Lamentations 1:17-19

Easy-to-Read Version

¹⁷ Zion spread out her hands.
    There was no one to comfort her.
The Lord had given orders to Jacob’s enemies.
    He ordered them to surround the city.
Jerusalem has become a dirty rag
    that her enemies threw away.

¹⁸ Now Jerusalem says, “I refused to listen to the Lord,
    so he is right for doing these things.
So listen, all you people!
    Look at my pain!
My young women and men
    have gone into captivity.
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.