Lam 2:13-19 | ESV | STEP | What can I say for you , to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem ? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion ? For your ruin is vast as the sea ; who can heal you?

Lamentations 2:13-19

13 What can I say for you, ^ato what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
^bWhat can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
^cFor your ruin is vast as the sea;
who can heal you?
14 ^dYour prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
^ethey have not exposed your iniquity
to ^frestore your fortunes,
^gbut have seen for you ^horacles
that are false and misleading.
15 All who pass along the way
clap their hands at you;
ⁱthey hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
^jthe perfection of beauty,
^kthe joy of all the earth?”
16 ^lAll your enemies
rail against you;
they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
they cry: “We ^mhave swallowed her!
Ah, this is the day we longed for;
now we have it; ⁿwe see it!”
17 The Lord has done what he purposed;
he has carried out ^ohis word,
which he commanded ^plong ago;
^qhe has thrown down ^rwithout pity;
^she has made the enemy rejoice over you
and exalted the ^tmight of your foes.
18 Their heart cried to the Lord.
O ^uwall of the daughter of Zion,
^vlet tears stream down like a torrent
^wday and night!
^xGive yourself no rest,
^yyour eyes no respite!
19 “Arise, ^zcry out in the night,
at the beginning of the night watches!
^aaPour out your heart like water
before the presence of the Lord!
^abLift your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
^acwho faint for hunger
at the head of every street.”