1 Maccabees 2:7-9

Good News Translation

Why was I born to see these terrible things,
    the ruin of my people and of the holy city?
Must I sit here helpless
    while the city is surrendered to enemies
    and the Temple falls into the hands of foreigners?
⁸ The Temple is like someone without honor.
⁹ Its splendid furnishings
    have been carried away as loot.
Our children have been killed in the streets,
    and our young men by the sword of the enemy.