one is there to comfort her. Yahweh has summoned against Jacob foes
from every side; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing to them.
Sade
1:18 Yahweh is acting rightly,
for I had rebelled against his order. Listen therefore, all you nations, and
see my sorrow. My virgins and my young men have gone into exile.
Qoph
1:19 I called for help to my
lovers; they failed me. My priests and my elders were perishing inside the
city, as they searched for food to keep life in them.
Resh
1:20 Look, Yahweh. How great
my anguish! My entrails shudder; my heart turns over inside me. Alas! I have
always been a rebel - and now, outside, the sword has robbed me of my children,
and inside, there is death.
Shin
1:21 Listen to my groaning;
there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies gloat over my disaster: this is
your doing. Bring the day you once foretold, so that they may be as I am.
Tau
1:22 Let all their wickedness come before you; treat them as you have treated me for all
my sins. Many indeed are my groans, my heart is sick.
JB LAMENTATIONS
Chapter 2
SECOND LAMENTATION
Aleph
2:1 Oh, how Yahweh in his
wrath has brought darkness on the daughter of Zion! He has flung the glory of
Israel from heaven to the ground, no more remembering his footstool[*a]
on the day of his wrath.
Beth
2:2 The Lord has pitilessly
destroyed all the homes of Jacob; in his displeasure he has shattered the
strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has thrown to the ground, he has left
accursed the kingdom and its rulers.
Ghimel
2:3 In his burning anger he
has broken every horn in Israel, withdrawn the strength of his right hand at
the coming of the enemy, and kindled in Jacob a fire that burns up everything
near it.
Daleth
2:4 Like
an enemy he has bent his bow, holding his right hand steady; like a foe, he has
slaughtered everything that delights the eye; on the tent of the daughter of
Zion he has poured his anger out like fire.
He
2:5 The Lord has been like an
enemy; he has destroyed Israel; he has destroyed every one of her palaces, laid
low her strongholds, and for the daughters of Judah has multiplied wailing on
wailing.
Waw
2:6 He has wrecked his own
domain like a garden, shattered his own gathering place; Yahweh has wiped out
the memory of festivals and sabbaths
in Zion; in the heat of his wrath he has repudiated king and priest.
Zain
2:7 The Lord has grown weary
of his altar, has come to loathe his sanctuary, and handed her palace walls
over to the enemy; from the uproar in the Temple of Yahweh it might have been a
day of festival.
Heth
2:8 Yahweh resolved to ruin
the city wall of the daughter of Zion; with a line he measured it, and did not
withdraw his hand until he had completely overthrown it, bringing mourning on
city wall and rampart; now they are crumbling down together.
Teth
2:9 Her
gates have sunk into the ground; he has shattered their bars. Her king, her
nobles, are now with the pagans, the Law is no more. Even her prophets receive
no further vision from Yahweh.
Yod
2:10 Mutely
they sit on the ground, the elders of the daughter of Zion; they have put dust
on their heads, and wrapped themselves in sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem
hang their heads down to the ground.
Kaph
2:11 My eyes wasted away with
weeping, my entrails shuddered, my liver spilled on the ground at the ruin of
the daughters of my people, as children, mere infants, fainted in the squares
of the Citadel.
Lamed
2:12 They
kept saying to their mothers, 'Where is the bread?' as they fainted like
wounded men in the squares of the City, as they poured out their souls on their
mothers' breasts.
Mem
2:13 How
can I describe you, to what compare you, daughter of Jerusalem? Who can rescue
and comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? For huge as the sea
is your affliction; who can possibly cure you?
Nun
2:14 The
visions your prophets had on your behalf were delusive, tinsel things, they
never pointed out your sin, to ward off your exile. The visions they proffered
you were false, fallacious, misleading.
Samek
2:15 All
who pass your way clap their hands at the sight; they whistle and shake their
heads over the daughter of Jerusalem. 'Was this the loveliest of all, this, the
joy of the whole world?'
Pe
2:16 Your
enemies open their mouths in chorus against you; they whistle and grind their
teeth; they say, 'We have swallowed her up. This is the day we were waiting
for; now we can touch it, see it.'
Ain
2:17 Yahweh has accomplished
his intention, he has carried out his word decreed in the days of old; he has
destroyed without pity, giving your enemy cause to gloat over you and raising
his horn.
Sade
2:18 Cry aloud, then, to the
Lord, groan, daughter of Zion; let your tears flow like a torrent, day and
night; give yourself no relief, grant your eyes no rest.
Qoph
2:19 Up, cry out in the
night-time, in the early hours of darkness; pour your heart out like water
before Yahweh. Stretch out your hands to him for the lives of your children.
Resh
2:20 Look, Yahweh, and
consider: whom have you ever treated like this? Why, women have eaten their
little ones, the children they had nursed in their arms! Why, priest and
prophet have been slaughtered in the sanctuary of Yahweh!
Shin
2:21 Children and old men are lying
on the ground in the streets; my virgins and my young men have fallen by the
sword; you have killed on the day of your wrath, you have slaughtered
pitilessly.
Tau
2:22 As though to a festival
you have summoned terrors from every side; on the day of your wrath, no one
escaped, no one survived. Those whom I had nursed and
reared, my enemy has murdered them all.
JB LAMENTATIONS
Chapter 3
THIRD LAMENTATION
Aleph
3:1 I am the man familiar with
misery under the rod of his anger;
3:2 I
am the one he has driven and forced to walk in darkness, and without any light.
3:3 Against
me alone he turns his hand, again and again, all day long.
Beth
3:4 He has wasted my flesh and
skin away, has broken my bones.
3:5 He has made a yoke for me, has encircled my head with weariness.
3:6 He has forced me to dwell
in darkness with the dead of long ago.
Ghimel
3:7 He has walled me in; I
cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy;
3:8 and when I call and shout, he shuts out my prayer.
3:9 He has blocked my ways
with cut stones, he has obstructed my paths.
Daleth
3:10 For
me he has been a lurking bear, a lion on the watch.
3:11 He has filled my paths
with briars and torn me, he has made me a thing of horror.
3:12 He has bent his bow and
taken aim, making me the target for his arrows.
He
3:13 In
my back he has planted his darts, the children of his quiver.
3:14 I have become the
laughing-stock of my whole nation, their butt all day long.
3:15 He has given me my fill
of bitterness, he has made me drunk with wormwood.
Waw
3:16 He has broken my teeth
with gravel, he has given me ashes for food.
3:17 My
soul is shut out from peace; I have forgotten happiness.
3:18 And
now I say, 'My strength is gone, that hope which came from Yahweh'.
Zain
3:19 Brooding
on my anguish and affliction is gall and wormwood.
3:20 My
spirit ponders it continually and sinks within me.
3:21 This
is what I shall tell my heart, and so recover hope:
Heth
3:22 the favours
of Yahweh are not all past, his kindnesses are not exhausted;
3:23 every morning they are
renewed; great is his faithfulness.
3:24 'My portion is Yahweh'
says my soul 'and so I will hope in him.'
Teth
3:25 Yahweh is good to those
who trust him, to the soul that searches for him.
3:26 It
is good to wait in silence for Yahweh to save.
3:27 It
is good for a man to bear the yoke from youth onwards,
Yod
3:28 to sit in solitude and
silence when the Lord fastens it on him,
3:29 to put his lips to the
dust - perhaps there still is hope -
3:30 to offer his cheek to the
striker, to be overwhelmed with insults.
Kaph
3:31 For the Lord does not
reject mankind for ever and ever.
3:32 If he has punished, he
has compassion so great is his kindness;
3:33 since he takes no
pleasure in abasing and afflicting the human race.
Lamed
3:34 When
all the prisoners in a country are crushed and trampled underfoot,
3:35 when a man's rights are
overridden in defiance of the Most High,
3:36 when a man is deprived of
justice, does not the Lord see it?
Mem
3:37 Who
has only to speak to make things exist? Who commands, if not the Lord?
3:38 From
where, if not from the mouth of the Most High, do evil and good come?
3:39 Why then should man
complain? Better for him to be bold against his sins.
Nun
3:40 Let
us examine our path, let us ponder it and return to Yahweh.
3:41 Let us stretch out our
hearts and hands to God in heaven.
3:42 We
are the ones who have sinned, who have rebelled, and you have not forgiven.
Samek
3:43 You
have wrapped yourself in wrath, pursued us, slaughtered us without pity.
3:44 You
have wrapped yourself in a cloud too thick for prayer to pierce.
3:45 You
have reduced us to rubbish to the scourings of the
nations.
Pe
3:46 Our
enemies have opened their mouths in chorus against us.
3:47 Dread and pitfall have
been our lot, ravage and ruin.
3:48 My
eyes dissolve in torrents of tears over the ruin of the daughters of my people.
Ain
3:49 My
eyes weep ceaselessly, without relief
3:50 until Yahweh looks down
and sees from heaven.
3:51 My
eyes have grown sore over all the daughters of my Citadel.
Sade
3:52 They
hunted me, harried me like a bird, they who hate me for no reason.
3:53 They
tumbled my life into a pit, they threw stones down on me.
3:54 The
waters went over my head; I said, 'I am lost'.
Qoph
3:55 Yahweh, I called on your
name from the deep pit.
3:56 You
heard me crying, 'Do not close your ear to my prayer'.
3:57 You
came near that day when I called to you; you said, 'Do not be afraid'.
Resh
3:58 You
have defended the cause of my soul, you have redeemed my life.
3:59 Yahweh, you have seen the
wrong done to me; grant me redress.
3:60 You
have seen all their frenzy, all their plots against me.
Shin
3:61 Yahweh, you have heard
their insults, all their plots against me,
3:62 my opponents
slandering me under their breath all day long.
3:63 Whether
they sit, or whether they stand, see, I am their butt.
Tau
3:64 Yahweh, repay them as
their deeds deserve.
3:65 Give
them hardness of heart, your curse be on them.
3:66 Pursue
them in fury, root them out from underneath your heavens.
JB LAMENTATIONS
Chapter 4
FOURTH LAMENTATION
Aleph
4:1 Oh, how the old gold has
tarnished, that gold so fine! The sacred stones now lie scattered at the corner
of every street.
Beth
4:2 The
sons of Zion, as precious as finest gold, Oh, reckoned now no better than
earthenware pots made by the potter!
Ghimel
4:3 The
very jackals give the breast, and suckle their young: but the daughters of my
people have grown cruel like the ostriches of the desert.
Daleth
4:4 The
tongue of the baby at the breast sticks to his palate for thirst, little
children go begging for bread; no one spares a scrap for them.
He
4:5 Those
who used to eat only the best, now lie dying in the streets; those who were
reared in the purple claw at the rubbish heaps.
Waw
4:6 The
crimes of the daughter of my people have outdone the sins of Sodom, which was
overthrown in a moment, no time for a man to wring his hands.
Zain
4:7 Once her young
men were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; rosier than coral their bodies,
their hue as radiant as sapphire.
Heth
4:8 Now
with faces darker than blackness itself they move unrecognisable
through the streets. The skin is shrunken against their bones, dry as a stick.
Teth
4:9 Happy were those killed by
the sword, happier than those by hunger, spent and sinking, deprived of the
fruits of the fields.
Yod
4:10 With
their own hands, tender-hearted women have boiled their children; these have
been their food in the disaster that fell on the daughter of my people.
Kaph
4:11 Yahweh has indulged his
fury, has poured his anger out. He has lit a fire in Zion that has devoured her
foundations.
Lamed
4:12 The
kings of the earth never believed, nor did all the inhabitants of the world,
that oppressor and enemy would ever penetrate the gates of Jerusalem.
Mem
4:13 It
came through the sins of her prophets and the crimes of her priests, who had
shed the blood of the upright in the heart of the city.
Nun
4:14 Through
the streets like blind men, they roamed polluted with blood, so that no one
dared to touch their clothes.
Samek
4:15 'Keep away! Unclean!'
people shouted 'Keep away! Do not touch us!' If they left and took refuge with
the nations, they were not allowed to shelter there either.
Pe
4:16 The
face of Yahweh dispersed them; he never spared a glance for them again. People
respected the priests no longer, they paid no
attention to the prophets.
Ain
4:17 And
still we wore out our eyes, watching for help in vain. From our towers we watched
for a nation[*a] which could not save us anyway.
Sade
4:18 Our
enemies eyed our steps, and barricaded our squares. Our end was near, our days
were done.
Qoph
4:19 Our
pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they dogged our steps in the mountains,
they ambushed us in the desert.
Resh
4:20 The breath of our
nostrils, Yahweh's anointed,[*b] was captured in their
pits, he of whom we said, 'Under his shadow we shall live among the nations'.
Shin
4:21 Rejoice, exult, daughter
of Edom, as you dwell in Uz! To you in turn the cup
will pass; it will make you drunk, and you will show your nakedness.
Tau
4:22 Your
crime has been atoned for, daughter of Zion; he will never banish you again.
Your crime he will punish, daughter of Edom; he will lay bare your sins.
JB LAMENTATIONS
Chapter 5
FIFTH LAMENTATION
5:1 Yahweh,
remember what has happened to us; look on us and see our degradation.
5:2 Our
inheritance has passed to aliens, our homes to barbarians.
5:3 We
are orphans, we are fatherless; our mothers are like widows.
5:4 We
drink our own water - at a price; we have to pay for what is our own firewood.
5:5 The
yoke is on our necks; we are persecuted; we are worked to death; no relief for
us.
5:6 We
hold out our hands to Egypt, or to Assyria, just to get enough bread.
5:7 Our
fathers have sinned; they are no more, and we ourselves bear the weight of
their crimes.
5:8 Slaves[*a]
rule us; no one rescues us from them.
5:9 At
peril of our lives we earn our bread, by risking the sword of the desert.
5:10 Our
skin is as hot as the oven, such is the fever of famine.
5:11 They
have raped the women in Zion, the virgins in the towns of Judah.
5:12 Princes have been hanged
at their hands; the face of the old has not been respected.
5:13 Youths have toiled at the
mill; boys have collapsed under loads of wood.
5:14 The
elders have deserted the gateway; the young men have given up their music.
5:15 Joy has vanished from our
hearts; our dancing has been turned to mourning.
5:16 The
garland has fallen from our heads. Woe to us, because we have sinned!
5:17 This
is why our hearts are sick; this is why our eyes are dim:
5:18 because Mount Zion is
desolate; jackals roam to and fro on it.
5:19 But you, Yahweh, you
remain for ever; your throne endures from age to age.
5:20 You
cannot mean to forget us for ever? You cannot mean to abandon us for good?
5:21 Make
us come back to you, Yahweh, and we will come back. Renew our days as in times
past,
5:22 unless you
have utterly rejected us, in an anger that knows no limit.
END OF JB
LAMENTATIONS [5 Chapters].