Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
(A)The barren has borne seven,
    (B)but she who has many children is forlorn.

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Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry(A) are hungry no more.
She who was barren(B) has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.

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How Lonely Sits the City

(A)How lonely sits the city
    that was full of people!
How like (B)a widow has she become,
    she who was great among the nations!
She who was (C)a princess among the provinces
    has become (D)a slave.

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[a]How deserted(A) lies the city,
    once so full of people!(B)
How like a widow(C) is she,
    who once was great(D) among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.