Lam 2:10-19 | ESV | STEP | The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence ; they have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth ; the young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground .

10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
^asit on the ground ^bin silence;
^cthey have thrown dust on their heads
and ^dput on sackcloth;
the young women of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.
11 ^eMy eyes are spent with weeping;
^fmy stomach churns;
^gmy bile is poured out to the ground
^hbecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
ⁱbecause infants and babies ^jfaint
in the streets of the city.
12 They cry to their mothers,
^k“Where is bread and wine?”
^las they faint like a wounded man
in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
on their mothers’ bosom.
13 What can I say for you, ^mto what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
ⁿWhat can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
^oFor your ruin is vast as the sea;
who can heal you?
14 ^pYour prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
^qthey have not exposed your iniquity
to ^rrestore your fortunes,
^sbut have seen for you ^toracles
that are false and misleading.
15 All who pass along the way
clap their hands at you;
^uthey hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
^vthe perfection of beauty,
^wthe joy of all the earth?”
16 ^xAll your enemies
rail against you;
they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
they cry: “We ^yhave swallowed her!
Ah, this is the day we longed for;
now we have it; ^zwe see it!”
17 The Lord has done what he purposed;
he has carried out ^aahis word,
which he commanded ^ablong ago;
^ache has thrown down ^adwithout pity;
^aehe has made the enemy rejoice over you
and exalted the ^afmight of your foes.
18 Their heart cried to the Lord.
O ^agwall of the daughter of Zion,
^ahlet tears stream down like a torrent
^aiday and night!
^ajGive yourself no rest,
^akyour eyes no respite!
19 “Arise, ^alcry out in the night,
at the beginning of the night watches!
^amPour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord!
^anLift your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
^aowho faint for hunger
at the head of every street.”